Florida Atlantic Owls baseball


The Florida Atlantic Owls are the college baseball team of Florida Atlantic University which plays its home games at FAU Baseball Stadium. The Owls' head coach is John McCormack.
Fielding its first team in 1981, the Florida Atlantic University baseball team has experienced frequent success, shared respect from other baseball teams nationwide and the building of a power in NCAA baseball.
As of the 2023 season, the Owls have had 24 consecutive winning seasons. Additionally, the Owls have had only four losing seasons in 42 years of competition.
WWW fausports.com

Overview and history

Florida Atlantic University's baseball program began in 1981 and has seen success, growth and change in its 41 seasons of competition. Among the changes, the most noticeable to fans would be the change of the team name in 2005. University President Frank T. Brogan led the charge for the university to create a unified, single mark for FAU's athletic programs. The student-body decided "Owls" should be the athletic logo and in 2005, the baseball team lost its previous identity of "Blue Wave." Over the 30 years of competition, FAU baseball has jumped from the NAIA, to NCAA Division II, to NCAA Division I competition, and has reached success on all levels.

Steve Traylor era: The beginning

Under its first coach and first year of competition, FAU won its inaugural game, 12–8, against St. Thomas University on February 23, 1981. Steve Traylor coached FAU from 1981–1987 and oversaw the building of a program from scratch. After only three years of existence, FAU jumped from the NAIA level to the NCAA Division II level. If there was any doubts about this young program belonging on that level, its very first season would prove any doubters wrong. The Blue Wave opened the 1984 season with a win against in-state super-power [University of Florida|University of 2003 Florida Gators baseball team|Florida Gators], 5–4. FAU continued to win its first five games of the season, including another major upset, this time on the road at another in-state super-power, defeating University of Miami Hurricanes, 11–10. The Blue Wave finished the 1984 season with a record of 40–15, ranked 8th in the nation in the final NCAA Division II poll.

Kevin Cooney era: Division I and national success

During the offseason between 1987 and 1988, Steve Traylor left Florida Atlantic to become the head coach at Duke University. FAU hired Kevin Cooney, head coach of Montclair State University in New Jersey. Since the hiring, FAU has won 61% of their games and transformed itself from a local power in South Florida to a national baseball program on the Division I level. Coach Cooney arrived at FAU in 1988 and began his 20th season as head coach of the Owls on opening night of the 2007 season. Given the success and unprecedented heights that Cooney has taken FAU baseball, "Florida Atlantic" and "Kevin Cooney" have become synonymous with one another. Entering the 2007 season, Cooney has won 680 games and 820.
In his 19+ seasons in Boca Raton, Cooney has established a powerhouse program at a university that continues to grow. Cooney has led the charge for FAU baseball to enjoy such successes as, 67 athletes turning professional. For these accolades and so much more, Cooney was inducted into the Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.
On March 15, 2006, against Columbia University, Cooney reached a personal milestone, coaching a team to his 800th career victory.
On Thursday, April 24, 2008, Cooney announced that the 2008 season would be his last season as head coach of the Owls. Subsequently, on May 24, exactly a month after this announcement, Cooney coached his last game as FAU head coach when the Owls lost to Western Kentucky in the play-in championship game of the Sun Belt Conference championship Tournament.

All-time consecutive wins record

During the improbable 1999 season, when FAU finished with a school-best record of 54–9, Cooney led his team to an NCAA all-time record for consecutive wins. Starting February 19, in a 7–4 win over Bethune-Cookman College, the Blue Wave continued on to 34 consecutive wins. The streak lasted all the way to April 17, when Jacksonville University topped FAU, 2–1. The streak ended two days short of lasting two complete calendar months.

March to 800

Cooney's milestone wins:
  • 1st: March 14, 1984
  • 100th: May 6, 1986
  • 200th: April 28, 1989
  • 300th: March 15, 1993
  • 400th: March 18, 1996
  • 500th: March 13, 1999
  • 600th: March 31, 2001
  • 700th: May 9, 2003
  • 800th: March 15, 2006

John McCormack era: Sooner than five years

On July 1, 2008, Florida Atlantic named 18-year Assistant Coach, John McCormack, as Cooney's successor. McCormack served as Cooney's top assistant, associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for the 18 seasons before being elevated as head coach. With the foundation laid by Cooney, McCormack leads the Owls under intense pressure and high expectations. In 2019, John McCormack was inducted into the FAU Athletics Hall of Fame.

Individual records and honors

No-hitters

  • Tom Clark, 1982
  • Jim Hanrahan, 1984
  • Luis Merino, 1985
  • Jim Drancsak, 1986
  • John Sammon, 1994
  • Mickey Storey, 2006

FAU Baseball Hall of Fame

In 2006, Florida Atlantic University inducted the first class to its new FAU Baseball Hall of Fame.
NameClass
Keith Foley2006
Scott Hay2006
Todd Moser2006
Jack Penrod2006
Nick Presto2006
Mike Ryan2006
Warren "Doc" Schneider2006
Steve Traylor2006
Kevin Connacher 2007
Doug Gonring 2007
Tommy Murphy 2007
Pat Murphy 2007
Jorge Vega 2007

All-Americans

17 players from FAU baseball have won recognition as "All-American": Keith Foley, Mike Ryan, Scott Hay, Jack Penrod, Todd Moser, Dan Jackson, Dickie Hart, Randy Beam, Jeff Fiorentino, Mickey Storey, Robbie Widlansky, Mike McKenna, Andy Mee, Hugh Adams, Brendon Sanger, Rickey Santiago, C.J. Chatham.

Freshmen All-Americans

8 players from FAU baseball have won recognition as "Freshmen All-American": Kevin Connacher, Rusty Brown, Chris Pillsbury, Jeff Fiorentino, Derek Hutton, Tim Mascia, Mickey Storey, Stephen Kerr.

2005 Mickey Storey

In 2005, as a freshman pitcher for FAU, Mickey Storey was named Collegiate Baseball's National Freshman Pitcher of the Year. Storey's stat line for his freshman season was one of the best posted by a pitcher in the nation.
YearG/GSW-LPct.ERAIPHRERBBSO
200523/910–1.9011.7095.17825182382

Storey's 1.70 ERA is a school-record for a single-season, and ranked fifth in the nation for the 2005 season among pitchers on the Division I level. His performance during the 2005 season awarded him an invitation to try out for the USA Baseball National Team.
Storey also took home numerous other awards that season, including All-American honors, Freshman All-American honors, All-Conference honors, and All-Conference Freshman honors.

2007 Robbie Widlansky

In 2007 Robbie Widlansky won the Sun Belt Conference batting title his senior season, and Sun Belt Player of the Year, NCAA All-American honors, and First-Team All-Conference honors.

Head coaches

TenureCoachYearsRecordPct.
1981–1987Steve Traylor7268–107–2.714
1988–2008Kevin Cooney21748–480–5.607
2009-pres.John McCormack17577–372–2
Totals3 coaches45 seasons1593-959-9

Year by year records

YearRecordPct.CoachPostseasonConference
198115–16–0.484Steve Traylor-NAIA
198242–14–0.750Steve Traylor-NAIA
198349–16–0.754Steve TraylorNAIA District 25 ChampionsNAIA
198440–15–0.727Steve Traylor-NAIA
198544–15–0.746Steve TraylorNCAA South RegionalD-II Independent
198644–10–0.815Steve Traylor-D-II Independent
198734–21–2.614Steve Traylor-D-II Independent
198832–19–2.623Kevin Cooney-D-II Independent
198930–23–2.564Kevin Cooney-D-II Independent
199028–25–0.528Kevin Cooney-D-II Independent
199124–31–0.436Kevin Cooney-D-II Independent
199227–27–0.500Kevin Cooney-D-II Independent
199341–17–0.707Kevin CooneyNCAA South RegionalD-II Independent
199431–23–0.574Kevin Cooney-Atlantic Sun
199527–31–0.466Kevin Cooney-Atlantic Sun
199639–23–0.629Kevin Cooney-Atlantic Sun
199732–24–0.571Kevin Cooney-Atlantic Sun
199829–30–0.492Kevin Cooney-Atlantic Sun
199954–9–0.857Kevin CooneyAtlantic Sun Conference Champions
NCAA Regional		Atlantic Sun
200043–19–0.694Kevin CooneyNCAA RegionalAtlantic Sun
200136–24–0.600Kevin Cooney-Atlantic Sun
200246–21–0.687Kevin CooneyNCAA Super RegionalAtlantic Sun
200347–16–0.746Kevin CooneyAtlantic Sun Conference Champions
NCAA Regional		Atlantic Sun
200447–17–0.734Kevin CooneyAtlantic Sun Tournament champions
NCAA Regional		Atlantic Sun
200537–24–0.607Kevin CooneyNCAA RegionalAtlantic Sun
200630–28–0.517Kevin Cooney-Atlantic Sun
200736–22–0.621Kevin Cooney-Sun Belt
200832–27–1.533Kevin Cooney-Sun Belt
200930–26–0.535John McCormack-Sun Belt
201037–24–0.607John McCormackSun Belt Conference Champions
NCAA Regional		Sun Belt
201132–25–0.561John McCormack-Sun Belt
201232–22–0.593John McCormackSun Belt Conference ChampionsSun Belt
201342-22-0.656John McCormackSun Belt Tournament champions
NCAA Regional		Sun Belt
201428-25.528John McCormack-Conference USA
201542-19.689John McCormackNCAA RegionalConference USA
201639-19.672John McCormackConference USA Regular season Champions
NCAA Regional		Conference USA
201735-21-1.612John McCormack-Conference USA
201843-19-1.690John McCormackNCAA RegionalConference USA
201941-21.661John McCormackConference USA Regular season Champions
NCAA Regional		Conference USA
202010-6.625John McCormackSeason Cancelled Due to Covid-19Conference USA
202132-25.561John McCormack-Conference USA
202235-23.603John McCormack-Conference USA
202334-25.576John McCormack-Conference USA
202428-29.491John McCormack-The American
202537-21.638John McCormack-The American
Total1552-938-9.6213 coaches

Postseason records

Florida Atlantic is 22-25 all-time in NCAA Division I postseason history.
1999Coral Gables Regional: Lost to, defeated and Florida International, eliminated by Miami (FL) in the Regional Finals
2000Coral Gables Regional: Won over, lost to, eliminated by Florida International
2002Tuscaloosa Regional: Won over, defeated, defeated in the Regional Finals
Atlanta Super Regional: Lost to
2003Coral Gables Regional: Won over Florida, lost to Miami (FL), eliminated by Florida
2004Coral Gables Regional: Lost to, defeated and North Carolina State, eliminated by Miami (FL) in the Regional Finals
2005Coral Gables Regional: Lost to [2005 2005 Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team|Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team|Mississippi State], defeated VCU, eliminated by Mississippi State
2010Gainesville Regional: Lost to, defeated and Oregon State, eliminated by Florida in the Regional Finals
2013Chapel Hill Regional: Lost to, defeated and Towson, eliminated by [2013 2013 North Carolina Tar Heels baseball team|North Carolina Tar Heels baseball team|North Carolina] in the Regional Finals
2015Gainesville Regional: Lost to South Florida, defeated Florida A&M and South Florida, eliminated by Florida in the Regional Finals
2016Coral Gables Regional: Lost to, defeated, eliminated by Long Beach State
2018Gainesville Regional: Lost to, defeated and Jacksonville, eliminated by Florida in the Regional Finals
2019Athens Regional: Lost to Florida State, defeated, eliminated by Georgia

Professional Owls

Owls in the majors

Florida Atlantic Owls to reach Major League Baseball: