Indiana Tech Head Coach Kip McWilliams has been named the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Coach of the Year after guiding his Warriors to their first regular season conference championship since 2007 with a 22-6 mark in league play.
McWilliams is in his fifth season as the head coach of Indiana Tech and has a 168-122 all-time record. He will lead the Warriors into the WHAC Tournament as the No. 1 seed in their quest for a fourth straight conference tournament title.
Tech also landed three players on the WHAC First Team All-Conference, including the WHAC Pitcher of the Year Brandon Alger, a Leo High School graduate.
The sophomore lefty emerged as the staff ace this season with a 7-2 record and a 2.12 ERA. He ranks near the top of the conference in every statistical category, and ranks 14th in the NAIA in total runs allowed (19). Alger has also thrown four complete games in 11 starts and struck out 70 batters in 76.1 innings pitched.
Joining Alger on the All-Conference First Team were juniors Ignatius Mackenzie and Eric Wald. Mackenzie and Wald proved to be two of the biggest offensive threats in the WHAC this year combining for 15 home runs and 99 RBIs.
Mackenzie leads the team with a .347 batting average heading into the postseason. He is also the team leader in slugging percentage (.587), hits (58), doubles (14), and home runs (8), with three of his eight long balls being grand slams.
Wald is hitting .273 on the year and ranks second in the conference with 50 runs batted in. He is right behind Mackenzie with seven round-trippers and 10 doubles. Additionally, he has hit a team-high three triples.
Senior Eric Zagone received his second straight Honorable Mention All-Conference nod. After a slow start to the season, Zagone has won his last five starts and is tied for the conference lead in wins with eight. He owns an 8-3 record with a 3.46 ERA and has tossed two complete game shutouts.
Three Warriors earned WHAC Gold Glove awards for their tremendous defensive play this season, centerfielder Brandon Paletta, second baseman Reinaldo Scott, and first baseman Eric Wald. Paletta, the speedy senior, has a .992 fielding percentage while Scott has a .976 and Wald a .996.
Named to the WHAC Champions of Character Team was senior pitcher Modesto Martinez. This award is for the athletes that best exemplify the five core characteristics of the NAIA: Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, Servant Leadership, and Sportsmanship.
Indiana Tech placed 15 student-athletes on the Academic All-Conference Team including Mitchell Burton, Collin DeDecker, Craig Herrmann, Bryon Huff, Ken Jarrett, Alex Kimsey, Aaron Lewellyn, Ryan Meek, Josh Miller, Kyle Nolen, Brandon Paletta, Tyler Sailer, Bryan Wachtel, Eric Wald, and Tyler Watts. To be nominated a player must be a junior or above with at least a 3.25 GPA.
