OCC Coach Dennis Conley Retires After 43 Years
Published on June 15 2023 9:29 am
Last Updated on June 15 2023 9:30 am
(Story posted on the official website of Olney Central College Blue Knights Athletics)
After 43 years of being the head baseball coach and athletic director at Olney Central College, Dennis Conley has decided the time is right to retire. Just some of what he leaves behind:
♦ 1,518 wins
♦ 40 consecutive winning seasons
♦ 2010 NJCAA Hall of Fame Induction
♦ 315 players moving on to 4 year schools on baseball scholarships
♦ 45 players signed professional contracts
Numbers, however, only scratch the surface in regards to the impact he has had in this community. Countless opportunities for young men to get an education and play baseball. Countless numbers of life lessons taught.
Coach Conley has built a program that is respected across the country. He has won, graduated, and moved players on consistently and at a high level despite very limited resources. He has been a source of experienced advice to countless coaches and administrators due to his years of service. The baseball community as well as administrators in the region universally respect him and what he has accomplished.
At his retirement party in May, Coach Conley mentioned the support of administrators throughout his tenure, but made special note of his appreciation to his wife Cathy and their two daughters, Alexis and Megan.
"They sacrificed a lot so I could be with other peoples' kids, and they never complained," he said. Now he gets to spend more time with his wife, children and grandchildren; Mabry, Myles, Parker, Case and Miller and watching them in their activities.
Currently, Coach Conley sits at No. 3 on the NJCAA's list of all-time baseball coaching wins. Win number 1,500 occurred earlier this season on March 4 in Myrtle Beach with many family members present.
He is being replaced as baseball coach by Phil Britton, who played for Coach Conley in 2004 and 2005 and is an Olney native. He was a two-time NJCAA All-American before starting his professional career in the Atlanta Braves organization.
