FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- Methodist University has announced Head Baseball Coach Tom Austin as the 2018 winner of the Thomas R. and Elizabeth E. McLean Foundation Coach of the Year.
 
The award, now in its 10th year, recognizes the head coach at the University who has demonstrated outstanding achievement on and off the field during the preceding academic year as voted on by a committee of staff and faculty members.
 
Austin, who also won in 2013, is the second multiple-time winner of the award joining Men's Golf Coach Steve Conley (2010, 2015).
 
"I want to congratulate Tom Austin on winning the 2017-2018 McLean Foundation Coach of the year award," said Vice President and Director of Athletics Dave Eavenson. "He is very deserving of this award. Coach Austin and our baseball team had many exceptional accomplishments on and off the field this past year. He runs a first-class program, and it is a pleasure to watch our baseball team compete week in and week out."
 
With 39 years under his belt at the helm of the Monarchs, Austin now boasts a career record of 1,155-534-9 (.682) and stands as the third-winningest coach among active Div. III skippers and the eighth-winningest coach in Division III history. He was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Hall of Fame in 2017.
 
This past season, Austin led his team to a 32-12 record, including a mark of 14-3 in the USA South as MU won the USA South Athletic Conference Regular Season Championship. He was named the USA South Athletic Conference Coach of the Year at the conclusion of the season.
 
"I would like to thank the McLean Foundation for making this award possible. I also appreciate the effort given by my players, grad assistant Jake Moroff , and assistant coach Spencer Martin," said Austin. "I am especially appreciative of the committee for selecting me. Their job was a tough one with all the deserving coaches on our staff. I am humbled by and grateful for this honor. Thank you."
 
Nationally ranked for much of the season, Methodist reached as high as No. 4 in the D3Baseball.com/National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Poll and spent five weeks ranked in the top 15. This from a team that was picked to finish eighth in the USA South Preseason Poll and was coming off a 17-21 campaign in 2017.
 
Five different Monarchs earned postseason recognition from the USA South, including first team picks in catcher Alex Kachler and shortstop Matthias Carter. Davis Cass, Tucker Criswell and Will May were all second team all-conference selections. Kachler and Carter would each pick up All-Region accolades from the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and D3baseball.com, while Kachler went on to earn Third Team All-America honors from the ABCA, and Honorable Mention All-America honors from D3baseball.com.
 
Twenty-one of his players sported a GPA of 3.0 or better over the course of the 2017-18 school year and seven of his players were named to the USA South Academic All-Conference Team, including Cass, Criswell and Kachler.
 
Past McLean Foundation Coach of the Year Award Winners
2009 - Francie Barragan, women's tennis
2010 - Steve Conley, men's golf
2011 - Duane Ross, Track & Field
2012 - Tom Inczauskis, women's golf
2013 - Tom Austin, baseball
2014 - Justin Terranova, men's soccer
2015 - Steve Conley, men's golf
2016 - DeeDee Jarman, women's basketball
2017 - Zach Nedbalski, men's lacrosse
2018 - Tom Austin, baseball