The Illinois Wesleyan coaching staff, led by Steve King, has been named as the Division III Great Lakes Region "Coaching Staff of the Year" by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
The IWU coaching staff, in addition to King, consists of Lyle Day, Rachel Shipley, Matthew Murray and Graham Arnold.
In just his second season as head coach at IWU, King and his staff led the Titans to a 37-6 overall record and their second straight NCAA regional tournament appearance. The Titans went 14-0 to capture the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin regular season title and narrowly missed out on its second national championship trip with two regional final losses to eventual national runner-up Coe.
After leading Messiah College to its first national championship, head coach Amy Weaver and her staff have been named the NFCA Division III National "Coaching Staff of the Year".
Weaver and assistants Alex Quigley, Sam McCloota and Jen Thuma led the Falcons to a 43-4 season, culminating in a perfect run through the NCAA tournament and the program's first national title. The eight postseason wins were part of a 23-game win streak to finish the season for Messiah, and the national championship win was also Weaver's 300th career victory.
Messiah was also named the East Region Coaching Staff of the Year. Other regional "Coaching Staff of the Year" winners were Ohio Northern (Central), Gustavus Adolphus (Midwest), Tufts (New England), Cortland State (Northeast) and Linfield College and University of Texas, Tyler (tied in the West).
Click for NFCA Release