Suffolk Baseball Coach Cary McConnell Receives NEIBA’s Jack Butterfield Award

Boston, MA – Suffolk University Head Baseball Coach Cary McConnell received the Jack Butterfield Award by the New England Intercollegiate Baseball Association (NEIBA) for the 2013 season. The award is given to an active New England coach who demonstrates integrity and dedication to the game of college baseball.

Earlier this season McConnell recorded his 500th career collegiate victory in his 21st season as a head coach. He finished his 18th season as skipper of the Rams guiding Suffolk to a 29-14 record in the 2013 season. Suffolk finished the year as the number eight ranked team in New England in the final NEIBA poll.

In his time at Suffolk, McConnell has won 453 contests (.634 winning percentage), recording at least 20-wins in a year for 16 consecutive seasons. He has guided Suffolk to four NCAA Championship Tournament appearances, along with four Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) titles. Suffolk has appeared in the GNAC's Conference Championship game for seven consecutive years. He has been named the GNAC Coach of the Year on four occasions and has taken Suffolk to nine Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Tournaments, including a 2000 championship.

This season McConnell had three of his players earn All-Region honors by the NEIBA bringing the total to 29 honorees from the program in his tenure. Among those honored this year was senior Mike Cunningham (Syosset, N.Y.) who became the third player under McConnell to earn American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings All-American honors. Cunningham was also tabbed as the GNAC Player of the Year. Five Suffolk players have also gone on to sign professional contract throughout the years.

This past 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.

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.

McConnell began his coaching career in 1990 as an assistant at The College of Wooster, his alma mater, working with pitchers and catchers. In 1990, the Scots set a conference record in earned-run-average with 3.47 on the way to an NCAA Regional appearance. He then began his head coaching career at the University of Rochester where he won 55 games in three seasons.

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 (Rochester, New York).

McConnell also serves as Associate Director of Athletics at Suffolk University.