Head softball coach Jason Marino announced on August 14, 2017 the hiring of Sydney O'Hara as an assistant coach.
"I am very excited and grateful to be able to add Sydney to our staff this year!" said Marino, who is entering his sixth season with the Dolphins. "Sydney's playing resume speaks for itself and she is going to help in all aspects of our program. Sydney will take over the pitching staff and will be very visible in hitting and infield. Sydney's work ethic, knowledge and competitive drive were evident as a player and I'm positive it will translate to coaching and our student-athletes will benefit from her experience playing at Syracuse."
O'Hara, who will serve as the team's pitching coach, while also assisting with hitting and fielding, joins the Dolphins' coaching staff following a four-year career at Syracuse University. She finished her career with the Orange as the owner of two career records, six single-season records and four single-game records. At the plate, she posted a slash line of .348/.583/.454 with 188 hits, including 33 doubles and 28 home runs, 132 runs batted in, 103 runs scored and 95 walks as a starter in 186 of 190 games played. In the circle, she finished her time in orange and blue with a mark of 31-22 along with 13 saves, a 3.28 earned run average and 411 strikeouts in 343.1 innings pitched over 110 appearances, including 40 starts. Her on-base percentage and saves total are the most in the history of the program, while she ranks second all-time in batting average and slugging percentage.
A native of Cicero, O'Hara was named to the NFCA All-America Third Team at the Utility/Pitcher position as a senior, becoming just the third member of the program to earn All-America honors. A pitcher and first baseman, she received the recognition after recording a slash line of .476/.833/.626, while posting 60 hits, including 10 doubles, nine home runs and four triples, 46 walks, 42 runs batted in, 37 runs scored and six stolen bases as a starter in all 49 games played. In the pitching circle, she went 9-3 with six saves, a 1.86 earned run average and 128 strikeouts in 71.2 innings over 32 appearances, two of which were starts. Her batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage, walks, saves and strikeouts per seven innings (12.6) all represented Syracuse single-season program records. Her on-base percentage led the NCAA, while her batting average was the second-best. In addition to her all-America honors, O'Hara was named a finalist for the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year and D1 Softball Player of the Year awards and to the NFCA Mid-Atlantic Region First Team, ECAC First Team and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) First Team.
O'Hara's four single-game records all came in the same contest, a performance which earned her espnW National Player of the Week accolades, the first in the program's history. She earned the honor after blasting four home runs in an 11-5 win at North Carolina State University on March 10. She became just the fifth player in NCAA history to launch four home runs in a single game. In addition to her home run total being a record for one game, O'Hara set the program's single-game record for most total bases (16), runs batted in (8) and runs scored (4).
As a junior, she was named to the NFCA Mid-Atlantic Region Second Team after slashing .272/.456/.355 with 37 hits, including six home runs and five doubles, 29 RBI, 18 runs scored and 16 walks as a starter in 45 of 46 games played. She went 3-2 in the circle with five saves, a 1.47 ERA, a .167 opponent batting average and 76 strikeouts in 62 innings over 24 appearances.
She was selected to the NFCA Mid-Atlantic Region First Team and All-ACC First Team as a freshman in 2014 after slashing .333/.510/.400 with 49 hits, including 14 doubles and four home runs, 26 RBI, 25 runs scored and 17 walks as starter in 48 of 49 games played. She posted a 16-12 record in the circle with two saves, a 3.83 ERA, 15 complete games, seven shutouts and 159 strikeouts in 153.2 innings over 36 appearances, including 27 starts.
On the scholastic level, O'Hara was the 2013 Nork York State Gatorade Softball Player of the Year and the New York State Sportswriters Association (NYSSWA) Player of the Year as a senior at Cicero-North Syracuse. She was selected to the NYSSWA All-State First Team and as the CNY Player of the Year as a sophomore, junior and senior, while adding CNY Pitcher of the Year honors as a senior. For her career, she went 52-4 with 741 strikeouts in the circle and smacked 25 home runs and 38 doubles, while leading the Northstars to the NYS Class AA Championship games in 2011, 2012 and 2013, including a state title to conclude her career.
O'Hara graduated from Syracuse in May with degrees in Human Development and Family Science and Physical Education in Coaching from the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics. O'Hara was named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll as a junior and senior.
