ABCA – Indiana State baseball head coach Mitch Hannahs was named the 2023 ABCA/ATEC NCAA Division I Midwest Region Coach of the Year as announced by the American Baseball Coaches Association and ATEC on Tuesday morning. The ABCA/ATEC Regional and National Coaches of the Year are selected by members of the ABA All-America & Coach of the Year committees in all nine divisions.
 
Hannahs receives the honor for the first time after guiding the Sycamores to one of the best seasons in program history. The Sycamores won the 2023 Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament championships, hosted their first-ever NCAA regional, won the Terre Haute Regional, and advanced the first NCAA Super Regional in program history. For his efforts, Hannahs was voted as the league's Dan Callahan Coach of the Year by his peers for the first time in his career.
 
In 2023, the Sycamores won 45 games; the most in the Hannahs coaching era and set a new program record for Missouri Valley wins with 24. ISU won every MVC weekend series for the first time in program history.
 
The Sycamores advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 12th time in program history and third in the last four seasons in 2023. ISU was ranked in all six major NCAA baseball polls and posted a top-10 RPI heading into the postseason. With a mantra of playing anyone, any time, and any place, the Sycamores headed into the postseason as one of the nation's hottest teams, winning 30 of their final 33 regular season games, including nonconference victories over Vanderbilt, Indiana, Purdue, Ball State, and Illinois.
 
ISU won the 2023 MVC Tournament in front of their home fans at Bob Warn Field, clinching the program's first tournament championship since 2019 and eighth in program history. The regular season and conference tournament success led to Indiana State earning the No. 14 national seed in the 2023 NCAA Tournament and the right to host an NCAA Regional for the first time in program history.
 
Indiana State continued its momentum in the NCAA Tournament as ISU topped Wright State and Iowa (twice) over the June 2-4 weekend on the way to winning just the program's second NCAA Regional title in school history and first since 1986. The Sycamores advanced to the Super Regional round for the first time in program history since the NCAA Tournament format was changed back in 1999. ISU's season ended in Fort Worth after falling twice to TCU at Lupton Stadium.
 
Hannahs' recognition continues a strong postseason award showing for the Sycamores.
 
Connor Fenlong (MVC Pitcher of the Year) has been honored on three separate All-American teams (ABCA/Rawlings, NCBWA, and Collegiate Baseball News). Catcher Grant Magill became ISU's second ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove recipient after receiving the recognition last week. Fenlong and Lane Miller were both honored on the ABCA/Rawlings Midwest All-Region Team.
 
Overall, 11 Indiana State athletes were honored on the MVC postseason All-Conference team with five players garnering First Team nods.
 
About the ABCA
Founded in 1945, the American Baseball Coaches Association is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level. Its over 15,000 members represent all 50 states and 40 countries. Since its initial meeting of 27 college baseball coaches in June 1945, Association membership has broadened to include nine divisions: NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA, NJCAA, Pacific Association Division, High School, Youth and Travel.

About ATEC Sports
ATEC Sports manufactures industry-leading training equipment and machines for elite baseball and softball programs. From training machines to tees, nets and screens, ATEC sets the standard when it comes to equipment today and is the Official Training Equipment of Major League Baseball. You can learn more about all these products – including the revolutionary M3X training machine – at http://atecsports.com.
 
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For the latest information on the Sycamore Baseball team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  Fans can also receive updates on Sycamore Athletics by downloading the March On App from both the App Store and the Google Play Store.