In his fourth season at the helm of the Morehead State baseball program, Head Coach Mik Aoki has been named the OVC's Coach of the Year.
Upon winning the award, Aoki said: "I am honored to be named Coach of the Year. It is a reflection of the hard work of both the players and staff, and I am thrilled to receive it as a team award."
Aoki joins his predecessor Mike McGuire (2015), Steve Hamilton (1977, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986), John "Sonny" Allen (1969, 1973), and Dr. Rex Chaney (1964, 1965, 1966) as coaches who have won OVC Coach of the Year at Morehead State.
Aoki has improved upon his win total in every season since taking over at Morehead State prior to the 2020 season. In the COVID-shortened 2020 season, Morehead State went just 5-10, but Aoki led the program to a 24-23 record in 2021, a 27-27 record in 2022, and posted the seventh 30-win season in program history this year, with a 34-19 record. Morehead State secured its first outright OVC Regular Season Championship since 1979 on Friday with a 14-10 win over Little Rock.
Aoki has a winning percentage above .500 in his time at Morehead State (90-79 overall), and a .581 winning percentage vs. OVC opponents (43-31).
This season, Aoki led Morehead State to its highest number of wins in conference play since 2019, going 16-7 in conference play with just one series loss.
Eight of his players were named All-OVC this season, including the OVC's Player of the Year – Ryley Preece. Jackson Feltner (First Team), Roman Kuntz (First Team), Colton Becker (Second Team), Luke Helton (Second Team), Nick Gooden (Second Team), Luke Lyman (Freshman Team), and Carter Owens (Freshman Team) joined Preece on the All-OVC teams.
Brady Ward, Tyler Jackson, and Chris Rose, who play a big role in player development as well, assist Aoki in coaching the MSU Baseball team. The four coaches and the Morehead State Eagles look to advance to an NCAA Regional this week, as MSU vies for its fifth OVC Tournament Championship.
By Hunter Hurst, Morehead State Athletic Media Relations