Coach Mendenhall receives district Coach of the Year award

OXFORD, Ala. -- McCook Community College softball coach Mike Mendenhall was one of 16 junior colleges coaches awarded district coach of the year awards at the National Junior College Athletic Association Division 1 Softball College World Series banquet Sunday.

Mendenhall received the award for Northwest Plains District Coach of the Year. MCC went 30-2 in Region IX this season and 52-7 overall. Weather permitting, the team begins play today against San Jacinto College in the first round of the 20-team double-elimination national tournament.

Mendenhall, who is in his fourth season at MCC started his career 0-8 in 2023 but the team finished his first season at 31-28 and followed that with a 34-21 mark before going 52-11 last season and leading the team to its first-ever appearance in the college world series.

The Laramie, Wyo. native has a career record of 168-57 with a winning percentage of .734.

Sunday's banquet was held at Big Bill's Garage in the infield of the Talladega Speedway where he received his award. Of the 16 coaches honored, 13 were region champions. The NJCAA has 22 regions competing in 16 districts with three districts having multiple regions in them.

This year's College World Series is scheduled to continue through Saturday.