LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The coaches from back-to-back NJCAA Division II National Champion LSU-Eunice have been selected as this year’s NFCA NJCAA Division II National Coaching Staff of the Year, the Association announced on Thursday.
Head coach Andy Lee and assistant coach Haley McCall led the Bengals to an impressive 64-3 overall record while picking up the program’s third junior college national crown in the past four years.
LSU-Eunice won nearly 96 percent of its games this season, including going a perfect 29-0 at home, 12-1 on the road and 23-2 at neutral sites. The Bengals defeated Wallace State-Hanceville 6-4 in eight innings to win the Gold crown at the NFCA’s Junior College Leadoff Classic in March at the South Commons Complex in Columbus, Ga, and defeated Jones County twice — including 8-6 in the decisive game — on May 17 to win this year’s NJCAA Division II tournament in Clinton, Miss. LSU-Eunice and Phoenix College (eight titles) are the only NJCAA Division II programs to win multiple national championships.
Earlier, LSU-Eunice led NJCAA Division II in both overall and first team NFCA All-Americans with five total selections: Pitcher Raven Cole, infielder Brooklyn Clark, outfielders Emily Nolan and Codi Covington and utility player Destin Vicknair.
An NJCAA DII National Championship All-Tournament Team selection, Cole put up the third-most strikeouts overall with 217 to go along with a sparkling 27-1 record, an 1.09 ERA and 19 complete games over 166.2 innings. Clark was tabbed as the national tournament’s Most Valuable Player, wrapping up a campaign that saw her bat at a .534 clip with 74 runs scored, 16 stolen bases, 25 doubles, eight home runs and 71 runs batted in.
Nolan, winner of the Marucci Elite Hitter Award, led NJCAA DII in homers (21) and rated second in RBIs (102), hitting .452 with 65 tallies, 25 doubles, 28 walks and a .931 slugging percentage, while another NJCAA DII National Championship All-Tournament Team choice Covington batted .407 with 68 runs, 24 extra-base hits, 23 thefts and 34 RBIs. A true utility player, Vicknair registered the third-most pitching victories in NJCAA Division II (28) against just two defeats, fired 21 complete games and struck out 150 over 180 frames, while batting .410 with 41 runs scored, 16 doubles, 15 HR’s and 60 RBIs.
