Veteran coach Tim Donnelly joined the Southeastern Louisiana staff for the 2019 season. He serves as the Lions’ hitting coach and recruiting coordinator.
Donnelly arrived in Hammond after spending the 2017-18 seasons as both the hitting coach and recruiting coordinator at Middle Tennessee State. Prior to that, he spent 10 seasons as an assistant at Marshall - serving the last five as both recruiting coordinator and hitting coach.
He was named the Conference USA Assistant Coach of the Year in 2016, his final season with the Thundering Herd. Donnelly had the nation’s No. 34-ranked signing class in 2011, following up with the No. 50-ranked class in 2012.
During his time at Marshall, 25 players were either drafted or signed as free agents with an MLB franchise, including the highest pick in school history (Aaron Blair - 36th overall by the Arizona Diamondbacks).
Blair, Emmanuel Burris (33rd overall by the San Francisco Giants, 2006), Dan Straily and Kevin Shackelford are all Donnelly products who have reached the Major League level.
After spending the 2005 season as an assistant coach at Malone College in Canton, Ohio, Donnelly joined the staff at Kent State and helped guide the Golden Flashes to a conference title in 2006.
His father, Rich Donnelly, was an MLB coach for more than 30 years, most recently serving as third base coach with the Seattle Mariners (2014-15). He worked with various MLB teams including the Texas Rangers (1980, 83-85), Pittsburgh Pirates (1986-1996), Florida Marlins (1997-1998), Colorado Rockies (1999-2002), Milwaukee Brewers (2003-2005), and the Los Angeles Dodgers (2006-2007). Rich Donnelly also served as the bullpen coach for USA Baseball, the gold-medal winners in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.
Donnelly earned a bachelor's degree in sports fitness and leisure studies in 2004 from Hardin Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, lettering two seasons for the baseball team under head coach Steve Coleman. He received his associate's degree in arts and science from Northeast Texas Community College in 2001 and lettered in baseball two seasons for head coach Chad Tidwell.
He is married to the former Kellie Schmitt. A three-time former C-USA Player of the Year, she lettered in tennis at Marshall University from 2005-2009. Tim and Kellie are the parents of son, Drew and daughter, Addison.
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Middle Tennessee State: Donnelly was hired as Middle Tennessee’s recruiting coordinator and hitting coach, as well as additional on-field duties in July of 2016 ... also worked defensively with Blue Raider catchers and coached third base ... in 2017, the Blue Raiders improved in nearly every offensive category, including batting average, hits, runs scored, doubles, home runs, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, and stolen bases ... ranked second in Conference USA with a .306 batting average (24th in NCAA), and 606 hits (13th in NCAA) ... home run totals more than doubled from 2016 (18) to 2017 (46) ... six starters hit .300 or better after only one in 2016 ... the Blue Raiders finished 2017 as the only C-USA school with three players in the conference’s top eight in batting average ... in 2018, the Blue Raiders hit .280 as a team and finished third in C-USA with 354 runs scored, 313 RBI and a .369 on-base percentage (.369) ... Middle Tennessee’s 50 home runs ranked fourth ... the 2018 Blue Raiders improved in triples, home runs and walks ... Aaron Aucker was named a Google Cloud Academic All-American after posting a .340 average, a career-high 14 home runs, and a Conference USA-leading 71 RBI ... the Blue Raiders were a force to be reckoned with on the base paths, swiping a league high 75 bags in just 93 attempts.
Marshall: Named C-USA Assistant Coach of the Year in 2016 after helping lead team to one of its best seasons in recent history, setting school records for most overall wins and conference wins ... the Thundering Herd was one of C-USA’s top hitting teams in 2016, producing a .285 batting average while finishing second in the league in slugging percentage and home runs (60) ... elevated to recruiting coordinator in 2012 ... worked primarily with the infielders and coached third base during his time at Marshall.
Kent State: Spent one year at Kent State as an assistant coach ... helped the Golden Flashes capture the Mid-American Conference regular-season championship ... responsibilities included working with infielders, assisting with hitting and coaching first base ... also handled field maintenance and camp duties.
Malone College: Served as an assistant coach at Malone College in 2005 ... handled the infielders, hitting and recruiting ... also served as an assistant coach with the Stark County Terriers summer league baseball team (Great Lakes Summer League) in 2005 and helped lead the team to a league title.
