Gopher Sport MCAC Coach-of-the-Year Awards

Gopher Sport MCAC Coach-of-the-Year Awards

Rochester, MN-

As the 2018-19 spring sports season across the Minnesota College Athletic Conference draw to a close, Gopher Sport, the Minnesota-based industry leader in Physical Education, sports and fitness equipment, would like to recognize those professionals who were voted Coach-of-the-Year in their respective sports by their peers. 

Five Divisional COY awards were decided by the coaches; the following list represents those elected by their peers for having a great season.  MCAC Coach-of-the-Year awards are sponsored by Gopher Sport; with headquarters in Owatonna, Minnesota, Gopher Sport has diligently served teachers, coaches and athletic directors around the world for over 65 years. 

MCAC Baseball 

Northern Division

Coach-of-the-Year

David Bevacqua

Hibbing Community College 

David Bevacqua has quietly built the Hibbing Community College Cardinal baseball program into a Regional contender in 2018-19, evidenced by the HCC post-season qualification for the second staight season. This past spring, Bevacqua led HCC to a 19-18 overall record and impressive 13-2 MCAC Northern Division mark. 

Bevacqua's squad had a season batting average of .308 on the year and saw four Hibbing student-athletes earn Divisional first team honors en route to a first-place finish in the Northern Division. 

MCAC Softball 

Southern Division

Coach-of-the-Year

 

 Greg Thorstad

St. Cloud Technical & Community College

 

Greg Thorstad led the softball team at St. Cloud Technical & Community College to a 32-win season and Southern Division softball title in 2019. The Cyclones continued to be the team to beat for divisional opponents, as SCTCC racked up a 17-3 slate against Conference foes. 

Thorstad's team cracked 21 home runs and rang up a .507 slugging percentage; the Cyclone pitching staff averaged 5.12 strike-outs per contest. St. Cloud Technical & Community College advanced to the 2019 NJCAA Division III Softball Championships, held in Rochester, Minnesota on May 23-25. 

MCAC Baseball 

Central Division

Coach-of-the-Year

 

Jason Fischer

St. Cloud Technical & Community College

Under Jason Fischer, the St. Cloud Technical & Community College baseball team continued to dominate the MCAC Central Division.  SCTCC also maintained a presence on the national stage, as the Cyclones were a regular in the 2019 NJCAA Division III Baseball weekly Top Ten poll. 

The Cyclones were unbeaten in Division play and lost only six regular season contests in 2019.  Fischer's team featured a line-up that hit .366 on the season with 36 home runs. the SCTCC pitching staff combined for a group ERA of 3.14 and rang up 259 total strikeouts. 

MCAC Softball 

Northern Division

Coach-of-the-Year

 

Ray Austin 

Central Lakes College 

The race for the Northern Division softball title came down to the final double-header of the season, and Coach-of-the-Year Ray Austin made the right calls at the right time for his Raider squad. 

Central Lakes clinched the Division title and hosting rights with a 7-0 shutout win to end the regular season, capping off a 30-win year for CLCAustin's team registered an .875 winning percentage in Divisional games and scored 344 runs across 40 contests. 

MCAC Baseball 

Southern Division

Coach-of-the-Year

 

Derek Hahn

Riverland Community College 

Riverland's Derek Hahn pulled double-duty in 2018-19, coaching both the Blue Devil men's basketball team and the RCC baseball squad.  And, in both seasons, Hahn earned the Coach-of-Year award in the Southern Division. 

The Blue Devil baseball team cruised to a Southern Division title at 15-1 on the year and had an equally impressive 32-14 overall mark. Riverland earned the No. 3 seed for the 2019 Region XIII baseball tournament and produced the Southern Division top vote-getter, Yadiel Ortiz (Patillas, Puerto Rico), who was a dominant offensively and on the mound.

 

Gopher Sport, based in Owatonna, is an industry leader in Physical Education, sports and fitness equipment. 

Gopher Sport is dedicated to providing programs and departments with the products to improve fitness, develop skills, create fun and reach a high standard of learning and living. Gopher Sport has diligently served teachers, coaches and athletic directors around the world for over 65 years. 

The Minnesota College Athletic Conferencewould like to extend a sincere 'thank you' to Gopher Sport and their continued support of coaches, athletic directors and sports professionals. 

Gopher Sport serves as the lead sponsor for Coach-of-the-Year awards in the MCAC; COY honors are voted on by head coaches in their respective sport at the conclusion of regular season schedules.  The MCAC is home to league competitions in Football, Volleyball, Soccer (M/W), Golf, Basketball (M/W), Softball and Baseball.