OMAHA, Neb. — On the morning of the program’s first College World Series game in 20 years, head coach Link Jarrett was named the Mike Martin National Coach of the Year by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. This is the second-straight season Jarrett has won a national coach of the year award after being named D1Baseball’s Coach of the Year in 2021.
Jarrett led the Irish back to Omaha for the first time since 2002 and they had to do it all on the road. They won the Statesboro Regional that had three ranked teams in it and it was the first time in program history that the Irish reached the Super Regionals in back-to-back seasons. Next, the Irish knocked off the No. 1 overall seed Tennessee in Knoxville. The Irish are the only team this season to win a series in Knoxville and they are the first program ever to have four wins over the No. 1 national seed in the Super Regional round history.
The Irish are one of two teams in Omaha that had to win their regional and super regional on the road. With the clinching win over Tennessee, the Irish eclipsed the 40-win plateau for the first time since 2006. Notre Dame is also just one of three schools to sweep the Regional Round in consecutive seasons.
The Irish made history earlier this season when they swept No. 5 Florida State in Tallahassee back in April. It was the first time in program history that the Irish swept a series from a Top-5 team on the road. The Irish finished a half a game back of winning their second ACC division title this season but got a top-four seed for the ACC Championship for the second-straight year. The Irish went 2-0 in pool play to advance to the ACC semifinals for the first time in program history.
The Irish have been a model of consistency since Jarrett arrived in 2020. Over the past three seasons the Irish are 85-30, good for a .739 winning percentage. That winning percentage ranks second in the entire NCAA over that span, only trailing Tennessee.
Jarrett and the Irish will take the field at Charles Schwab Field later today for their first game of the College World Series. The Irish are set to take on the No. 9 overall seed Texas Longhorns at 7 p.m. ET with a national broadcast on ESPN.
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