Billy Bean while Linda was pregnant, but separated when Billy was six months old. Linda married Ed Kovac, a police officer, and they had five children together. Bean attended Santa Ana High School, and won a state championship with the school's baseball team. He enrolled at Loyola Marymount University on an athletic scholarship to play college baseball for the Loyola Marymount Lions. After his junior year, the New York Yankees selected Bean in the 24th round of the 1985 MLB Draft. Though the Yankees offered Bean a $55,000 signing bonus, Bean followed through with his promise to return to Loyola Marymount for
Billy Donovan Mullaney. Mullaney retired after the 1984–85 season, and New York Knicks assistant coach Rick Pitino became Providence's new head coach. Soon after, Donovan informed Pitino that he would like to transfer to Fairfield or Northeastern to get more playing time. However, when Pitino called the coaches of those smaller conference schools on Donovan's behalf, they declined to offer him a scholarship, so Pitino advised Donovan to stay at Providence and get himself into better physical shape for the upcoming season. Donovan flourished in Pitino's system, which emphasized the new three-point shot on offense and a fast-paced full-court press defense. "Billy