STU baseball coach Jorge Perez named NAIA top Coach of the Year

St. Thomas University head baseball coach, Jorge Perez, has been named as the 2018 Diamond Sports ABCA Regional Coach of the Year at the NAIA level.
This is the second-time Perez has been recognized for this award, having been nominated in 2015 following a runner-up finish in the NAIA World Series.
The 2018 season was Perez's most successful over the course of his 11-year tenure as the head baseball coach. The STU baseball team went 56-9 under the guidance of Perez, which established a new program record for wins in a single season; breaking the previous record of 54 wins in 1998.
St. Thomas won the regular season Sun Conference Championship with a 22-2 record in Sun Conference play. The Bobcats went on to the NAIA World Series for the sixth time in program history, sweeping through the Hattiesburg Opening Round tournament.
Perez coached four-NAIA All-Americans, which included First-Team members: Elis Marrero, Nelson Mompierre and Orlando Rodriguez, as well as Second-Team NAIA All-American, Jackie Urban. Marrero (8th round draft pick by the Boston Red Sox) and Mompierre (29th round draft pick by the New York Mets) were both selected in the 2018 Major League Baseball draft. Additionally, Marrero was the first-NAIA player selected. Mompierre was recognized as the 2018 NAIA Most Valuable Player by Perfect Game.
Following the NAIA World Series-run, Perez was named as an assistant to the Team USA Collegiate National Team coaching staff and worked under St. Thomas University alums, Paul Mainieri and Jim Hendry. Perez was part of a staff that competed against Chinese-Taipei, Japan and the Cuban National Teams and coached the top-collegiate talent from around the country.
St. Thomas University begins the 2019 season on January 22, taking on Taylor University (Ind.) from Paul Demie Mainieri Field with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m.