Baseball (1978-2007) Irish O'Reilly served as Lewis' head baseball coach for 29 seasons with 23 of his teams reaching NAIA or NCAA postseason play. Following his retirement, he was elected into the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Hall of Fame.
In his 38 years as a head coach at the college, junior college and high school levels, O'Reilly compiled a 1,246-916-8 overall record, for a .576 winning percentage. With a 29-year Lewis record of 982-771-8 (.560), he has the most wins of any baseball coach in Lewis history. O'Reilly finished his career eighth in victories among all coaches in NCAA Division II history.
O'Reilly coached 41 All-Americans and has saw 51 of his former players sign professional baseball contracts, with four making it to the majors and one earning a gold medal at the 2000 Olympics. Additionally, more than 50 of O'Reilly's former players went on to coach at various levels of baseball.
He earned six GLVC Coach of the Year awards (1985, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1992 and 1994) and five times he was named the Region Coach of the Year. All but eight of O'Reilly's teams enjoyed a winning season.
Lewis placed among the top five at the NCAA Division II Championship five times, including third place in 1988, 1990 and 1994. His squads won six Great Lakes Valley Conference titles.
O'Reilly also coached Lewis to an NAIA national runner-up finish in 1980 when the Flyers won a school-record 61 games. He was named NAIA Area Coach of the Year.
He served as Lewis' Special Assistant to the Vice-President for University Advancement with a focus on major gift / athletic fund raising following his retirement as a baseball coach.
