Episode 94 - Dugout Chatter with Brian O’Connor, University of Virginia

This week we connect with University of Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor, a perfect choice as Rawlings Sporting Goods begins its support of our Dugout Chatter episodes. We walk back through his ultra-successful career in the dugout and his experience coming off a summer coaching for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team, sharing the dugout with two of his most impactful mentors on his career in the game. O’Connor takes us back to his early days playing at Creighton in the shadows of the College World Series in Omaha to getting his start in coaching and learning some of his most precious lessons. Walking into his 16th season as the skipper of the Cavaliers, O’Connor has turned Virginia into a national powerhouse and he takes us back to the early days of turning the tides in the community, on campus and in his athletic department. O’Connor details the dynamics around keeping the longest-tenured coaching staff in college baseball together, plus his take on the changes in baseball and how they have challenged him, as well as improving daily and connecting with his players.