| Title: | Assistant Coach |
Assistant Coach
6th Year
Donley Canary joined the Cavaliers’ coaching staff in the fall of 2020. He works with the JCCC outfielders and coaches first base.
Over his five seasons with the program, Canary has helped coach He has also helped coach 45 Kansas Jayhawk Conference performers, including one MVP, two Pitchers of the Year and one Freshman of the Year, 15 All-Region VI selections, three NJCAA, ABCA/Rawlings and JUCO Baseball Blog All-Americans, two Region 6 Rawlings Gold Glove Award® winners including Jeremy Rader, the 2023 ABCA/Rawlings NJCAA D-I Gold Glove Award® winner at third base. JCCC has produced five College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District® selection and 69 players have earned NJCAA All-Academic recognition. He also has helped place 80 players in four-year programs, including 51 at the NCAA D-I level and had one pitcher selected in the MLB Draft and one sign a professional contract.
This past season, Johnson County qualified for the NJCAA D-I World Series for a second straight year, and fourth time overall. The team ended the year ranked No. 1 in the final NJCAA Poll and were awarded the No. 1 seed in the World Series, a first in program history. JCCC went to place sixth in World Series, their highest finish ever. They closed out the year with a record of 53-11, including a 28-4 mark in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference East Division to capture the program’s 12th title.
Thirteen Cavaliers were selected as All-KJCCC East Division performers, including conference MVP Dagen Brewer, Pitcher of the year Brandon Stone and Horner was selected Coach of the Year for a second straight year. Brewer and Stone were also named as first-team NJCAA and American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings All-American, marking the first time JCCC has produced two on the first-team. JCCC also had 23 student-athletes earn NJCAA All-Academic distinction and five selected Academic All-District by College Sports Communicators.
In 2023, JCCC opened the season ranked No. 17 in the NJCAA, No. 11 in JUCO Baseball Blog and received votes in both the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and Prep Baseball Report preseason polls. The Cavaliers finished the season 46-17 overall, and 23-9 in conference play, good for third place. He would also help coach nine all-conference selections, with four also earning All-Region VI honors. Johnson County was one of the top hitting teams in the NJCAA. They ranked 7th with a team batting average of .356. They also ranked in the top-10 nationally in hits (684-6th), doubles (146-7th), RBI (526-9th), runs (579-9th), total bases (1118-8th) and extra base hits (250-7th). Off the diamond nine student-athletes earned NJCAA All-Academic honors.
The 2022 season saw the Cavalier open the campaign ranked 17th and would finish the year 46-17, and 23-9 in conference play, good for third place. JCCC was one of the top hitting teams in the NJCAA. They ranked seventh with a team batting average of .356. They also ranked in the top-10 nationally in hits (684-6th), doubles (146-7th), RBI (526-9th), runs (579 (9th), total bases (1118-8th) and extra base hits (250-7th). Nine Cavaliers were named a All-East Jayhawk Conference performers and four were selected All-Region 6. Off the field, eight student-athletes received All-Academic honors form the NJCAA.
In 2021 the Cavaliers raced out of the gate winning its first 25 games and were ranked as high as No. 5 in early April. The Cavaliers would go on to finish the season 43-10 and ranked 16th in the final NJCAA D-I Poll. He helped coach nine all-conference performers, with three landing on the first-team, and two All-Region VI performers. Off the diamond eight student-athletes earned NJCAA All-Academic honors.
Prior to coming to Johnson County, Canary coached 26 years in the Division I ranks, serving as assistant baseball coach at Tennessee Tech University from 1993- to 2000, and head softball coach at the University of Tennessee Marin from 2001-2019.
Over his 18 seasons at UT Martin, Canary compiled 581 wins, which rank fourth all-time in Ohio Valley Conference history, and he is the winningest coach in school history. He recently was inducted into the University of Tennessee Martin Hall of Fame.
A former outfielder from 1973 to 1977 at Tennessee Tech University, Canary hit over .300 all four years in hi playing career. He was the school’s first Academic All-American baseball player in 1976 as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Also in 1976, he was recognized as a third-team All-American by the NCAA after hitting .413 in the regular season. Still today, Canary holds the school record for most career walks with 134. He was inducted to Tennessee Tech’s Hall of Fame in 1997.
Canary and his wife, Jenny, reside in Raymore, Mo., and are the parents of JCCC longtime assistant coach David Canary.