If Dan McDonnell retires tomorrow he can always say that he never managed a season in which he wasn't named National Coach of the Year.
The first-year head coach who led Louisville to its first NCAA Tournament win, Regional championship, Super Regional championship, College World Series appearance and College World Series victory, was named the nation's best skipper by Rivals.com on Saturday.
McDonnell, who became the first head coach since 1980 to lead his team to Omaha in his first season, guided the Cards to a program-best 47-24 record and a No.6 national ranking. His first Cardinal team team featured a record nine All-Conference honorees and a record six players selected in the MLB Draft.
McDonnell was hired on June 27, 2006 by Sporting News' Athletic Director of the Year (and Card Chronicle's Man of the History of the World) Tom Jurich, just days after former head coach Lelo Prado bolted for South Florida.
Seriously, Tom Jurich can fix things in the Middle East. I mean, yeah, it might take him like six hours, but he's going to get the job done.