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LeClair wins inaugural C-USA special award
From staff and ECU Media Relations reports
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Keith LeClair congratulates a
player during East Carolina's run to an NCAA regional championship
in Wilson during the 2001 season. (AP Archives File Photo) |
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Keith LeClair was effective as East Carolina's head baseball coach in
ways that go far beyond the league championships and NCAA berths his teams
delivered, according to a select group of student athletes representing each
of Conference USA's schools.
LeClair, who despite a brief tenure was one of the most successful
coaches in the history of East Carolina athletics, was named Thursday the
first recipient of the league's Student Athlete Advisory Committee's (SAAC)
Coaches Choice Award.
The award, which will be presented annually, goes to the coach in C-USA
who best exemplifies a commitment to creating a positive academic and
athletic atmosphere while fostering the development and welfare of student
athletes.
The selection criteria for the award take into consideration
accomplishments in a number of areas both on and off the field, including:
- Interaction and participation with athletic and the campus community.
- Commitment to academics.
- Athletic achievements and improvements.
- Motivation, innovation and creativity.
Each of the conference's 15 SAAC representative nominates a coach from
the representative's school for the award and all representatives vote to
determine the winner.
LeClair constantly stressed the importance of academics to his teams,
arranging monthly meetings with players to discuss grade reports and the
value of attending class, as well as working with academic counselors to
further the players' academic development.
Several Pirate players were named to the Commissioner's Honor Roll,
including junior pitcher Sam Narron, who was honored this spring as a
Verizon Academic-All-American and as Conference USA`s scholar athlete of the
year for baseball.
A highly successful coach at East Carolina and Western Carolina, LeClair
stepped down after five seasons as the Pirates head coach on June 19, citing
health reasons. During the summer of 2001, the 35-year old LeClair was
diagnosed with "Lou Gehrig`s Disease."
With his health deteriorating, LeClair was unable to coach his team from
the dugout most of this past season. However, he did continue to attend
games — including the Pirates' run to the C-USA tournament title in Kinston
and their NCAA regional appearance in Clemson, SC — sitting in a
specially-designed van that contained a ventilator to aid in his breathing.
"His passion and love for the game of baseball and for East Carolina
University motivated us to the best that we could be and to never give up, "
said Pirate junior pitcher Neal Sears. "His faith and determination is what
kept us going."
In 1992, LeClair became Western Carolina's head coach at the age of 25.
In his first season, he led Western Carolina to the Southern Conference
regular season and tournament championships. The team, which finished with a
No. 17 national ranking, advanced to the NCAA Tournament and came within one
game of making the College World Series field, falling to Florida State in
the championship game of the South Regional.
His 1994 Catamounts posted a school-record 45 wins and earned the
program's first-ever at-large bid to the NCAA postseason. In his six seasons
at Western, he posted a record of 229-135-2, led WCU to four NCAA Tournament
berths, and was Southern Conference Coach of the Year in 1992, 1994, and
1997.
LeClair continued that success after arriving at East Carolina in 1997.
Despite serving as the Pirates' skipper for only five seasons, he became the
school's second-winningest baseball coach. His teams won 43 or more games in
each of the last four seasons, advancing to NCAA Tournament play each time,
and were ranked in the national Top 25 polls each of the last three seasons.
LeClair's 2002 club won the C-USA tournament title in its first season in
the league, sparking a continued resurgence in fans' interest in Pirate
baseball.
LeClair, who has been integral in the push for the building of a new,
state-of-the-art baseball stadium on the ECU campus, remains with the ECU
athletics department as a special assistant to Director of Athletics Mike
Hamrick.
Visit
ECUPirates.com.
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