http://collegebaseball360.com/cb360-video-vault-pat-connaughton-notre-dame-two-sport-star/ http://collegebaseball360.com/cb360-video-vault-pat-connaughton-notre-dame-two-sport-star/#comments Tue, 24 Mar 2015 22:48:34 +0000 http://collegebaseball360.com/?p=37272

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Notre Dame’s Pat Connaughton is a rare breed of high-end collegiate two-sport athlete, with the unique combination of basketball and baseball excellence. Other two-sport greats of the past few decades have included football–baseball standouts such as Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders (more recently: the likes of former ND star Jeff Samardzija, plus current NFL quarterback Russell Winston and 2013 Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston). Another former Florida State quarterback, Charlie Ward, also starred in basketball and went on to play in the NBA.

Notre Dame’s Pat Connaughton blocks a shot by Butler late in the 2015 NCAA round-of-32 game. Photo by Geoff Burke (USA Today), courtesy Notre Dame.

– front-page photo (also at right) courtesy Notre Dame, taken by Geoff Burke of USA Today

The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Connaughton – who interestingly played AAU basketball with Cooper Ainge and cites Cooper’s father, Danny Ainge, as a notable basketball–baseball two-sport star – has given NBA scouts plenty to think about in terms of his pro prospects. A 2014 Major League Baseball third-round selection of the Baltimore Orioles, Connaughton likely would have been drafted even higher, if not for the two-sport factor. The mid-90s fireballer spent the 2014 summer pitching in the Orioles organization.

Earlier in the current college basketball season, Connaughton sat down with CB360’s Pete LaFleur for a video interview focusing on his two-sport career. It’s interesting to note that Samardzija’s older brother Sam serves as Connaughton’s agent, lending plenty of keen perspective as to the challenges, options, etc., facing an elite two-sport athlete.

In this video interview, Connaughton shares some intriguing insights about his own career and reveals what he considers to be the most impressive combination for a two-sport athlete. He also notes that the mental challenges that come with life as a pitcher – “literally, being out there on an island” – have helped him immensely during similar tense moments on the basketball court.

Pat Connaughton in action with Notre Dame baseball during the 2014 season (photo courtesy of Matt Cashore/Notre Dame).

For those of you college baseball fans who rarely follow college hoops (even during “March Madness”), you might want to check out some of Connaughton’s recent basketball exploits: tremendous three-point sharpshooting, “sneaky” effectiveness as a rebounder, great court vision and movement without the ball, and even some clutch defensive plays … none bigger than his last-second block that possibly saved Notre Dame’s season in the NCAA round-of-32 vs. Butler (pictured above).

CB360’s one-on-one video visit with Connaughton is posted below:

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Longhorns legend will have his No. 3 retired during the 2010 baseball season

Longhorn great and former big leaguer Keith Moreland (shown at a Cubs event)

Moreland, a three-time first-team All-America on the Forty Acres, led the Longhorns to a College World Series in each of his three seasons (1973-75) and was one of the key components of Texas’ 1975 College World Series championship team. He was primarily a third baseman at Texas.

The Carrollton, Texas, native ranks third in the Texas annals with a career .388 batting average. Moreland also ranks second in hits (274), seventh in RBI (183) and eighth in doubles (53). During his three-year career, the Horns amassed a 160-21 record, including a 58-8 mark in Southwest Conference action and three league titles.

As a freshman, Moreland hit .349 with 43 runs, 11 doubles, three triples, five home runs, 42 RBI and five stolen bases. Texas finished 50-7 overall, 15-3 in the SWC and tied for third at the CWS.

During his sophomore campaign, Moreland batted .399 with 69 runs, 25 doubles, three triples, six home runs, 72 RBI and 14 stolen bases. The Horns finished 54-8 overall, 20-4 in the SWC and placed fourth at the CWS.

As a junior, Moreland hit .410 with 57 runs, 17 doubles, two triples, four home runs, 69 RBI and 11 stolen bases and served as co-captain for the 56-6 national championship team.

He was named to the College World Series All-Decade Team for the 1970s and his 23 career hits at the College World Series ranks second all-time in the history of the tournament.

Moreland also played football on the Forty Acres, earning a gridiron letter in 1973.

Moreland went on to a 12-year Major League Baseball career as a catcher, third baseman and outfielder. He played four seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies and was a member of their 1980 World Series championship team. He spent six seasons with the Chicago Cubs and helped them win the 1984 National League Eastern Division championship, the first title of any kind for the Cubs since 1945. He had stops with the San Diego Padres, Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles.

His best season came in 1985 with the Cubs, when he ranked fourth in the National League in RBI (106) and seventh in batting average (.307). Moreland hit .279 with 1,279 hits, 214 doubles, 121 home runs and 674 RBI for his career. He batted .364 in the post-season, including two doubles, one home run and seven RBI in 14 games.

Since retiring from baseball in 1989, Moreland has remained in the athletics industry. Most notably, Longhorns fans may recognize Moreland as the color analyst for the radio broadcasts of Texas Football and Baseball games.

Moreland received his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from UT in 1991.

“One thing that was really special to me was to come back and get my degree from The University of Texas. That was something I wanted to do when I started school,” Moreland said. “To come back and get my degree was probably something as special as there is compared to anything I’ve been involved in.”

Moreland and Kirk Dressendorfer were both inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame last July, giving Texas a total of seven inductees since the Hall opened in 2006. Moreland was inducted in the Longhorn Hall of Honor in 1985.

(Release)