Tucson, Ariz. – After leading his team to the College World Series and the most wins by an Arizona team in 30 years, Coach Jay Johnson has been named the West Region Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association.
In his first year at Arizona, Johnson led his team to a 49-24 record and became just the fifth coach ever to guide his team to the College World Series Finals in his first year with the program. The 49 wins were the most by an Arizona team since the 1986 National Champion club went 49-19.
The Wildcats also went 11-4 in the postseason, marking the most postseason wins ever by an Arizona team all-time. Under Johnson's direction, the Cats advanced to the College World Series for the 17th time in program history and advanced to the Finals for the sixth time since 1963. Â
The Cats went 6-1 in elimination games in the postseason, winning the Lafayette Regional and Starkville Super Regional. The team then picked up two wins versus Oklahoma State and victories over Miami and UCSB to advance to the Championship Series versus Coastal Carolina.
Johnson's 49 wins were the most by a first-year coach in Arizona history. The previous high was 37 by Jerry Kindall in 1973. Johnson also became just the second first-year coach at Arizona since 1950 to qualify for the postseason. Frank Sancet led Arizona to the 1950 District 6 Playoffs.
The Wildcats also finished with a team ERA of 3.18, which is the lowest mark by an Arizona pitching staff since 1974. Offensively, seniors Zach Gibbons and Cody Ramer became the first Arizona teammates since Clark Crist and Terry Francona in 1979 to each collect 100 hits in a season. Gibbons finished with 107, second all-time at Arizona, and Ramer ended at 102, which is tied for eighth most in program history.
Ramer and first baseman Ryan Aguilar also tied the school record with 73 games played in a season.
Johnson was one of eight Regional Coach of the Year winners by the ABCA. He was joined by Mike Gambino (Boston College, Northeast), Mark Scalf (UNC Wilmington, East), Gary Gilmore (Coastal Carolina, Atlantic), Kevin O'Sullivan (Florida, South), Greg Goff (Louisiana Tech, South Central), Greg Lovelady (Wright State, Mideast) and Josh Holliday (Oklahoma State, Midwest) as other regional winners.
Gilmore was named the National Coach of the Year.Â
