LEXINGTON, Ky. ? Just one day after announcing a new five-year contract for Kentucky baseball coach John Cohen, the program received more good news, as Cohen was named the National Coach of the Year by CollegeBaseballInsider.com.

After leading the Wildcats to the best season in the 102-year history of the program, Cohen has been filling his trophy cases up, winning Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year and the College Baseball Foundations National Coach of the Year awards.

?Kentucky was the biggest surprise in college baseball this season,? said Sean Ryan, co-founder of CollegeBaseballInsider.com. ?You would be hard-pressed to find anyone – even optimists in Lexington – who could have predicted the Wildcats would win a share of the SEC title. We congratulate John Cohen, his staff and his club on a terrific season.?

Cohen directed the greatest turnaround in the storied history of SEC baseball, turning the Kentucky program from a last place finish in 2005 to claiming a share of the SEC Championship with a school-record 44 wins.

CollegeBaseballInsider.com, the five-year old website, is devoted to covering college baseball on a national level. Cohen was selected from a group of three finalists, which included UCLA?s John Savage and Hawaii?s Mike Trapasso.