In the aftermath of the greatest season in the history of University of Virginia baseball, the accolades keep coming for coach Brian O’Connor. Three days ago, CollegeBaseballInsider.com honored O’Connor as its national coach of the year. O’Connor, a native of Omaha, Neb., sat down that afternoon with a Richmond Times-Dispatch reporter at Davenport Field to look ahead to 2010 and to reflect on Virginia’s magical season.

Virginia coach Brian O’Connor, seen tossing batting practice to his team, declined to criticize the umpires after Saturday’s CWS opener. OMAHA, Neb.—There was reason to point fingers. On the sport’s grandest stage, the College World Series, Virginia was victimized by a handful of questionable rulings that helped alter a 9-5 loss to third-seeded Louisiana State.

Appearing on every single ballot, Virginia coach Brian O’Connor waltzed away with National Coach of the Year honors by the National College Baseball Writers Association on yesterday. Voted on by the NCBWA Board of Directors, the list of candidates for the award included the eight coaches from the teams at the College World Series and every Division I coach honored as the conference coach of the year.

Throughout Brian O’Connor’s six seasons as Virginia’s baseball coach, his top assistants have been Kevin McMullan and Karl Kuhn. To O’Connor, they don’t get enough credit for the program’s success. Virginia plays its opening game in the College World Series on Saturday night against LSU in Omaha, Neb. “We would not be in the position that we’re in right now without those two gentlemen,“ O’Connor said. “They do all the work. They’re the ones that go out and find the players. They coach the players. They spend endless hours in this baseball program, and every player that’s played here in the last six years, and myself as the head coach, are forever indebted to those two men, because they are tireless workers, and they do the real work.“

CHARLOTTESVILLE Building an athletic program requires a coach with a clear vision, an administration to support the coach and players who buy into the coach’s ideas. Brian O’Connor arrived at the University of Virginia six years ago as a man with a plan for the Cavaliers’ baseball teams. He wanted to build a fan and donor base. Check.

CHARLOTTESVILLE Danny Hultzen’s record as a pitcher is impeccable—9-1 with a 2.09 earned run average. His record as a hitter is equally impressive—.333 batting average with 33 RBI. Those aren’t bad numbers for a seasoned Atlantic Coast Conference veteran. They are even more impressive for an ACC rookie. Hultzen is a freshman for the University of Virginia Cavaliers. He is a primary reason the Cavaliers are playing in the College World Series.

For the Virginia baseball team, the road to the College World Series title goes through Louisiana State University.

Omaha, your boy is coming home. Virginia and coach Brian O’Connor punched the program’s first ticket to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., with a 5-1 victory over Ole Miss yesterday.