Corcoran is widely regarded as one of the greatest hurlers of his generation and second only to Christy Ring in terms of Cork's all-time greatest players, and second to the great Clare Hurler Seanie McMahon in terms of the country's all time outstanding centre backs. He has been repeatedly voted onto teams made up of the sport's greats, including at left corner-back on the Cork Hurling Team of the Century in 2000, while he was later chosen as one of the 125 greatest hurlers of all-time in a 2009 poll. Corcoran also won two Hurler of the Year accolades and three All-Star awards.