Graham Honored By American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)
8/1/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Aug. 1, 2007
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Rice head coach Wayne Graham, who led the Owls to a 56-14 mark and a third-place finish in the 2007 College World Series, has been voted the South Central Region Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) the organization announced Friday its headquarters in Tennessee.
Graham received 14 of the 21 first place votes from coaches in the South Central Region. Under Graham's direction Rice won its 12th consecutive conference championship, claiming the Conference USA crown for the second year in a row with a 22-2 league mark. The Owls made their 13th NCAA Tournament appearance in Graham's 16 seasons at the helm of the program, advancing to the final four teams of the College World Series.
Rice was seeded second in the NCAA Tournament and the highest-seeded team at the College World Series. The Owls went 7-2 in the NCAA Tournament.
It is the second time in as many years for Graham to earn the honor from the ABCA. He's earned the region's coach of the year honors four times overall. He was the Western Region Coach of the Year in 1997 and 2002. Graham was the national coach of the year in 2003, the year Rice won the NCAA national championship.
In 2007 Graham earned the Keith LeClair Conference USA coach of the year award. He coached four Rice players to all-America status and an eye-opening 14 of his Owls were selected in June's Major League Baseball amateur draft.
The ABCA is a non-profit organization represented by more than 5,000 members from all 50 states.