Independence, Kansas, May 14, 2018 – Independence Community College (ICC) head baseball coach, Beau Schultz has been named coach of the year by the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) for the 2018 season.
The Coach of the Year award is voted upon by all of the coaches in each of the two conferences, with a winner selected from both the East and the West. Schultz was selected for the East Conference, which consists of teams from Cowley County, Fort Scott, Neosho County, Independence, Johnson County, Coffeyville, Kansas City, Allen County, Labette County, and Highland.
“I am absolutely honored and humbled by receiving this prestigious award,” said Schultz. “It is a tribute to how hard our coaching staff has worked and how well our team has stuck together throughout the season. It’s more of a testament of the fight our kids had in them and the togetherness our program has proven time and time again.”
Schultz’s Pirates showed resiliency throughout the season reaching post-season play, where they fell to Colby Community College in the first round of the tournament on May 6.
“I could not be any prouder of this group of young men in both the classroom and on the baseball field, every group is special for sure, but this group will forever hold an extra special place in my heart. Awards such as this are a program award, it is all about the players and the coaches that become a very tightly knit family. I am just the one that gets his name on a plaque and the recognition,” said Schultz.
According to the KJCCC website, with 19 members, the KJCCC is the second largest major conference in community college athletics and one of the most prolific in the National Junior College Athletic Association.
Since its founding in 1923, the KJCCC has been dedicated to achieving the highest goals in the integration of academic and athletic endeavors. Individually, member schools have long been respected for successes both in the classroom and in its stadiums.
The KJCCC crowns champions in 21 sports – 10 women’s sports, and 11 men’s sports. They include baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, football, men’s and women’s golf, men’s and women’s rodeo, men’s and women’s soccer, softball, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track and field, volleyball and wrestling.