T.J. McConnell and his wife, Valerie Guiliani, are high school sweethearts who have supported one another through the ups and downs of life.
Valerie has always been pleased with her husband’s accomplishments as a devoted wife. Her spouse represented the Duquesne Dukes and the Arizona Wildcats in collegiate basketball throughout their high school careers.
When playing for Duquesne as a freshman in 2010–11, McConnell averaged 10.8 points, 4.4 assists, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.8 steals per game in 32 games (30 starts). He was named the 2011 Atlantic 10 Freshman of the Year for his performance.
After going undrafted in the 2015 NBA draft, he signed on for the 2015 NBA Summer League with the Philadelphia 76ers.
McConnell agreed to a $7 million, two-year contract with the Indiana Pacers on July 3, 2019. Along with teammates T. J. Leaf and T. J. Warren, he was one of three players on the squad who professionally used the initials T.J. as their first name.
Quick Facts
| Name | Timothy John McConnell Jr. |
| Age | 30 years old (born on March 25, 1992) |
| Residence | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Parents | Tim And Shelly McConnell |
| Siblings | Matthew and Megan |
| Wife | Valerie Guiliani (m. 2017) |
| Kids | Trace McConnell |
Who Is T.J. McConnell Wife Valerie Guiliani?
T.J. McConnell’s wife, Valerie Guiliani, has been his best friend and has supported him in every step of his life.
The couple’s first-ever picture together was posted in 2014, and they officially got engaged after two years of dating. On August 26 of 2016, McConnell proposed to Valerie with a beautiful diamond ring and got married in September 2017, in a beautiful wedding at Holy Child Parish (now called Corpus Christi Parish).
McConnell married his high school love in Pittsburgh, and his Sixers teammate Nik Stauskas sent a special note with one of the couple’s first wedding Instagram images.
Additionally, the pair marked their fifth wedding anniversary this September.
T.J. McConnell And Wife Valerie Have A Son Together
The Pacers Shooting guard T.J. McConnell and his wife, Valerie, have a son named Trace.
McConnell first announced that he became a father on his Instagram, with a beautiful family picture where his wife was holding a baby romper.
Born on January 2021, the information about their son has been kept out of the public eye. Not even a picture has been shared on his Instagram page.
While Valerie might have shared images of her son on Instagram, her profile has been kept in private mode.
T.J. McConnell Parents: Tim And Shelly McConnell
T.J. McConnell was born to parents Shelly and Tim McConnell, who instilled a love of sports in their children.
Besides, McConnell’s childhood revolved around the sport. His father was a role model long before his children were even born, passing on everything he could as a parent, coach, and genetic contributor to his sons’ basketball careers.
McConnell told Bleacher Report: “He doesn’t know where he’d be without basketball.” He’s been attending his dad’s practices ever since he can remember, hanging out in the gym with him, and it’s been, in their family, it’s been their whole existence.”
McConnell’s Father Resign As Chartiers Valley Girls Basketball Coach
T.J.’s father, Tim McConnell, left his ladies’ basketball coaching position at Chartiers Valley to fill the vacant position of boys’ basketball coach at Bishop Canevin.
The switch occurred less than a month after Gino Palmosina, who led the Crusaders to WPIAL and PIAA championships this past season, accepted the boy’s basketball coach position at Moon.
At Chartiers Valley, McConnell coached basketball for 29 years, the first 25 as the boys’ coach and the latter four as the Colts’ girls’ coach.
In his 25 years as the boy’s coach at CV, the Seton LaSalle and Waynesburg University alum was 552-146, and in his last four years as the girl’s coach, he was 110-7.
He has won nine WPIAL titles and a state championship thanks partly to coaching his three kids, T.J., Matty, and his daughter, Megan. Furthermore, in the Chartiers Valley School District, McConnell, 57, works full-time as the transportation director.
T.J. McConnell’s Siblings: Matthew and Megan
T.J. McConnell was raised alongside his sibling brother Matthew and his sister Megan.
Sharing the same passion for basketball, his sister, Megan, is a 5’7″ shooting guard for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania’s Duquesne University.
Megan, a rare four-time selection to the Pennsylvania Sports Writers’ All-State squad, was named to the Class 5A first-team all-state team during her junior and senior years of high school.
Similarly, she set a WPIAL record with a 57-game winning streak to cap her career, and was ranked No. 114 and 372 overall in the World Exposure 2020 Report Ranking.
When the COVID-19 epidemic ended the Colts’ senior season, she had guided them to a perfect 27-0 record. During her junior year, she again led the Colts to the WPIAL and PIAA titles with an excellent 30-0 record.
The 2020 Atlantic 10 Freshman of the Week started nine games out of the 16 she played, captained the team, and ranked 17th in the A-10 with 2.8 assists per match.
She participated in all 29 games as a freshman in 2021–2022, starting all but one of them, and finished second on the team in terms of minutes played (1,043).
His Brother Matty Also Played Basketball
T.J. McConnell’s brother, Matty, signed a national letter of intent with Robert Morris in November 2014.
Matthew, who comes from a basketball family, has an unusual knack for making baskets and can score from any point on the floor.
As the only senior on RMU’s roster for the 2018–19 season, McConnell started all 32 of the games he played in and was third on the team in scoring with 10.8 points per game.
Moreover, his cousin brother Mackenzie McConnell is also a basketball player from Bentonville, Arkansas, born in 2007.
Suzie McConnell-Serio, his aunt, won an Olympic gold medal, playing for the WNBA, and was an All-American at Penn State (1985–1988). Beginning her career as a collegiate coach at Duquesne, Suzie was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.