Pat Connaughton

Classroom

Pat Connaughton is enrolled as a management consulting major in the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business and will graduate in May 2015.  For the past five years, Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business has topped Bloomsberg Businessweek’s annual ranking of Best Undergraduate Business Schools. He was named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll for the 2013-14 school year and the BIG EAST Academic All-Star Team in 2011-12. In addition to playing basketball, he was a three-year member of the Irish baseball team.

Character

There is no greater ambassador for the University of Notre Dame than Pat Connaughton. He is a true teammate in every sense of the word. Connaughton has been a standout performer as a member of both the Irish basketball and baseball teams. With each of those squads, he has earned the great respect of his teammates. He will honor his basketball commitment to play his fourth and final season at Notre Dame despite being drafted in the fourth round of the 2014 Major League Draft by the Baltimore Orioles (121st pick overall). Connaughton turned down a pro baseball salary to play one more year of basketball with his Irish teammates. It is a true testament to his unwavering dedication to the team. In 2014-15, he will serve as a captain for the men’s basketball team for the second consecutive year and becomes just the 22nd player in the 110-year history of the program to serve as captain in multiple seasons. While playing two sports at Notre Dame, Connaughton was extremely loyal to both. Once January arrived, Connaughton would have the dubious task of juggling practices for both sports. While basketball was the priority, he could be found many nights and on his off-days working with the Irish pitching coaches. In fact, Connaughton was known to work out with his baseball teammates on weekends, even following a Saturday afternoon home basketball game. Once basketball season ended, it would be a matter of days before Connaughton would be on the mound pitching for the Irish.

Community

While at Notre Dame, Connaughton has been involved in many community service efforts including ROC Ur Body, Fight Club for Cancer, Grassroots Soccer, Kroc Center, Mishawaka Block Party, Memorial Hospital Pediatric Oncology/Hematology Christmas Party, and visiting local nursing home The Hearth at Juday Creek. Back in his hometown of Arlington, Mass., Connaughton stays very involved in youth initiatives. He continues to volunteer at Fidelity House, a center for youth (K-8) and serves as a coach for their athletic teams. In recognition of his service, Connaughton won the Volunteer Award. He also volunteers for the initiative AE (Athletic Evolution) Helping the Community and helps provide fitness training for youth in the Woburn, Mass., area.

Competition

Pat Connaughton will enter his senior season at Notre Dame 10 points away from becoming the 56th player in program history to score 1,000 career points. A three-year starter, he has never missed a game and has played in 101 contests. He has started 85 career contests and enters the 2014-15 campaign having made 82 consecutive starts. As a junior, Connaughton averaged a career best of 13.8 points and 7.1 rebounds. He owns career averages of 9.8 points and 5.4 rebounds. He has scored in double figures in 48 career outings, netted 20-plus points in eight contests, grabbed 10-plus rebounds in 10 games and registered seven career double-doubles. As a junior, he led the Irish in three-point field goals made with 76. For his efforts, Connaughton earned Atlantic Coast Conference Honorable Mention honors as a junior. In 2013, he was named to the BIG EAST Championship All-Tournament Team. In baseball, Connaughton started 30 of the 32 games he appeared in for the Irish. In 154.2 career innings pitched, he owned a 3.03 career ERA.