HOUSTON Rice coach Wayne Graham has been named the western regional coach of the year by the American Baseball Coaches Association, the second time the Owls coach has won the honor from his peers.
"This is a significant honor since it comes from the ABCA," said Graham. "It is extremely gratifying when your fellow coaches recognize the accomplishments of your team."
Graham led the Owls to their third appearance in the College World Series in 2002. Rice was 52-14 on the season, winning its sixth consecutive Western Athletic Conference championship.
The '02 WAC coach of the year, Graham also won the ABCA's western regional coaching honor in 1997. He will receive the new award at the 2003 ABCA national convention on Jan. 2-5 in San Diego, Calif.
Graham will enter his 12th season at Rice in 2003 with a 478-212 record at the school. Under his guidance, Rice has emerged as one of the top baseball programs in the nation on a yearly basis. In addition to the six straight WAC titles, Graham also led Rice to the final Southwest Conference tournament championship in 1996 and CWS appearances in '97 and '99.
His leadership of the Rice baseball team led to the construction of Reckling Park in 2000, one of the showplace venues of college baseball.