St. Thomas University head baseball coach Jorge Perez has been named the 2018 Sun Conference Baseball Coach of the Year during an on-field ceremony at The Sun Conference Championships at the FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches.
Perez led the Bobcats to a school record 49 regular season wins and the best regular-season winning percentage (.907) in school history. The 49 wins breaks the previous record of 45 regular-season wins by the 1998 Bobcats that went on to set the school record for overall wins (54), including postseason.
St. Thomas, under the leadership of Perez, went 22-2 in Sun Conference play to win the regular season conference championship and earn the number one seed at this weekend's Sun Conference Championship Tournament.
The Bobcats were red hot down the stretch of the season, winning 36 of their last 38 games dating back to March 1st. The hot streak included a win streak of 18 games from March 23 to April 20.
In his 10th season as head coach of the Bobcats, Perez currently holds a career record of 363-218. Earlier this season, Perez was named to the coaching staff of USA Baseball's 2018 Collegiate National Team where he will be an assistant coach and first base coach under LSU head coach and St. Thomas University Sports Hall of Famer Paul Mainieri.
Perez has led the Bobcats to six appearances in the NAIA National Championship Opening Round, including a runner up finish at the NAIA World Series in 2015 – the best finish in school history. With a 50-5 record, this year's team is currently ranked no. 2 nationally by Perfect Game and no. 3 in the NAIA Coaches Top-25 Poll.
Perez headlined a banner day for Bobcat award winners as eight Bobcats received First-Team All-Conference honors highlighted by Sun Conference Player of the Year Nelson Mompierre. Three STU players were named Second-Team All-Conference, while five student-athletes were named Academic All-Conference.