Riverdale, N.Y. - Manhattan College head baseball coach
Kevin Leighton has been named the 2006 Northeast Regional Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association, it was announced recently by the ABCA. Leighton, who just completed his first season at the helm of the Jaspers, receives this honor after leading Manhattan to the program's first MAAC Championship and second NCAA Regional appearance.
"It is very nice to be recognized by your peers. This is a tremendous honor," commented Leighton. "This award reflects the hard work of our coaching staff and players, and it is something that I am very excited to share with them."
Leighton guided the Jaspers to a second place finish in the MAAC regular season, but the Jaspers used dominant starting pitching to win all three of their games at the MAAC Tournament, taking home the title following a 7-3 win over Le Moyne in the Championship Game. The three Manhattan starting pitchers (
Chris Cody,
Jesse Darcy, and
Josh Santerre) worked 26 of a possible 27 tournament innings.
"
Kevin Leighton is a great recipient of this award," stated Manhattan Director of Athletics Bob Byrnes. "Kevin would be the first person to recognize his assistants (
Mike Cole and Ryan Darcy) and players for his record breaking season. He grew bigger and better, it seemed, as each series was played, culminating with the MAAC Championship and NCAA success. I am really pleased that he is being recognized with this award."
Manhattan received an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, and was placed in the Lincoln, Nebraska Regional with #6 University of Nebraska, #19 University of Miami, and #23 University of San Fransico. In the opening game vs. Nebraska, Jasper ace Cody twirled a masterpiece, and back-to-back home runs by
Matt Rizzotti and
John Fitzpatrick provided the offensive spark for the, 4-1, upset win. The Jaspers also defeated San Francisco before being eliminated by Miami in the Regional Final. The two wins and Regional Final appearance were both firsts for both Manhattan and the MAAC.
Four of Leighton's players were named First Team All-MAAC, with Cody also taking home MAAC Pitcher of the Year honors. Cody and Fitzpatrick were both named ABCA/Rawlings Second Team All-Americans and to the ABCA All-Northeast Region First Team. Cody, who was drafted in the Ninth Round of the MLB Draft by the Detroit Tigers, was also named a Second Team Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball All-American.
Manhattan ended the 2006 season with a 34-23 record. The 34 wins is a program best, and matches the Manhattan College best by any sport.
