Louisville Baseball has been one of the top-tier, elite baseball programs in Division 1 college baseball since Head Coach Dan McDonnell first set foot on campus. After making the College World Series four times in the last seven years, including last year’s trip to Omaha, McDonnell has proven to be one of the absolute best in the country.
Today, the ULAA Board has rewarded Coach McDonnell with a new 7-year contract that is described by UofL as being a “rolling agreement” designed to keep him at Louisville until he retires.
McDonnell will be entering his 13th season in 2020. His first season ended with Louisville Baseball’s first ever trip to the College World Series. Then, as mentioned above, four more trips to Omaha have followed over the years. Dan McDonnell is winningest coach in Louisville history with 605 wins. This new contract is designed to have him end his career in Louisville as one of the longest tenured, if not the longest tenured coach, in program history.
Check out UofL’s press release below for more information.
PRESS RELEASE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT:
ULAA Board of Directors Approve New Contract for McDonnell
McDonnell has led the Cardinals to five College World Series berths and 605 wins over his 13 seasons.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville Athletic Association Board of Directors approved new contract terms for head baseball coach Dan McDonnell on Friday.
“We talked with Dan last year when he was being approached by other schools and we worked quick to get something in place for him with the notion that we’d look for something longer term for him to be our coach for life and that’s what we did today,” UofL Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Vince Tyra said.
The new contract is a seven-year rolling agreement effective as of July 1, 2019.
“Julie and I are grateful to Vince Tyra, Dr. Neeli Bendapudi, the ULAA Board of Directors and the many people past and present for making this a possibility,” McDonnell said. “We have loved our 13 years in Louisville and have been blessed to raise Jake and Justin here. People make experiences special and memorable and the city of Louisville, and all its great fans, have treated us like family.
“Most importantly, the assistant coaches, players and support staff are the reasons for all the success on and off the field. The wins stand out, but I am just as proud of our accomplishments in the classroom, the ability to graduate student-athletes with the challenging dynamic of the amateur draft, and the effort with our community service.
“It’s exciting that players and families are choosing the University of Louisville to reach their goals and accomplish great things. I am looking forward to continuing the tradition of winning at the highest level at Jim Patterson Stadium, and the future projects that will keep us among the elite programs in the country.”
McDonnell has led Louisville to five College World Series appearances (2007, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2019), eight NCAA Super Regional berths, 12 NCAA Regional bids, nine regular season conference championships and two conference tournament titles. McDonnell is a two-time National Coach of the Year (2007, 2017) and a three-time ACC Coach of the Year (2015, 2016, 2017). The winningest coach in program history, McDonnell guided the Cardinals to a 51-18 overall record in 2019 capped off by the program’s deepest postseason run, reaching the bracket final at the College World Series.
During McDonnell’s 13 seasons, Louisville ranks No. 1 nationally with 605 wins, including six seasons with at least 50 wins. The Cardinals are 605-240 under McDonnell’s leadership and have produced a consensus National Player of the Year (Brendan McKay, 2017), 37 All-Americans, 98 all-conference selections, seven conference Pitcher of the Year winners, four conference Player of the Year winners and one conference Freshman of the Year. Eighty-four Louisville players have signed professional contracts during McDonnell’s tenure and 15 have made their Major League debut since 2014.
In addition to unparalleled success on the field, McDonnell’s program has also excelled in the classroom and community. The Cardinals have registered 16 consecutive semesters (eight straight years) with a cumulative team GPA of 3.0 or higher. Louisville was recognized as the No. 1-ranked NCAA program across all sports and divisions in community service hours for the fall of 2015 as part of the NCAA Team Works Competition.
McDonnell earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from The Citadel in 1992 and later completed his master’s degree in business administration in 1995. As a student-athlete, he was a four-year letterwinner and an All-Southern Conference second baseman while helping The Citadel advance to the 1990 College World Series. McDonnell is married to the former Julie Anne Underwood of Charlotte, N.C. The couple has two sons, Jake and Justin.
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