LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The NCAA Division II National Champions University of Texas at Tyler were voted by their peers as the 2024 ATEC/NFCA Division II National Coaching Staff of the Year, the Association announced on Thursday.
Under the direction of head coach Mike Reed, associate head coach Whitney Wyley, assistant coach Shannon Klaus and assistant coach Anthony Springer, the Patriots (58-8) went on a perfect 10-0 run through the postseason to capture their first national title in NCAA Division II and second overall (NCAA DIII). It marked the third straight appearance at the Division II World Series, which is the same amount of time the Patriots have been a full-fledged Division II program.
At the national tournament, UT Tyler knocked off Augustana, Western Washington and Lenoir-Rhyne to reach the Championship Series and then swept six-seeded WWU in the best two-out-of-three final. The Patriots, who were ranked nationally in the top of the NFCA’s Top 25 Coaches Poll all season, captured a share of the Lone Star Conference regular-season crown, their fourth straight, and posted 58 victories, the second most in program history.
UT Tyler, a representative of the South Central Region, was joined by University of Charleston (Atlantic), Augustana University (Central), Wilmington University (East), University of Indianapolis (Midwest), Auburn University at Montgomery (South), Lenoir-Rhyne University (Southeast) and Western Washington University (West) - as Division II Regional Coaching Staff of the Year recipients.
Reed, Wyley, Klaus and Springer will be recognized at the NFCA Awards Brunch on Dec. 7 at the 2024 NFCA Convention in Dallas, Texas.
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