Tom O'Connell, the first high school coach to serve as President of the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), recently retired after an illustrious 51-year career in baseball coaching. From 1969 to 2000, he led Pulaski High School in Milwaukee, where his teams achieved a record number of wins. Following his retirement from teaching, he spent 15 years at Catholic Central High School in Burlington, Wisconsin, where his teams won five state championships and reached the state quarterfinals for ten consecutive years. He later revitalized the baseball program at St. Francis High School.

O'Connell has been named National Coach of the Year three times and Midwest Coach of the Year four times. In 1995, he coached the USA Baseball North Team at the U.S. Olympic Festival, and he has been inducted into five Halls of Fame, including the ABCA Hall of Fame, where he was the 16th high school coach ever inducted.

A leader within the ABCA, O'Connell served as President in 2002 and now sits on its Board of Directors. He is also proud of his contributions to the ABCA Code of Ethics and his ongoing work in international baseball through ISG Baseball.

O'Connell has authored three books, including *Coaching Baseball: Techniques and Tactics*, and has been a frequent speaker at clinics across the U.S., Europe, and New Zealand. He has also scouted for several MLB teams and served as Lead Envoy Coach in Germany for Major League Baseball.

Beyond baseball, O'Connell has been actively involved with Milwaukee Irish Fest, where he has served on its Board of Directors. He and his wife Paula have three children and six grandchildren.

Brent Strom is a renowned Major League Baseball coach and former pitcher born on October 14, 1948. In June 2026, he was elected to the College Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2026 for his standout collegiate career at USC. He stepped down from his role as assistant pitching coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates prior to the 2026 season. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Playing Career

• Left-handed pitcher
• Drafted in the first round (3rd overall) of the 1950/1970 secondary draft by the New York Mets
• Played 5 MLB seasons for the San Diego Padres, Cleveland Indians, and New York Mets
• Career record: 22–39 with a 3.95 ERA and 278 strikeouts [1, 2, 5]

Coaching Highlights

• Widely respected as one of the game's premier pitching minds and developers [1]
• Served long, successful tenures as pitching coach for the Houston Astros (winning the 2017 World Series) and the Arizona Diamondbacks (reaching the 2023 World Series) [1]
• Named Baseball America's MLB Coach of the Year in 2018 []
• Joined the Pittsburgh Pirates as an assistant pitching coach for the 2025 season before stepping away to leave the door open for future opportunities [1, 2]