Kevin Cooney (baseball)

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Kevin Cooney
Biographical details
Born (1950-08-12) August 12, 1950 (age 73)
Montclair State
Position(s)Pitcher
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1975–1976Montclair State (asst.)
1984–1987Montclair State
1988–2008Florida Atlantic
Head coaching record
Overall880-530-10
TournamentsNCAA D1: 10-13
Sun Belt: 4-4
TAAC/A-Sun: 21-20
NCAA D2: 1-2
NCAA D3: 21-7
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
NCAA D1 Regional: 2002
TAAC/A-Sun: 1999, 2003
A-Sun Tournament: 2004
NCAA D3: 1987
NCAA D3 Regional: 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987
NJAC: 1985
Awards
A-Sun Coach of the Year
: 1999

Kevin Cooney (born August 12, 1950) is an American former

TAAC Coach of the Year in 1999.[1]

Playing career

A

MLB Draft.[1][2][3]

Cooney played two professional seasons, advancing as high as

Class A Wisconsin Rapids before a shoulder injury ended his playing career. Over the two seasons, Cooney compiled a 19-11 record and a 3.43 ERA.[1][4]

Coaching career

Montclair State

Following his playing career, Cooney returned to Montclair State as an assistant under

Fairleigh Dickinson after the 1976 season; Cooney also left Montclair and worked as a high school teacher and coach in the late 1970s and early 1980s.[1][2][5][6][7]

When Montclair's next head coach,

UW-Oshkosh to advance to the championship game, where it defeated Oshkosh, 13-12 in 10 innings.[5][6][8]

During Cooney's stint at Montclair, three players were selected in the

Major League Baseball Draft, including seventh-round selection Dan Olsson in 1985.[9]

Florida Atlantic

Division II

Prior to the 1988 season,

Division I, seven NCAA tournaments, and a 742-480-5 overall record.[1][11]

For Cooney's first six seasons, 1988–1993, FAU played as

Division I and Division II teams. In 1991, Cooney hired John McCormack, who would remain with the program as an assistant through the end of Cooney's tenure. He also opened the FAU Baseball Stadium in 1991. The Blue Wave's[a] best season during this stretch was 1993, when it went 41-17 and reached an NCAA Regional championship game.[2][12][13][14]

Division I

For the 1994 season, FAU transitioned to

Division I, joining the Trans America Athletic Conference.[b][13][14]

After being ineligible for the postseason in 1994, the program made its first Division I postseason in 1995, finishing fourth in the TAAC to qualify for the TAAC Tournament. As the fourth seed, the Blue Wave won their first game against top-seeded FIU, then lost consecutive games to Stetson and UCF and was eliminated.[15]

FAU reached its first

Bethune-Cookman and FIU before losing to host Miami in the regional championship.[12][13][15][16][17]

The Blue Wave returned to the NCAA tournament in

best-of-three super regional round. In the Atlanta Super Regional, Georgia Tech swept the Blue Wave in two games.[13][16][18][19]

The 2002 appearance was the first of four consecutive NCAA tournaments for the program, but it did not advance past the regionals in 2003, 2004, or 2005. (Of Cooney's six Division I Tournament appearances at FAU, 2002 was the only year in which the Blue Wave were not placed at the Coral Gables Regional, hosted by nearby Miami.) In 2004, FAU won its only A-Sun Tournament under Cooney; Rusty Brown was named the tournament MVP.[13][15][20]

During Cooney's 21 seasons at FAU, the program had 58 selections in the

Major League Baseball Draft. The highest was Jeff Fiorentino, a future Major Leaguer selected 79th overall in 2004. Other of Cooney's players to appear in Major League Baseball were Tim Harikkala, Carmen Cali, Tommy Murphy, Michael Crotta, Mickey Storey, and Jeff Beliveau.[21]

FAU moved to the

Sun Belt tournaments, but did not qualify for the NCAA tournament in either season. Following the 2008 season, Cooney announced his retirement.[11][22][23]

Head coaching record

The following is a table of Cooney's yearly records as a collegiate head baseball coach.[1][2][5][6][12][13][15][16][22]

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Montclair State (New Jersey Athletic Conference
) (1984–1987)
1984 Montclair State 32-12-1 11-5 College World Series
1985 Montclair State 36-13-2 14-2 1st College World Series
1986 Montclair State 36-11-1 13-3 College World Series
1987 Montclair State 34-14-1 14-2 College World Series
Montclair State: 138–50–5 52–12
Florida Atlantic (Division II Independent) (1988–1993)
1988 Florida Atlantic 32-19-2
1989 Florida Atlantic 30-23-2
1990 Florida Atlantic 28-25
1991 Florida Atlantic 24-31
1992 Florida Atlantic 27-27
1993 Florida Atlantic 41-17 NCAA Regional
Florida Atlantic (
Division I[b]
) (1994–2006)
1994 Florida Atlantic 31-23 N/A[c]
1995 Florida Atlantic 27-31 17-13 4th
1996 Florida Atlantic 39-23 9-9 3rd (South)
1997 Florida Atlantic 32-24 8-9 3rd (South)
1998 Florida Atlantic 29-30 6-14 4th (South)
1999 Florida Atlantic 54-9 26-4 1st NCAA Regional
2000 Florida Atlantic 43-19 20-7 T-2nd NCAA Regional
2001 Florida Atlantic 36-24 14-13 5th
2002 Florida Atlantic 46-21 22-8 2nd NCAA Super Regional
2003 Florida Atlantic 41-16 25-8 1st NCAA Regional
2004 Florida Atlantic 47-17 20-10 T-2nd NCAA Regional
2005 Florida Atlantic 37-24 19-11 T-2nd NCAA Regional
2006 Florida Atlantic 30-28 14-16 T-5th
Florida Atlantic (Sun Belt Conference) (2007–2008)
2007 Florida Atlantic 36-22 15-15 T-6th
2008 Florida Atlantic 32-27-1 15-12-1 4th
Florida Atlantic: 742-480-5 230-149-1
Total: 880-530-10

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Personal

Cooney has four children. His oldest son, Jim, pitched for Cooney from 1999–2002, was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles, and played three years of professional baseball.[24][25]

Since retiring from coaching, Cooney has moved to

antiques, and Christmas tree growing.[11]

In 2012, Cooney was inducted into the FAU Hall of Fame.[26]

Notes

  1. ^ a b From the start of Cooney's tenure through the end of the 2005 season, FAU's baseball team was known as the "Blue Wave." After that point, the school officially adopted the "Owls" nickname for all its sports teams.
  2. ^ a b c In Cooney's first eight season in the conference (1994–2001), the Atlantic Sun was known as the Trans America Athletic Conference.
  3. ^ In 1994, its first season as a member of Division I and the TAAC, Florida Atlantic was ineligible for the conference standings.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Kevin Cooney". FAUSports.com. Florida Atlantic Athletic Communications. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c d "2014 NCAA Division II Baseball Championship Record Book" (PDF). NCAA.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  3. ^ "Career History". MontclairAthletics.com. Montclair Sports Publicity. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  4. ^ "Kevin Cooney". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  5. ^ a b c "Montclair State Baseball Year-by-Year Record". MontclairAthletics.com. Montclair State Sports Publicity. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  6. ^ a b c "2014 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship Record Book" (PDF). NCAA.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 6, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  7. ^ "Baseball History Book". FDUKnights.com. Fairleigh Dickinson Athletic Communications. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  8. ^ Fisher, Rich (February 20, 2014). "Fred Hill Retires from Coaching After 37 Years". Trentonian.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  9. ^ "MLB Amateur Draft Picks Who Came from "Montclair State University (Montclair, NJ)"". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on September 17, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  10. ^ Camillone, Jude (July 29, 1987). "Traylor to Leave FAU". Sun-Sentinel.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  11. ^ a b c "Former Baseball Coach Kevin Cooney Likes Life Down on the Farm". Sun-Sentinel.com. February 24, 2012. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  12. ^ a b c "Florida Atlantic University Baseball Records: Year-by-Year Results". FAUSports.com. Florida Atlantic Athletic Communications. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  13. ^ a b c d e f "Florida Atlantic University Baseball Records: History" (PDF). Florida Atlantic Athletic Communications. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  14. ^ a b Cash, Rana L. (July 29, 1992). "FAU Schedule to Have Div. I Flavor". Sun-Sentinel.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  15. ^ a b c d "2013 Atlantic Sun Conference Baseball Record Book" (PDF). AtlanticSun.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  16. ^ a b c "2014 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Record Book" (PDF). NCAA.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 6, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  17. ^ Morgan, Marlon W. (April 18, 1999). "Florida Atlantic's Winning Streak Ends". Sun-Sentinel.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  18. ^ Person, Joe (June 7, 2002). "Florida Atlantic Stands in Jackets' Way to World Series". SavannahNow.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  19. ^ "Jackets Sweep Florida Atlantic to Advance to First College World Series Since 1994". AccessNorthGeorgia.com. June 9, 2002. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  20. ^ "'Canes Blast into Coral Gables Title Game". ESPN.com. Associated Press. July 12, 2014. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  21. ^ "MLB Amateur Draft Picks Who Came from "Florida Atlantic University (Boca Raton, FL)"". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on July 11, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  22. ^ a b "2014 Sun Belt Conference Baseball Media Guide". Sun Belt Conference. Archived from the original on March 25, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  23. ^ "FAU Head Baseball Coach Kevin Cooney Announces Retirement". FAUSports.com. Florida Atlantic Athletic Communications. April 24, 2008. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  24. ^ Hutton, Ted (June 6, 2002). "Baseball in the Blood". Sun-Sentinel.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  25. ^ "Jim Cooney". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  26. ^ "Kevin Cooney and Shontavia Williams Inducted into Athletics Hall of Fame". FAU.edu. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2014.

External links

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