Larry Sudbrook led the Bonnies to 725 victories in 36 seasons at the helm, the most wins by any Atlantic 10 baseball coach in conference history. His 321 conference triumphs stand among the all-time Atlantic 10 leaders as well. His win totals also easily represent the most victories by any coach in the history of St. Bonaventure Athletics.
A three-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year (2000, 2006, 2017), Sudbrook's athletes consistently found success both on and off the field. His players earned All-Conference accolades 44 times while on 43 occasions, Bona's players received A-10 Academic All-Conference selections. He was inducted into the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.
Sudbrook's squads won 20 or more games in 22 of his seasons while capturing two Atlantic 10 divisional crowns and reaching the A-10 Championship Tournament nine times. One of his crowning achievements came in 2004 when Sudbrook guided the Bonnies to their only baseball Atlantic 10 championship in school history on the way to a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Between 1993 and 2013, the Bonnies won at least 17 games every year with an average of nearly 24 wins per season. He retired following the 2021 season.
The Bonnies had an All-American selection in four straight seasons 2017-2020 with a fitting blend of academic and athletic success. The 2017 Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year, Aaron Phillips earned All-America status that year before outfielder Sam Fuller received Academic All-America nods in back-to-back years. Outfielder Brendyn Stillman, the national leader in batting average for the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, garnered his own All-America recognition after that season.
A total of 14 St. Bonaventure players heard their names called during the MLB Draft under Sudbrook's leadership, including four between 2015-17, while 22 have played in the affiliated minor leagues.
He was inducted into the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.
Sudbrook came to Western New York from Fairport, Ohio, where he led Fairport High School to four sectional titles in five seasons. He was a two-year letterman as a player at Lakeland (Ohio) Community College before graduating from Kent State. Upon arriving at St. Bonaventure, he inherited a program in its infancy in the Atlantic 10 after joining the Division I ranks for the first time in 1983. Along the way, he built Bonaventure into not only a preeminent program in the region, but also one of the A-10's most respected.
Sudbrook and his wife, Beverly, have two sons, Shane and Cory. Shane, '05, was a four-year letter-winner at St. Bonaventure and followed his father's footsteps as an assistant coach for three seasons while Cory, '10, owns the Bonnies career appearances record, pitching in 84 games between 2007-10.
Larry Sudbrook looks out at Handler Park as he began his 'last lap' at a special career recognition ceremony in 2022. Sudbrook instituted the last lap tradition for Bonnies Baseball graduating seniors and it remained a highlight of Bonnies' student-athlete careers throughout his tenure.
