Four Locals Up For Coach of the Year

Koch, Reid, Da Costa and Kelly Among Finalists

December 21, 2007

UMass coach Sam Koch, Quinnipiac coach Eric Da Costa, UConn's Ray Reid and Boston College's Ed Kelly are among the 11 finalists for the NSCAA/adidas National Coach of the Year award.

Da Costa, who lead Quinnipiac to a 9-2-5 mark this season, represents the North Atlantic region. Reid, who lead the Huskies to another 20-win season, represents the Northeast and Kelly, who won ACC Coach of the Year after leading the Eagles to the No. 1 seed in the tournament, represents the South Atlantic.

But perhaps the most surpring name on the list is Koch. After his team was picked 10th in the Atlantic-10 Preseason Coaches Poll, Koch led UMass to the Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship title, the second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, and a historic run all the way to the NCAA National Semifinals.

UMass Assistant Jon Davy was earlier named East Region Assistant Coach of the Year and is now in the running for the National Assistant Coach of the Year as well.

All of the Division I Coach Of The Year Finalists

Far West, Cameron Rast, Santa Clara University
Great Lakes, Craig Blazer, DePaul University
Mid-Atlantic, Dan Donigan, Saint Louis University
Midwest, Jim DeRose, Bradley University
North Atlantic, Eric Da Costa, Quinnipiac University
Northeast, Ray Reid, University of Connecticut
South, Jay Vidovich, Wake Forest University
South Atlantic, Ed Kelly, Boston College
Additional finalists: John Bluem, Ohio State; Sam Koch, Massachusetts; Oliver Weiss, Virginia Tech.