VANCOUVER - Long-time UBC Thunderbirds baseball assistant coach Cavanagh Whitely has left his post with the university after accepting the head coaching position at Douglas College. Shawn Corness, the T-Birds pitching coach, will assume the role of full-time assistant beginning July 1.

Whitely had been an assistant coach to Terry McKaig since 2004 and is a two-time graduate from UBC. He began his post secondary baseball career by spending two years at Douglas College before playing three seasons with the T-Birds. He then played professional baseball in Australia before moving back to Canada and joining the UBC staff.

"Cav has been a huge part of our program for 10 years as both a coach and player. He is definitely responsible for the success we have had here over the last decade. Becoming a head coach has always been his dream and we wish him the best of luck and look forward to working closely with the Douglas College program," said McKaig.

Corness joined the UBC staff in 2006 as the pitching coach, helping maintain and develop UBC's reputation as one of the top pitching schools in the NAIA. In his five seasons with the T-Birds, two pitchers have been selected in the MLB Amateur Draft and the team's pitching staff always ranks among the best in the NAIA.

The 2010 season was a prime example of UBC's dominance on the mound. They ranked sixth in the NAIA with a 3.54 ERA and ninth with an opponent batting average of .251 as they helped UBC to an overall record of 41-13. The squad's four main starters, including 2010 MLB draft pick Mark Hardy, were a combined 30-9 and threw 285.6 innings. All four hurlers had ERAs under 4.00.

Corness will remain active in the development of the T-Bird pitching staff in addition to his new duties as a full-time assistant. He will also serve as the program's recruiting coordinator.

"Shawn has been a huge addition to our program over the last five years and we are extremely happy to have him as the full-time assistant coach," said McKaig. "He has a ton of experience [head coach at Kwantlen University before joining UBC] which will serve the program and our players well."

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