Podcast: Braintree coach Bill O’Connell on the public school path

Bill O'Connell led Braintree to MIAA Super 8 championships in 2015 and 2016. (Dave Arnold/NEBJ)

The latest guest on The Base Path Podcast is one of the most accomplished high school baseball coaches in the state of Massachusetts.

Braintree High coach Bill O’Connell has established a perennial state championship contender. He led teams to MIAA Division 1A state titles in 2015 and 2016 during a stretch in which his team went to the Super 8 five out of six years.

“I think we’ve established kind of a year-long program,” O’Connell said. “That’s the commitment that we ask of our kids now. We encourage them to play other sports; we really do. We want them to stay competitive, stay relevant, and stay up with the competition. Our kids play in the fall and all summer. We offer a winter program and strength and conditioning a couple of days a week. The kids are starting to hit and pitch.”

O’Connell acknowledged that it has become more difficult to keep his players from transferring to private and prep schools since the start of the pandemic. However, he believes the Braintree experience speaks for itself.

“If you want to stay at Braintree High and go to a public school, you can save your money for college,” O’Connell said. “You can come here and get a great experience. You’re going to get great exposure playing a Division 1 schedule against the best teams. I don’t know what else we could offer.”

O’Connell’s back-to-back Super 8 championships remain the highlight of his career. He was disappointed in 2021 when the MIAA tournament committee voted to put the tournament on hold until at least 2025-26 due to concerns about equity.

“The problem is we were exposed to it and saw how awesome it could be,” O’Connell said. “That’s the problem. They gave us an opportunity to do it, and it was fabulous. It was great for the players, and it was great for the fans, writers, scouts, and college coaches — everybody involved in it. It should come back, regardless of whether my team is fortunate enough to be there again.”

Despite the elimination of the Super 8 Tournament, O’Connell contends that high school baseball in Massachusetts has never been stronger.

“Kids are just playing at a higher level of baseball than they have in past,” O’Connell said. “There’s all different types of offerings of AAU in the Northeast. It’s great. If they want to do that, they can invest the time if they’ve got the money.”

Listen to the entire podcast with Braintree coach Bill O’Connell.

The New England Baseball Journal podcast is brought to you by the University of Nebraska High School.

For advertising opportunities, please contact [email protected].