From Case Western Reserve University Athletics
Case Western Reserve University head baseball coach Matt Englander received the Positive Coaching Alliance of Cleveland's Luminary Award at the Breakfast with the Indians event at Progressive Field on Tuesday morning.
Englander has led the Spartans to the first four NCAA Division III Championship berths in the program's history during his 10 seasons with the team, including back-to-back regional runner-up finishes in 2013 and 2014. His teams have combined to go 234-187-2, good for a .556 winning percentage, and have won at least 24 games in each of the last seven years. This past year, Englander and Case Western Reserve went 26-15, while qualifying for the NCAA Division III West Regional in Spokane, Washington.
Englander's success with the Spartans has come in the midst of overcoming personal adversity, as he underwent surgery in the fall of 2011 to remove a cancerous brain tumor. He immediately returned to his duties as head coach, guiding the team to back-to-back University Athletic Association Championships in 2013 and 2014. In addition, Englander has set a personal goal to complete a marathon in each of the 50 states, having already checked eight states off his list.
Tuesday's event also included a panel discussion with Indians' President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti, Director of Player Development Carter Hawkins and Manager of Youth Baseball Development Matt Kata, which will air on Sportstime Ohio on August 26th.
Positive Coach Alliance (PCA) is a national nonprofit working to transform the culture of youth sports so that every youth athlete can have a positive, character-building experience. The PCA-Cleveland Chapter works with nearly 80 high school and youth sports organizations throughout the region, and delivered over 100 workshops for coaches, parents, athletes and administrators in the past year alone. To learn more, go to cleveland.positivecoach.org.