Lynn University head coach Thomas Macera, along with assistant Rafael Rodriguez, has been named the 2005 Speedline/NFCA Division II National Coaching Staff of the Year, the association announced Monday.
Macera and Rodriguez will be honored at the 2005 NFCA National Convention in Orlando, Fla.
Macera guided Lynn to one of the top seasons in school history, capturing its first NCAA Division II national title. The Fighting Knights won the program’s first Sunshine State Conference and NCAA regional titles.
Macera took a team that finished 35-19-1 in 2004 and guided it to a 54-7 mark this season. After hitting .249 with 35 home runs last season, Macera’s squad improved those numbers to a .321 average and 88 home runs in 2005.
Macera and Rodriguez also received South Region Coaching Staff of the Year honors. Other regional winners are as follows:
Northeast Region — Le MOYNE COLLEGE
Head Coach — Ken King
Assistant Coach — Ed Mahar
King guided Le Moyne College to a 43-11 mark and a third NCAA Tournament appearance in four years… His team won 33 or more games for the fifth-straight season, and it on the Northeast-10 Conference title for the third straight season.
South Atlantic Region — KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY
Head Coach — Scott Whitlock
Assistant Coaches — Bill Gray, Marty Rafter, Tonya Carlisle
Whitlock guided the Owls to a national runner-up finish in their second consecutive appearance in the national championship tournament… He led Kennesaw State to a 57-13 record and a share of the Peach Belt Conference title.
Mid-Atlantic Region — BLOOMSBURG UNIVERSITY
Head Coach — Jan Hutchinson
Assistant Coach — Susan Kocher
Hutchinson led Bloomsburg to a tie for fifth in the school’s fourth NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament appearance in six years… Her squad finished the season 45-10 and won the Mid-Atlantic regional title in its 23rd straight tournament appearance.
Great Lakes Region — NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY
Head Coach — Kathy Stewart
Assistant Coach — Chip Gregg
Stewart led Northern Kentucky to the NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament where the team finished tied for third… Her squad won 55-straight games to better the previous NCAA Division II record of 40 straight wins, and it set the all-time record for winning percentage with a .965 mark.
South Central Region — ST. MARY’S UNIVERSITY (TX)
Head Coach — Donna Fields
Assistant Coach — Kym Kling
Fields led St. Mary’s to the NCAA Division II National Championship tournament for the third time in four years… The Rattlers finished the season with a 49-11 mark and won the Heartland Conference title for the fifth straight season.
North Central Region — CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY, ST. PAUL
Head Coach — Tom Rubbelke
Co-Head Coach — Bob Bartel
Graduate Assistant Coach — Paige Dopp
Rubbelke led Concordia-St. Paul to 44 wins, a mark that bettered 2004’s previous school record, and a program-best seventh-place national ranking… The Bears won a second straight Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference title as they advanced to the national championship tournament for the first time.
West Region — SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY
Head Coach — Kristi Lansford
Assistant Coaches — Maricela Soto, Michelle Villegas
Lansford guided San Francisco State to a school-record 43-21 record and a fourth-place showing at the NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament… The Gators captured their first-ever regional title a year after advancing to a regional tournament for the first time.
