Big things are happening for the Blue Knights
O lney Central College Baseball has always been a big part of Phil Britton’s life — from attending OCC Little League camps to playing for the Blue Knights and eventually serving as a hitting coach for the same youth camps he attended as a child. The Olney native stepped into an even bigger role this past season, succeeding legendary Coach Dennis Conley who retired after 43 years at the helm of Blue Knights’ Baseball.
independent baseball between the Fargo-Morehead Redhawks and the Evansville Otters. Since retiring from playing professional baseball in 2011, Britton has served as Catching Coordinator/Field Coordinator for the Evansville Otters. In January 2012, he became owner and operator of Britton’s Bullpen Incorporated, an indoor practice facil - ity providing instructional classes and operating nine traveling teams. Originally located in Olney, the enter- prise has expanded to include locations in Boonville and Fort Branch, Indiana. Britton recently reflected on the past season while looking forward to the next. “It’s not quite the season we planned for, but we finished above .500 in our league and returned to the playoffs,” he added. “We travelled throughout the season on the road, weathered some storms and made it with- out major injuries. We had a solid year considering our roster size on July 1, 2023. We have a standard for our baseball team and next year I believe we will get back to where we’ve seen Olney Central Baseball in the past. As for me personally, I’m still honored to have the oppor - tunity to coach these guys.”
“I feel like we accomplished a lot this year with the group of players we had,” Britton said. “I’m very proud of how well our team competed. We compiled a GPA of 3.41 on the year, which we are proud of. We made quite a few improvements to our ball field. We’ve also been able to put our kids out in the community and help when we’ve had the opportunity.” Britton played for the Blue Knights during the 2004 and 2005 seasons. He was named GRAC freshman of the year and earned Second Team NJCAA All-America honors. In his sophomore year at OCC, he earned First Team NJCAA honors. In 2005, Britton signed with the Atlanta Braves organ - ization as a catcher and remained in their minor league system until 2009. In 2010, he joined the Baltimore Orioles organization. The following year he spent playing
ABOVE: Olney Central College Baseball Coach Phil Britton chats with St. Joseph’s students on High 5 Friday.
28 OCC Annual Report
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