Herd's Waggoner is named coach of year

HUNTINGTON -- Jeff Waggoner from Marshall University was named Coach of the Year by Collegiate Baseball newspaper.

In his second season, Waggoner guided the Thundering Herd to a 30-30-1 record and the Conference USA tournament finals.

"It's a great honor to be recognized by such a prestigious organization," Waggoner said in a news release. "Anytime you receive an honor like this, it means a great deal to the whole program."

Marshall, which was picked to finish ninth (last) in C-USA, placed sixth with a 10-13 mark.

As the sixth seed in the eight-team conference tournament, Marshall defeated third-seeded Tulane twice on its home field and knocked off second-seeded Southern Miss twice to reach the finals against fourth-seeded Houston.

Houston beat Marshall, 3-2, and denied the Herd its first NCAA tournament appearance since 1978.

"I could not have done any of this without my coaching staff or players," Waggoner added. "All of our accomplishments this season were possible because of them."

Waggoner was hired in August 2006 following two seasons as a N.C. State assistant coach. His previous college coaching stops were at Kent State, George Washington and College of St. Rose (N.Y.)

The Alliance, Ohio, native is a Cleveland State ('98) graduate and received a master's at St. Rose ('01).