June 12, 2009

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has announced that Mike Smith of California Baptist University has been named 2009 NAIA Softball Coach of the Year after guiding the Lancers to their first national title.

Each conference/A.I.I./unaffiliated group coach of the year is placed on the ballot along with coaches from the final four teams in the NAIA Softball Championship. The award is voted on by the NAIA's softball coaches.

"It is a great honor to be given this award," said CBU head coach Mike Smith. "It's a reflection of not just what I have done in my coaching career, but what the staff and teams have done. We always preach the team concept and this really is a team award. I really appreciate my peers and the vote of confidence. I've been coaching with [assistant coach] Bill [Baber] for 11 years now and he is just as much a part of this as anybody. This is something that we will share. This whole season has been surreal and is something that will be remembered for a life time."

Top-seeded California Baptist, in its third championship game appearance in the past five years, rallied from a first-inning two-run deficit by posting three runs in the bottom of the frame to beat St. Gregory's (Okla.) 3-2 for the title. The Lancers had a clean sweep through the tournament, winning all seven games. Smith had four players land a spot on the All-Tournament Team, including the tournament's MVP Ashley Boyd and the tournament's outstanding pitcher Tory Ferreira.

California Baptist finished the season with a school best record of 61-5 and won its fifth straight Golden State Athletic Conference crown. Smith is 337-47 in six years at the helm of the Lancers' program.