Matt O’Brien concluded his seventh season as the head baseball coach at the University of Minnesota Morris in 2026, continuing one of the most successful rebuilding stretches in program history.
Since taking over the Cougar Baseball program, O’Brien has transformed Minnesota Morris into a competitive and respected program within the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC), while building a culture centered on player development, accountability, academic success, and long-term sustainability.
After his first two seasons were heavily impacted by COVID-19, O’Brien led the Cougars to a breakthrough 2022 campaign that saw the program set a school record with 22 victories. Minnesota Morris finished 13-8 in UMAC play and placed seven players on the All-UMAC Team. Offensively, the Cougars rewrote the program record book, setting single-season school records in runs scored (272), RBIs (233), stolen bases (119), and home runs (18).
The momentum continued in 2023 as the Cougars battled through an extremely challenging schedule that included significant weather disruptions and only one home game at Chizek Field. Despite the adversity, Minnesota Morris finished 19-19 overall and earned its first UMAC Tournament appearance since 2017 with a 14-7 conference record.
In 2025 and 2026, the program continued its rise, earning the first UMAC postseason victory in school history while establishing itself as one of the top offensive and defensive programs in the conference. Under O’Brien, Minnesota Morris set additional program records for runs scored (308), RBIs (266), home runs (32), walks (228), on-base percentage (.419), and fielding percentage (.965).
The 2026 team finished with 19 wins and a 12-6 conference record while producing five First Team All-UMAC selections and seven overall all-conference honorees. Under O’Brien’s leadership, Cougar Baseball has developed multiple record-setting players, including Ben Meuser, the school’s all-time leader in RBIs and home runs, along with several other players who rank among the top performers in program history.
Beyond wins and records, O’Brien has built one of the strongest developmental cultures in the region. Minnesota Morris has earned ABCA Team Academic Excellence honors every season during his tenure while posting 13 consecutive semesters with a team GPA above 3.0. The program has also earned the UMAC Sportsmanship Award, reflecting the emphasis placed on developing student-athletes both on and off the field.
Player development has become a hallmark of the program under O’Brien. Since arriving at Minnesota Morris, the program has significantly increased pitching velocity and overall athletic development while consistently helping players maximize their potential. Throughout his coaching career, O’Brien has worked with 16 MLB Draft picks, three NCAA National Players of the Week, two current Major League Baseball players in Nico Hoerner (Chicago Cubs) and Matt Vierling (Detroit Tigers), and multiple professional prospects across the NCAA Division I, II, and III levels.
O’Brien brings coaching experience from every level of collegiate baseball. Prior to Minnesota Morris, he served as the pitching coach at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, an NCAA Division I program, during the 2018-19 season. While serving as pitching coach at UMES, O’Brien helped develop MLB prospect Dwayne Marshall, who finished his career ranked fourth in school history in single-season strikeouts. Under O’Brien’s leadership, the Hawks pitching staff finished in or near the top 10 in the MEAC in games pitched, innings pitched, strikeouts, and strikeout-to-walk ratio during the 2019 season.
Before UMES, he spent the 2017-18 season as an assistant coach at the University of St. Thomas and previously served five seasons as pitching coach at Winona State University, helping develop one of the top pitching staffs in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
In the summer of 2016, O’Brien served as pitching coach for the Madison Mallards of the prestigious Northwoods League, working with several future professional players and helping guide one of the league’s top pitching staffs.
Before entering the collegiate ranks full-time, O’Brien spent three seasons as the head coach at Cotter High School in Winona, Minnesota. He helped guide the program to its first conference title in seven years.
As a player, O’Brien compiled a 129-73 collegiate record across stops at North Iowa Area Community College and Winona State University. At NIACC, he earned ICCAC All-Region and Academic All-Region honors while helping lead the Trojans to a school-record 39 wins and a conference championship in 2005. He remains among the program’s all-time leaders in saves, strikeouts, and innings pitched.
O’Brien concluded his playing career at Winona State University, where he helped lead the Warriors to the 2007 NSIC Tournament Championship and an NCAA Division II National Tournament appearance. He was named the NSIC Tournament Most Valuable Pitcher during the championship run.
A native of Winona, Minnesota, O’Brien earned both his bachelor’s degree in education and his master’s degree in educational leadership and sports management from Winona State University.
