Baseball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- oconnerw@xavier.edu
- Phone:
- 513.745.2890
Billy O'Conner was named the seventh head coach of the Xavier baseball program in June of 2017 after a decorated playing career and six years on the staff as an assistant.
In eight seasons at Xavier, O'Conner has led the program overall record of 214-208 with a 91-57 mark in BIG EAST play.Â
In 2025, O'Conner led the Musketeers to a a fourth-consecutive 30-win season, finishing the campaign at 32-27 overall, playing the fifth hardest non-conference strength of schedule in NCAA DI, and posted a 14-7 record in BIG EAST play. Xavier earned the No. 3 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament, continuing the program's streak of earning a bid to the four-team league tournament in each year the event has been held since 2019.
During the 2025 season, O'Conner surpassed the 200-win mark for his head coaching career.
The 2024 Musketeers collected a third-straight 30-win season, finishing with a record of 30-27 overall and a 12-9 record in BIG EAST play, earning the No. 4 seed the BIG EAST Tournament. Xavier opened the league tournament with a win over No. 1 seed UConn.Â
Following the 2024 season, a pair of Musketeers, Jared Cushing and Connor Misch, earned All-BIG EAST. Â
In the 2024 MLB Draft, LHP Nolan Hughes was selected in the 16th round, making it at least one Xavier player selected in 10 of the last 11 years. During O'Conner's tenure, Xavier has had an MLB Draft pick in every year except 2020, when the draft was limited to five rounds.
In 2023, O'Conner led the Musketeers to a second-straight 30+ win season, with the Musketeers going 39-25 overall and 14-7 in BIG EAST play. Xavier finished runners up in the conference regular season standings, earning the No. 2 seed in the BIG EAST Championship.
At the conference tournament, the Musketeers took the league championship, opening up play with wins over No. 3 seed Seton Hall and No. 1 seed UConn to advance to Championship Sunday in the winner's bracket. Xavier took a 7-3 win over UConn in game two in the Championship series to win the league crown, marking Xavier's fourth BIG EAST Championship and fifth NCAA appearance.Â
Xavier was selected to the Nashville Regional in the 2023 NCAA Tournament as the No. 3 seed, topping No. 4 seed Eastern Illinois and No. 1 seed Vanderbilt in the elimination bracket to make the program's third appearance in a Regional Final.Â
In 2022, Xavier went 33-27 overall and 13-8 in BIG EAST play earning the No. 4 seed in the 2022 BIG EAST Baseball Tournament where the Musketeers finished runners-up. Xavier's 33 wins were the most since Xavier's 34-win campaign in 2017 and the third most in a single season in program history.Â
The 2022 Musketeers also set a collection of new records, crushing the previous team home run record by over 30, with 100 for the 2022 season. The Musketeers also set a new program high with 450 runs scored. Defensively, the 2022 Musketeers' 482 strikeouts are a new program best.Â
In 2021, Xavier earned the No. 4 seed to the BIG EAST Tournament, advancing to the championship series for a second-straight time and finishing runners-up after forcing a deciding game seven.
The Musketeers finished an abbreviated 2020 season at 5-10, finishing in the top 25 of the RPI after playing one of the five toughest strengths of schedule in the nation prior to the season being canceled in March.
In 2019, the Musketeers finished second in BIG EAST after going 12-4 in conference play, advancing to the championship series of the BIG EAST Tournament. Xavier finished the season at 27-31 overall.
During the 2018 season, XU went 20-35 overall with a 7-11 record in league play. His first career win came on Feb. 20, 2018 in a 3-2 win at No. 8 Kentucky in 10 innings. Despite a number of injuries, the Musketeers broke their program record with 68 homers and were again one of the top offenses in the BIG EAST during the 2018 season.Â
During his time on the staff, XU has posted three 30-win seasons, made three appearances in the NCAA Tournament and had eight players selected in the MLB First Year Player Draft. That number includes back-to-back years with multiple picks and a program record four selections in the 2017 draft.
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O'Conner joined Xavier as an assistant for the 2014 season, serving in that role through the 2017 season, helping the Musketeers to three BIG EAST Championships in four years and back-to-back NCAA Tournament Regional Finals.
In 2017, Xavier went 34-27 overall and 10-6 in BIG EAST play, earning the No. 3 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament. The Musketeers won three straight in the conference championship to earn a second-straight NCAA tournament berth. Competing in the Louisville Regional, Xavier advanced to its second-straight NCAA Tournament Regional Final. Following the season, four Musketeers were drafted in the MLB First Year Players Draft.
In 2016, The Musketeers posted a 32-30 overall record and 14-4 record in BIG EAST play to claim the program's first BIG EAST regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament. Xavier won three straight in the tournament championship, including back-to-back wins over No. 2 seed Creighton, to earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. In the NCAA Tournament Vanderbilt Regional, Xavier picked up wins over the No. 1 seed Vanderbilt and No. 3 Washington to earn the program's first trip to an NCAA Regional Final. Following the 2016 season, two Musketeers, Dan Rizzie and Andre Jernigan, were selected in the MLB First Year Players Draft.
During O'Conner's first two seasons with Xavier, the Musketeers collected 45 wins, including a 30-win campaign in 2014, and had a player selected in the MLB First Year Players Draft following each season. In Xavier's 2014 season, the Musketeers earned a No. 4 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament, winning 3-of-4 in the conference tournament to claim the conference title and earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. In the program's second-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament, Xavier competed in the Nashville Regional, picking up a 6-4 win over Clemson, the program's second-ever NCAA Tournament win.
Prior to his role as an assistant at Xavier, O'Conner spent one year as an assistant at Northern Kentucky and two years in the volunteer assistant role at Xavier.
O'Conner also managed the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League's Cincinnati Steam for three summers, leading the team to a first-place finish in 2012. O'Conner was named the 2012 Joe Carbone Manager of the Year for his efforts.
After beginning his collegiate career at Indiana University, O'Conner played his final two seasons at Xavier. He helped the Musketeers advance to their first NCAA Division I Tournament after capturing the 2009 Atlantic 10 Conference tournament championship. O'Conner was named the Most Outstanding Player of the A-10 Tournament.
As a senior captain, O'Conner batted .333 with two home runs and 39 RBIs and helped the 2009 team win 39 games, the highest single-season win total in program history. O'Conner was also a member of Xavier's 2008 squad that won the A-10 regular season crown.
At Xavier, O'Conner proved to be a standout student-athlete both on and off the field. Prior to his stint at XU, O'Conner was a key member of the Indiana University baseball team where he earned a Big Ten Conference Scholar-Athlete award.
O'Conner played two seasons at the professional level after graduating from Xavier. He spent one year as a member of the Texas Rangers organization, playing for the AZL Rangers and Spokane Indians, before playing one season for the Frontier League's Washington Wild Things.
Outside of collegiate baseball, O'Conner has been active with the Cincinnati Reds Community Fund, the Vs. Cancer Foundation, and has been active in numerous community service projects, including Read Across America.
O'Conner is a Cincinnati, Ohio native, and earned his finance degree from Xavier in 2009. O'Conner and his wife Elizabeth have two daughters, Harper and Halle.
| Year | Record | BIG EAST Record |
| 2025 | 32-27 (.542) | 14-7 (.667) |
| 2024 | 30-27 (.526) | 12-9 (.571) |
| 2023 | 39-25 (.609) | 14-7 (.667) |
| 2022 | 33-27 (.550) | 13-8 (.619) |
| 2021 | 28-26 (.519) | 15-11 (.577) |
| 2020 | 5-10 (.333) | N/A |
| 2019 | 27-31 (.466) | 12-4 (.750) |
| 2018 | 20-35 (.364) | 7-11 (.389) |
| Total | 214-208 (.507) | 91-57 (.615) |
