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Asst. Coach Sean Kenny
Asst. Coach/Pitching 4th Season at UGA (Eastern Michigan ’97)
#40
Since being named the pitching coach on Scott Stricklin’s University of Georgia staff on June 10, 2017, Sean Kenny has made a dramatic impact with the program. The 48-year-old begins his fourth year with the Bulldogs. Georgia was poised to have another memorable season in 2020 when the campaign ended after 18 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bulldogs finished the year ranked as high as No. 2 nationally with a 14-4 record. The pitching staff had a 2.52 ERA and held opponents to a .206 batting average. The team featured a pair of power arms in junior Emerson Hancock, who went sixth overall in the first round of the 2020 MLB Draft to Seattle, and Cole Wilcox, who went in the third round to San Diego. The duo combined to sign for $9 million. The top rnewcomers were Jonathan Cannon and Will Childers, and they earned Freshman All-America honors. In 2019, the Bulldogs posted one of their best regular seasons in school history, going 42-14 including a school record 21-9 in the Southeastern Conference. Then, Georgia advanced to the semifinals of the SEC Tournament and played host to another NCAA Regional as a top eight National Seed. This was the first time in school history that Georgia served as an NCAA host site as a National Seed in back-to-back seasons. Also, it was only the third time for the program to make back-to-back NCAA Regionals. Georgia finished the 2019 season with a 46-17 record, and the win total was the fourth most in school history while the 42 victories during the regular season was the second most. The pitching staff set school records for strikeouts in a season with 601 and an opponent’s batting average of .200 that was the lowest in the Southeastern Conference. Also, the squad’s 3.24 ERA was the second best in school history, trailing only the 1958 team mark of 2.97. Additionally, the team tallied 19 saves and allowed just 235 runs, both marks that ranked second best in school history. Junior third baseman/closer Aaron Schunk, a second round draft pick of the Colorado Rockies, was named the 2019 John Olerud Award recipient as the nation’s top two-way player by the College Baseball Foundation. Schunk and pitcher Emerson Hancock were consensus All-America selections to highlight the Bulldog individual honors. A total of eight Bulldogs were selected in the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft with six opting to turn professional and another signing a free agent contract. Pitcher Tony Locey, a third round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals, went 11-2 to become Georgia’s first 11-game winner since 1990. Pitcher Tim Elliott, a fourth round pick of the Seattle Mariners, made the Academic All-District team from Google Cloud/CoSIDA while pitcher Zac Kristofak was taken in the 14th round by the Los Angeles Angels. Also of note, Hancock and freshman pitcher Cole Wilcox garnered USA Collegiate National Team summer invitations. In his first year with the Bulldogs in 2018, Kenny’s influence with the pitching staff helped Georgia post its finest season in a decade. Georgia went 39-21 overall, 18-12 in the SEC, earned a No. 8 National Seed for the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Athens Regional Final. Georgia’s team ERA of 3.97 was 1.05 runs lower compared to the 2017 squad, and the staff established a school record by holding opponents to a .236 batting average while tallying 532 strikeouts. Also, the Bulldogs’ 18 saves ranked third best in school history. The team leader in wins, junior Kevin Smith (8-1, 3.69 ERA), signed as a seventh round draft pick of the New York Mets. Schunk garnered Third Team All-America honors from the NCBWA as a utility player. He was one of three finalists for the John Olerud Award. Also, pitcher/outfielder C.J. Smith was named a Second Team Freshman All-American by the NCBWA. A native of Ann Arbor, Mich., Kenny came to Georgia after five seasons at the University of Michigan where he served under the direction of Erik Bakich. The Wolverines finished the 2017 season with a 42-17 mark and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships. The 2017 pitching staff led the Big Ten with a 3.46 Earned Run Average (ERA) and 562 strikeouts while limiting opponents to a .231 batting average. Pitchers Oliver Jaskie and Jackson Lamb were named to the All-Big-Ten first team while freshman reliever Tommy Henry made the conference All-Freshmen team.
The Sean Kenny File
Born: Aug. 3, 1972 in Ann Arbor, Mich. High School: Pioneer High School, Ann Arbor, Mich. College: Eastern Michigan, B.A. in Literature, 1997; Saint Mary’s College, Master of Arts in Physical Education, 2000 Family: Wife: Marissa; Children: Ayden (20)
Playing Career:
Eastern Michigan, 1991-93, 1992 All-MAC Pitcher 17th Round Draft Pick, New York Mets, 1993 Played three seasons in the Mets organization from 1993-95
Coaching Career:
Volunteer Assistant, Saint Mary’s College, 1997 Asst. Coach/Pitching Coach, Laney Community College (Oakland, Calif.), 1998 Asst. Coach/Pitching Coach/Recruiting Coordinator, University of San Diego, 1999-2003 Asst. Coach/Pitching Coach/Recruiting Coordinator, Pepperdine University, 2004-2009 Asst. Coach/Pitching Coach, Maryland, 2010-2012 Asst. Coach/Pitching Coach, Michigan, 2013-2017 Asst. Coach/Pitching Coach, Georgia, June 2017-present
In 2016, Michigan’s pitching staff ranked first in the Big Ten in fewest hits allowed, second in strikeouts and featured three pitchers selected in the MLB Draft (Brett Adcock, 4th Round, Houston, Evan Hill, 24th Round, Detroit, and Jackson Lamb, 35th Round, St. Louis). The Wolverines ended the year 36-21 with a 3.86 team ERA. Kenny came to Michigan after spending three seasons with Bakich at the University of Maryland where he worked as the Terrapins’ pitching coach. Overall, the Terrapins had eight players drafted including six pitchers during that three-year stretch. Prior to going to Maryland, Kenny spent six seasons as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Pepperdine under Steve Rodriguez. He helped guide the Waves to five NCAA Regional appearances and three West Coast Conference (WCC) titles. Before heading to Pepperdine, Kenny worked at the University of San Diego where he served as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator on Rich Hill’s staff from 1999-2003. He helped USD to West Coast Conference titles in 2002 and 2003 and recruited the nation’s 22nd-best class for 2004. One of his standout players was 2002 WCC Pitcher of the Year and third team All-American Ricky Barrett. A total of 12 Toreros including three pitchers were selected in the MLB draft during his stint at San Diego. Kenny began his coaching career as a volunteer assistant at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, Calif., in 1997. He landed his first full-time coaching position at Laney Community College in Oakland, Calif., where he served as pitching coach in 1998. Kenny is a graduate of Eastern Michigan where he earned All-Mid-American Conference honors as a pitcher for the Eagles. He was a 17th round selection of the New York Mets in the 1993 MLB draft and played three seasons of professional baseball. He earned a bachelor’s degree in literature from EMU in the fall of 1997 and a master’s in physical education from Saint Mary’s in 2000. Kenny and his wife Marissa have one son, Ayden (20).
