njcaa-di-dii-regional-coaching-staff-of-the-year-2026 | njcaa1

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Three programs each from National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I and II were voted ATEC/NFCA NJCAA Regional Coaching Staffs of the Year, the Association announced on Wednesday.

All three of the Division I honorees — Temple College (Midwest), Northeast Alabama Community College (South) and Odessa College (West) — are vying this week for spots in the World Series on May 24-30 at Choccolocco Park in Oxford, Ala. Meanwhile, the three Division II winners — Richard Bland College (East), Kirkwood Community College (Midwest) and Jones College (South) — all made the 20-team field for next week’s World Series (May 19-24) at Tyger River Park in Spartansburg, S.C.

Led by head coach Kadie Berlin-George and assistants Maurice Zaleski and Rhein Carmichael, Temple (50-6) finished ranked fourth in the NJCAA Division I Top 25 poll and will host the double-elimination Southwest District B tournament starting today and running through Friday. The winner earns an automatic bid to the World Series. The Leopards are one of two 50-win squads among these six awarded teams, securing that with home-and-home twinbill sweeps of Vernon to close out the regular season.

Like Temple, No. 3-ranked Northeast Alabama (48-4) is the top seed and host of its automatic qualifying event. In just their second season of competition, the Mustangs are looking to add an Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC) tournament title to the regular-season crown they already earned this year under the direction of head coach Joe Guthrie and assistants Courtnay Foster and Jimmy Kolaitis.

Odessa (48-7) is riding a 36-game win streak and will host the Southwest District A championship for the second consecutive season in a place where it is 60-4 the past two years. Head coach Doug Eastman and assistant Alexis Hamilton’s Wranglers rank in the top 10 nationally in 10 statistical categories, including runs (third, 532), homers (third, 85), extra-base hits (third, 229), slugging percentage (third, .673), RBI (fourth, 488), batting average against (sixth, .203), doubles (seventh, 127), on-base percentage (seventh, .468), total bases (10th, 953) and shutouts (10th, 14).

Richard Bland (32-25), meanwhile, advanced to the Division II World Series for the first time in program history with a thrilling best-of-three series against Mercer County that featured an 6-5 extra-inning victory in the winner-take-all third game on Sunday. Head coach Joe Braun and assistant coaches Sean Wade, George Fellman, Isabella Bennett and Brooklynn Bilyard have shepherded the Statesmen through a historic season, with hopes for a little more success still ahead.

Kirkwood (58-5) is in the midst of its own impressive win streak (35 games) as they prepare for their sixth World Series trip in the last seven years under head coach Eric Frese and assistants Alisha Frese and Austyn Crees. Libby Trewin (27-2) delivered two straight victories in the Region 11A tournament for the Eagles, while Carley Cavanagh stayed perfect (18-0) in the circle with a win in the event’s first contest.

Last season’s Division II national runner-up Jones (46-10) is looking to take the next step with head coach Tori Dew and assistants Parker Conrad, Drew Fiala and Drew Taylor. The Bobcats head into the World Series having lost two straight, but dealt fellow participant Kirkwood one of its only five losses earlier this year. Leadoff batter and second-leading hitter Claire Andersen had two hits in Kirkwood’s Region 23 knockout game last Monday against Northeast, which was her first game action since April 19.

To be eligible, the program’s head coach must be an NFCA member. Winners were voted by member head coaches in each of their respective regions. The 2026 NJCAA Division I, II and III National Coaching Staffs of the Year will be announced on June 8.

The NFCA is the professional organization for fastpitch softball coaches. Known for its highly-regarded awards program, the NFCA also educates and supports softball coaches on a variety of different levels: from podcasts to and extensive drills database, to in-person events and National Convention.