Kicking off our 2026 ABCA Hall of Fame Class interviews is Florida Atlantic University head coach and ABCA First Vice President, John McCormack.
McCormack completed his 17th year at Florida Atlantic University as head coach in 2025, and 35th season with the program. He had previously served 11 years as associate head coach and seven years as an assistant coach, beginning in 1991.
The Owls finished 37-21 overall and fourth in league play in their second year as a member of the American Athletic Conference. Coach Mac has led FAU to four regular season conference championships (C-USA: 2016 & 2019, SBC: 2010 & 2012) and one postseason conference championship (SBC: 2013). The Owls have qualified for NCAA Regionals six times (2010, '13, '15, '16, '18, '19) in the McCormack era.
Since 2009, 13 Owls have earned All-American honors, and 21 have earned All-Region honors and a total of 105 FAU players that McCormack has recruited or coached at FAU have continued their professional careers. Additionally, 33 of the 36 draftees were not drafted out of high school, continuing McCormack’s outstanding track record of developing players after they come to Boca Raton.
A big part of FAU’s success has been that passion for the Boca Raton area and the university, allowing the program to attract some of the best players in Florida. FAU’s baseball program has been built around the premise that McCormack would find athletes with the desire to win, the coaching staff would develop talent and the players would become better.
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My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark
My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.
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