The Courant's George Smith wrote and article on UConn Right Fielder in May of 1993. At the time he was hitting .458 after a 4-4 day against URI. His batting average at the time was second best in the country. And while he'd have a great last two seasons playing for Andy Baylock and having current Coach Jim Penders as a teammate where the Huskies went to back to back NCAA Tournaments, he took a hard road to get there.
Dwyer had a terrific baseball career at Burrillville H.S. in Harrisville, R.I. - where he hit an unheard of .658 in his Junior Year. And Coach Baylock noticed, where he came as a Walk On and played JV ball in his first season. However the road to and in Storrs the first two years was a struggle. Especially in the classroom where he really struggled. To the point where he nearly flunked out of school in 1992 that left him off the team. Enter his father who mentioned "The Marines" as an alternative. He chose to crack the books where in 1994, Dwyer had a 3.0 in the classroom...and a huge year on the Diamond...
His roommate was Coach Penders in 1993 & 94. And the numbers in 1993 were off the chart. A .425 average, and a school single season records with 69 hits & 40 stolen bases. He also added 17 doubles and was a tremendous right fielder. As Penders describes via text, "He was lightning quick and if he got to first, it was an automatic double. Nobody could throw him out. It seemed like everything he hit that year was hard. And if it wasn't, he'd beat it out if it was on the ground. He was a physical freak, pound for pound was probably our strongest guy on the team. His best asset was his toughness."
That Huskies team lost to St John's in the Big East Final, but made the NCAA Tournament where they lost to host Oklahoma State and Fordham....Dwyer's outstanding year earned him third team All American and was named by his teammates as Team MVP in 1993...The 94 Team, he stole another 39 bases and played a role in UConn's Big East Tournament Championship...Again losing back to back games in the NCAA's to Georgia Tech and Long Beach State in Wichita, Kansas.
Penders adding "he would invent a grudge if he had to in order to gain an edge and played with a chip on his shoulder. He was the kind of teammate that wouldn't look for a fight, but of an opponent picked one with any of us, he'd finish it."
Dennis Dwyer Coached at Brown for a short time before as Penders puts it as "climbing the ladder at State Street Bank in Boston for more than two decades." Dwyer is now a Senior Portfolio Manager at State Street Global Advisors, Married with three boys..
A great turnaround story...Dennis Dwyer, from nearly flunking out to becoming an All American...And a UConn Legend