Arlington Native Pat Connaughton Puts Pro Baseball on Hold for NCAA Tournament Heroics
The stage — and even the sport — may change. Pat Connaughton does not.
Just as he did during his high school years at St. John’s Prep, the Arlington native has impressed coaches both as an athlete and a leader at the University of Notre Dame. As the Irish embarked on their deepest run in the 2015 NCAA Tournament since 1979, the 22-year-old senior stepped into the national spotlight.
“The one thing I remember is his toughness and his competitiveness,’’ says St. John’s Prep basketball coach John Dullea, an assistant coach during Connaughton’s time in Danvers. “Quite frankly, he was not going to let us lose.’’
A senior co-captain on the ND basketball team, Connaughton averaged 12.5 points per game, a team-high 7.3 rebounds, and shot 42% from behind the arc during the 2014-2015 season season. While those statistical contributions were integral to Notre Dame’s resurgent campaign, it was his leadership that coach Mike Brey hailed before the team faced Wichita State in the Sweet 16.
“I’ve not had anyone better,’’ Brey said of Connaughton’s leadership at press conference in Cleveland on Wednesday. “He’s one of the all-timers, maybe the best I’ve ever had.’’
With his the Irish battling March darlings Butler in the Round of 32, the 6’ 5’’ swingman blocked a potential game winning shot to force overtime as Notre Dame prevailed in the extra session 67-64.
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Thanks in large part to 16 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks from Connaughton, Notre Dame rolled into the Elite Eight with a 81-70 win over No. 7 Wichita State. It is the school’s first trip to a regional final since it was defeated by Magic Johnson’s Michigan State in the ‘79 tournament.
’’We always talk about not being satisfied, whether it’s with a win or whether it’s just a possession in general,’’ Connaughton told reporters after the win over the Shockers.
A two-sport star at Notre Dame as he was at St. John’s Prep, Connaughton has impressed on the mound with a mid-90s fastball. He was drafted in the fourth round of the 2014 MLB draft by the Baltimore Orioles and reportedly received a $428,100 signing bonus. After pitching in six games with the Aberdeen Ironbirds of the New York-Penn League during the summer, he returned to Notre Dame and the hardwood.
“If I had a sport that I liked more, I would probably be playing a single sport right now,’’ he told reporters on the eve of the Sweet 16. “So the way I look at it is I’ve been playing both of them my whole life, I don’t want to burn a bridge before I see what’s across that bridge, and I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t give up on one before I saw it through.’’
While the games may be different, Connaughton approaches both baseball and basketball with a singular focus.
“The line I always like to use is, ‘Winners win, no matter what it is,’’’ he said. “No matter how you affect the game, whether it’s shooting, whether it’s doing the little gritty things that no one likes to do, at the end of the day the most important thing is winning.’’
While his talent and production earned him places in the lineup, his coaches seem to value him for attributes that won’t ever turn up in a box score.
“I can’t stress enough what a great kid he is. It’s all genuine, there’s nothing phony about him. He’s the type of kid anyone would want for a son.’’
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