Katie O'Connell joined the Flames as an assistant coach in Sept. 2016 following six seasons on the staff at Illinois alongside former head coach and UIC alum Terri Sullivan.
In six seasons as an assistant at Illinois, O'Connell helped the team amass a record of 174-126, including 14 wins over ranked opponents, and post a record of 68-59 in Big Ten play. The Illini had repeat appearances in the NCAA Tournament in 2009 and 2010, during a time that featured 74 victories.
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O'Connell helped Illinois to a No. 25 ranking in the USA Today/NFCA Final Poll in 2010 in the process of coaching the team to three NFCA All-America nods in Danielle Zymkowitz (2009, 2011) and Meredith Hackett (2010), 10 NFCA All-Region accolades and 17 All-Big Ten honors.
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Before her move back to Champaign, O'Connell was a three-year head coach at Casey-Westfield High School, where she led the Warriors to Illinois Class A state runner-up finishes in back-to-back years.
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O'Connell was a standout second baseman for Illinois from 2001-04, ending her career ranked among the program leaders in games played, games started, at bats, doubles, walks, sacrifice flies and sacrifice hits. She helped the team to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2003 and 2004, and had a memorable senior campaign that featured 45 wins and a trip to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen.
