KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has announced Tyler LaTorre from Westmont (Calif.) as the Rawlings-NAIA Coach of the Year after the Warriors captured the World Series Crown last month.

LaTorre, in his first year with the program, returned the Warriors to the Avista NAIA World Series for only the second time in program history. They captured their first win at the tournament just one week before they walked off Harris Field with the Red Banner in tow.

Beginning the year ranked 13^th, they fell to 18^th in the first Coaches’ Top 25 Poll of the spring season, before starting their slow march to the Top 10. They reached their highest ranking of tied for sixth in the Final Coaches Poll on May 10^th.

In the NAIA Baseball National Championship the Warriors, hosts of the Santa Barbara Bracket, went 3-0 with a 24-10 scoring advantage to book their ticket to Lewiston. At the Series, Westmont went 5-1 outscoring their opponents 48-35.

The NAIA National Coach of the Year is voted on by the NAIA-Baseball Coaches Association (BCA) Executive Committee and NAIA-BCA Past Presidents. To be eligible, a head coach must be selected as their conference or unaffiliated group coach of the year, or lead their team to the Avista-NAIA Baseball World Series.