Cary McConnell Named GNAC Coach of the Year

Posted: Apr 28, 2014

Suffolk University Head Baseball Coach Cary McConnell was tabbed as the 2014 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Coach of the Year.

McConnell guided Suffolk to the league's best in-conference record at 12-2 as they earned the top seed in this year's conference tournament. Suffolk reached the GNAC Tournament championship game for the eighth consecutive year but fell short losing to St. Joseph's College (Me.), 2-0 on Sunday afternoon. Earlier in the day Suffolk defeated Johnson & Wales University 11-3 in a 13-inning affair as they won their 20th game of the season, a mark the program has accomplished for 17 straight seasons.

The 2014 award marks the fifth time in his coaching career at Suffolk that McConnell has been named as the league's top skipper. In 2013 he was recognized by the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) with the Jack Butterfield Award given to a head coach in the region who demonstrates integrity and dedication to the game of college baseball.

McConnell has also served as Interim Director of Athletics at Suffolk University for the past academic year. The 2013-14 year marked the first time in the department's history that as many as 12 teams advanced to conference tournament action. Alongside his baseball coaching responsibilities, McConnell has overseen all 13 intercollegiate varsity sport offerings at Suffolk University which makes up of 205 student-athletes.

Since coming to Suffolk University in 1996, McConnell has won a total of 473 contests over 19 seasons, the most of any coach in the department's 68 year history. McConnell has guided Suffolk to four GNAC Conference championships and four NCAA Tournament appearances, also the most at the institution.

Last May, McConnell was inducted into the Suffolk University Athletics Hall of Fame alongside his 2000 Baseball team. That team set a school record with 38 wins in a season, while his pitching staff led all NCAA Division-III baseball programs in earned run average (2.69) and strikeouts (401). They made their first NCAA appearance while winning both the GNAC and ECAC Tournaments. They were also inducted into the GNAC's inaugural Hall of Fame Class of 2010.

Prior to coming to Suffolk, McConnell spent three years as the Head Coach at Rochester University. In his 22nd season as a collegiate head coach, McConnell has amassed a winning percentage of .613 (528-334-4).

McConnell is also an enshrined member of the Medina County Hall of Fame (2007) and Brunswick High School Hall of Fame (1994) in his native Ohio.

A graduate of the College of Wooster, McConnell was a four-year starter in the infield for the Scots and was selected to the All-Decade Team for the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) for the 80's. At Wooster, McConnell played in four straight NCAA Tournaments and one World Series finishing 5th. He earned a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science and earned certification to teach at the Secondary level. In addition, he holds a Master's Degree in Educational Administration from the University of Rochester.