Cole Selected South Region Coach-of-the-Year; Rose and Ward Named All-Region

Cole Selected South Region Coach-of-the-Year; Rose and Ward Named All-Region

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Birmingham-Southern College head coach Mitch Cole was selected South Region Coach-of-the-Year by D3hoops.com in an announcement made today. SCAC Player-of-the-Year, Nick Rose of Colorado College, along with Todd Ward of Oglethorpe University were both selected as All-South Region Second Team honorees. Complete Release

Cole led Birmingham-Southern to a 23-4 overall record and an SCAC-best 14-2 conference mark in the school's last season as a provisional member of NCAA Division III. The Panthers ended their season with two wins at the NCAA Division III Provisional Tournament, concluding with a 69-60 victory over Covenant College in the championship game.

Rose (pictured left), a senior from Lakewood, Colo., who was a First-Team all-SCAC selection a year ago, led the league in scoring for the second consecutive season. Averaging 21.7 points per game (the fifth-highest single-season total in SCAC history), Rose become just the fifth player in conference history to earn back-to-back scoring titles. He recorded four games of 30 or more points and 13 games of 20 or more during the 2010-11 season. Rose scored 1,069 points the last two seasons combined – the most points by any player in league history in a two-year stretch. His 1,494 career point total ranks 13th all-time in league history. The senior also led the SCAC in free throw percentage at 90.2 percent (92-102), a total that stands as the third-best single-season percentage in league history. Not only a talented scorer but Rose was also active on the defensive end as he led the conference in steals with 60.

Ward (pictured right), a senior from New Milford, Conn., and a D3hoops.com preseason all-America selection, posted a league-high 13 double-doubles during the regular season. The senior averaged 15.5 points (fourth in the SCAC) and 9.1 rebounds per game (second in the SCAC) for the Petrels and shot 53.6 percent from the field (second in the SCAC). Ward is a three-time all-SCAC First Team selection - the first Oglethorpe player to ever accomplish the feat. In his final game at the SCAC tournament, Ward became the league's all-time leading rebounder by grabbing his 858th career rebound in the Petrels' semifinal loss to Centre. Ward went on to grab two more rebounds on the night to push the all-time mark for rebounding superiority to 860 in a league that is celebrating it's 20th anniversary in 2010-11.

Players were nominated for these awards by the Sports Information Directors at the various schools, who were contacted multiple times as the season wound down to remind them to make their players eligible. There were 680 players nominated nationwide, a new high. The ballot was then made available to SIDs, who voted for a predetermined number of players in their region.