Clingersmith receives ABCA/ATEC Regional Coach of the Year honors for 10th time

SANBORN — For the 10th time, SUNY Niagara baseball head coach Matt Clingersmith was selected as the North District recipient of the NJCAA Division III Coach of the Year award Tuesday. The honor was presented by the American Baseball Coaches Association and ATEC for its NCAA Divisions I, II and III, NAIA, NJCAA Divisions I, II and III, Pacific Association Division and high school categories.

Clingersmith completed his 20th season as head coach of the Thunderwolves and led the program to its first NJCAA Division III World Series championship in program history. SUNY Niagara also finished 55-6, a new single-season record since the program began in 1967, and surpassed the previous best finish of 51-2 in 2025.

Clingersmith previously received the ABCA/ATEC Regional Coach of the Year honor following the 2009, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2025 seasons. The 2012, 2017 and 2021 campaigns resulted in SUNY Niagara’s only national runners-up appearances in the NJCAA Division III World Series in program history. 

This season, SUNY Niagara clinched both its 10th NJCAA Region III championship and NJCAA Division III World Series tournament trip under Clingersmith, which ended in defeating three-time reigning World Series champion Rowan College South Jersey-Gloucester for the crown. The Thunderwolves featured a roster that had three NJCAA All-Americans — Dalton Harper (also the NJCAA Division III Player of the Year), Keegan Bazinet (also the NJCAA Division III Pitcher of the Year) and Derrick Allen — ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove winners Cam Gravelle (also the NJCAA Division III Defensive Player of the Year), Mike Schaefer and Bazinet and five NJCAA Region III selections. 

SUNY Niagara finished in the top five in multiple NJCAA Division III categories, both at the plate and on the mound this season. Offensively, the Thunderwolves finished second in triples (34) and third in batting average (.394), runs batted in (573), hits (712), doubles (147) and on-base percentage (.494), fifth in slugging percentage (.586) and tied for 23rd in stolen bases (117).

The 55 wins by SUNY Niagara's pitching staff were the best among all NJCAA Division III teams this season. The Thunderwolves had 485 strikeouts and averaged 10.84 strikeouts per nine innings, both second overall in the division behind RCSJ-Gloucester (504) and Hudson Valley Community College (11.59), respectively.

An eight-time NJCAA Region III Coach of the Year winner, Clingersmith and the Thunderwolves have won at least 40 games 11 times, including in each of the last five seasons.

A Niagara Falls native and graduate of the former Niagara Catholic High School, Erie Community College and Canisius University, Clingersmith recorded both his 700th (Feb. 28 at Cayuga CC) and 750th (versus Herkimer in Region III championship May 16) career wins this season. Clingersmith now has a 754-233-1 record at SUNY Niagara.