PROVIDENCE, R.I. (uconnhuskies.com) - UConn head baseball coach Jim Penders was voted the Northeast Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and Diamond Sports as announced by the organizations on Tuesday afternoon during announcement of regional coaches of the year.
In his 16th year at the helm of the Huskies, Penders earns the award for the third time in his career and first time since the 2011 season. Penders receives the honor after leading UConn to its second-straight NCAA Regional final. Competing in the NCAA’s Oklahoma City Regional, the Huskies received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament for the second-straight year. It marked the sixth NCAA tournament bid since 2010 for the Huskies under Penders.
UConn’s 39 wins during the 2019 season are the third most in program history. The Huskies posted three wins over top-10 programs after facing the 34th-toughest schedule in the country. UConn ended the year ranked 27th in the latest RPI report and advanced to its third American Athletic Conference championship final.
The Huskies logged 23 wins against top-100 RPI programs, which tied a program record from 2018. Penders became the all-time winningest coach in UConn history with his 557th win coming against Tulane on May 16.
The 2019 ABCA/Diamond National Coaches of the Year from each division will be announced Thursday, June 27.
The ABCA, founded in 1945, is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level. Its over 11,000 members represent all 50 states and 23 countries. Since its initial meeting of 27 college baseball coaches in June 1945, Association membership has broadened to include eight divisions: NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA, NJCAA, Pacific Association Division, High School and Youth. The 76th annual ABCA Convention will be held Jan. 2-5, 2020 in Nashville, Tennessee.