The American Baseball Coaches Association has named University of North Georgia (UNG) baseball coach Tom Cantrell the 2017 Diamond NCAA Division II Southeast Region Coach of the Year.
This season, Cantrell led the Nighthawks baseball program to a 46-12 overall record and its second Peach Belt Conference (PBC) championship in the last three seasons, the program's first-ever No. 1 national ranking, its most wins in the NCAA-era, and UNG's first-ever regional title. Cantrell was also named the 2017 PBC baseball coach of the year.
In Cantrell's 18 years at the helm, UNG has amassed an overall record of 655-389, including 15 30-plus win seasons. This season UNG was ranked in the Collegiate Baseball's top 10 every week of the regular season, with the program's first-ever number one ranking on March 20.
Cantrell will be honored at the ABCA/Diamond Hall of Fame/Coach of the Year Banquet on Jan. 5, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana, as part of the 74th annual ABCA convention.
