Kevin O'Sullivan Position: Associate Head Coach Birthdate: 12/27/1968 Season: 9th at Clemson

Kevin O'Sullivan is in his ninth season as the Tigers' pitching coach. He was also promoted to the position of associate head coach in 2002. O'Sullivan handles the duty of recruiting coordinator as well. He has been a part of eight NCAA Tourney teams and three College World Series squads while in Tigertown. O'Sullivan, who has made two instructional pitching videos, has also seen 28 of his Tiger pitchers sign professional contracts in his eight years.

In his first season at Clemson, "Sully" fine-tuned Mike Paradis from having control problems his first two seasons to a first-round pick in 1999. He helped Ryan Mottl go 10-4 in 2000 and total 33 career wins, the third-most in school history. Those totals helped Mottl become a sixth-round pick by the Cincinnati Reds.

Under his guidance in 2001, Clemson had a 2.27 strikeout-to-walk ratio, fourth-best in school history. One of his pitchers, Steve Reba, led the ACC in wins in 2001 with a 12-3 record. Clemson has been among the national leaders in team ERA each of the last seven years, and his ability to work with and develop young pitchers has been praised by Head Coach Jack Leggett.

He followed up 2001 with a 2002 season that saw Reba and Matt Henrie shine. They had 13 wins apiece and both earned All-America honors. O'Sullivan helped mold Reba and Henrie into a formidable one-two punch that led the Tigers to a third-place national finish. Henrie was drafted in the seventh round after going undrafted out of high school.

The 2002 team also featured B.J. LaMura, a hard-throwing righthander who was instrumental in Clemson's late-season surge. LaMura was a fifth-round draft pick, giving Clemson five pitchers from the 2002 squad who signed Major League contracts. And that total does not include Jarrod Schmidt, who had an 18-3 career record at Clemson and signed as well. The 2002 team also set an ACC record for saves (26) in a season.

The 2003 team did not have any stars, but all five Tigers with at least 36.0 innings pitched had an ERA between 3.19 and 4.30.

The 2004 squad featured All-ACC reliever Patrick Hogan, who became just the third Tiger in history to record double-digits in saves. He coached Tyler Lumsden, who was a first-round draft pick in 2004, as well. He also helped convert Collin Mahoney from a catcher to a hard-throwing reliever. Mahoney, who had not pitched since high school, saw considerable action in 2004 and threw in the high 90s. He was a fourth-round draft pick by the Detroit Tigers.

The 2005 Tiger pitching staff came into its own in the season's late stages. The Tigers had a 3.94 ERA, Clemson's best mark in nine years. Josh Cribb and Stephen Faris were stoppers on the mound. Cribb pitched two shutouts and had a 97-24 strikeout-to-walk ratio, while Faris had a team-best 2.60 ERA to earn Second-Team All-ACC honors.

His 2006 staff was sixth in the nation in ERA (3.26) and featured the weekend rotation of Faris, Cribb, and Jason Berken, who combined for a 27-6 record and 2.85 ERA. The trio was instrumental in leading the Tigers to the ACC Championship, a trip to Omaha, and a #5 final ranking in all three polls. Daniel Moskos also had 10 saves and became an effective closer under the direction of O'Sullivan.

O'Sullivan has also had numerous top-25 recruiting rankings, including the 2005 incoming class that was ranked #12 by Collegiate Baseball. In that class were four of the top-50 freshmen in the country, including David Kopp (#9), Stan Widmann (#14), Taylor Harbin (#17), and Brad Chalk (#34). Clemson was the only school in the nation to have four freshmen in the top 50. His 2007 incoming class was ranked #4 by Baseball America as well.

He spent the 1998 season with the Twins' Rookie League team in Fort Myers, FL that reached the playoffs for the first time. He was also responsible for the development of the pitchers.

The native of Jupiter, FL was the pitching coach at Virginia in 1996 and 1997. He coached All-America and first-round draft pick Seth Greisenger. The 1996 Cavaliers (44-21) won their first-ever ACC Tournament title. He coached a total of three pitchers in the two years who were drafted in the top-five rounds, including a first, second, and fifth-round pick to go along with a 14th-rounder in 1997. O'Sullivan, who helped in the recruitment of student-athletes at Virginia, coached players picked in the third and 44th rounds in 1997 as well.

His talents were noticed in the summer of 1996 and 1997 when he coached in the Valley League and the Cape Cod League, respectively. O'Sullivan coached the Bourne Braves to the second-best overall record in the Cape while garnering manager-of-the-year honors. He also coached Major League star lefthander Mark Mulder in the summer of 1997. On that staff alone, eight pitchers were drafted.

In 1996, while coaching Waynesboro of the Valley League, he led his team to the pennant and was manager-of-the-year, meaning he earned that honor both years as a head coach in the summer leagues. He also coached 14 players in the two summers who were drafted, including two first-rounders. O'Sullivan coached at Florida Atlantic in the 1994 and 1995 seasons. He was responsible for the hitters, catchers, infielders, and outfielders. From 1992-93, he was an assistant at Florida Community College as the hitting and catching instructor.

In two years at Virginia and eight at Clemson, he has coached 33 pitchers who have been drafted or signed pro contracts. This list includes three first-rounders, nine top-five-rounders, 17 top-10-rounders, and six All-Americans. It is no wonder Leggett chose him to maintain Clemson's tradition of producing All-America pitchers.

He graduated (with honors) from Virginia with a bachelor's degree in education/sports medicine in 1991. He was a member of Virginia's Captain Council and Student-Athlete Mentor Program. He earned a master's degree in exercise science & wellness from Florida Atlantic.

O'Sullivan starred at Virginia as a catcher in 1990 and 1991, where he hit a combined .351. He was a First-Team All-ACC and All-ACC Tourney pick both years. He made the ACC Academic Honor Roll in 1990 as well. He also played for Florida Community College in 1988 and 1989. O'Sullivan was born December 27, 1968 in Goshen, NY.

Full Name: Kevin Michael O'Sullivan
Born: December 27, 1968 in Goshen, NY
Education: Bachelor of science in education/sports medicine at Virginia (1991); master of science in exercise science & wellness at Florida Atlantic (1995)
Playing Experience: Two-year letterman at Florida Community College (1988,89); two-year letterman at Virginia (1990,91)
Coaching Experience: Assistant coach at Florida Community College (1992,93); assistant coach at Florida Atlantic (1994,95); assistant coach at Virginia (1996,97); assistant coach at Fort Myers, FL (Twins, R) (1998); assistant coach at Clemson (1999-01); assistant head coach at Clemson (2002); associate head coach at Clemson (2003-06)

"I think Kevin is the top recruiting coordinator in the country, and certainly the best pitching coach in the country. He is 100-percent devoted to his job. His work ethic is off the charts. He is committed to taking Clemson back to the College World Series every year and playing for a national championship. He's very loyal, and we're glad he's on our team. The program would not be the same without him."