WRAL Sports Fan

Duke

McNally resigns as Duke baseball coach

May 30, 2012

Durham, N.C. — Duke University Vice President and Director of Athletics Kevin White announced the resignation of baseball head coach Sean McNally on Wednesday. McNally has served as the Blue Devils baseball coach since the 2006 season.

“I would like to thank Duke University and Duke Athletics for the amazing opportunity to have served as the head baseball coach at my alma mater for the last seven years,” said McNally. “I am very proud of all that we have accomplished on the field, in the classroom, and in the community during my tenure. The effort to become a consistent winning baseball program in Atlantic Coast Conference play has been exhausting and the results have been disappointing. I am looking forward to spending more time with my family and seeking out a new professional challenge going forward. My biggest thank you goes to all of my players for their hard work and incredible effort. I will miss the daily interactions with the players and participating in their personal and athletic development the most.”

In seven seasons at Duke, McNally compiled an overall record of 192-198-1 (.491), including a 63-145-1 (.301) mark in the ACC. The Blue Devils completed the 2012 season with a 21-34 ledger. Duke finished last in the ACC standings with a 9-21 conference mark and failed to make the eight-team ACC Tournament for the sixth time in seven years. It was the second straight losing season for McNally after four consecutive winning campaigns.

McNally led his alma mater to four straight winning seasons (2007-10) and his 192 career victories rank third on Duke’s all-time wins list.

McNally enjoyed his best season in 2009 when the Blue Devils went 35-24 overall and 15-15 in ACC play. Duke’s 15 wins in the ACC set a school record for the most conference victories in a season. The Blue Devils finished seventh in the ACC standings that year and advanced to the ACC Tournament for the first time since 2005. Duke came within one game of reaching the conference championship before falling 11-7 to eventual ACC Champion and College World Series participant Virginia.

Duke’s standout 2009 season followed a stellar 2008 campaign that saw the Blue Devils post a 37-18-1 record. The 37 wins rank as the fourth-most wins in school history. The 2008 squad posted a perfect 27-0 non-conference record along with 10 ACC wins and three ACC series victories.

McNally mentored 13 Major League Baseball draftees, four Freshman All-Americans and six All-ACC selections during his tenure, including the 2010 ACC Freshman of the Year in Marcus Stroman. McNally oversaw a program that placed an ACC-leading 33 players on the Academic All-ACC Baseball Team and more than 100 selections to the ACC Academic Honor Roll.

During his playing career at Duke, McNally was a four-year starter who served as team captain in his final two seasons. As a senior in 1994, he received All-ACC honors and set single-season school records for batting average (.408) and slugging percentage (.775) while finishing the season with 89 hits, 19 doubles, eight triples, 17 home runs and 71 RBI. He ranks among the top five in school history with 17 triples and 181 RBI in his career and among the top 10 in runs scored, batting average, hits, home runs, doubles and slugging percentage.

Following his nine-year stint as a professional player and his three-year run as a hitting coach and manager in the Cleveland Indians organization, McNally was named Duke baseball's 24th head coach on July 15, 2005.

Edwin Thompson, an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator the past two seasons, will serve as the interim coach until a permanent replacement is announced. A national search for Duke’s next head baseball coach will begin immediately.