OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University baseball coach Denney Crabaugh will be recognized by the American Baseball Coaches Association as a 2009 regional coach of the year in the NAIA.

Crabaugh guided the Stars to a 53-9 record and a tie for third in the NAIA World Series last year. The Stars also won the NAIA Championships Opening-Round Field 2 Tournament and broke their NAIA single-season record with 161 home runs hit.

Brent Weaver became NAIA and Sooner Athletic Conference player of the year. He was one of three all-Americans OCU had.

Crabaugh will be awarded that honor during the ABCA Hall of Fame/Coach of the Year banquet on Jan. 8, 2010 in Dallas. Crabaugh has previously been named the NAIA coach of the year in 2003 and 2005. He was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 2007.

In 2009, Crabaugh notched his 1,000th career win on Feb. 26 against Bacone. He has a 1,039-322-2 career mark in 21 years as OCU head coach.

OCU, ranked third in the NAIA in the preseason, starts the year Feb. 5 against Texas Wesleyan in Fort Worth, Texas.

“I expect us to be contenders at the national level once again,” Crabaugh said of this year's team. “That's the expectation every year. We have a lot of new players, but they have the same expectations as everyone in this program.”

Since 1991, OCU has 973 victories, tied with Florida State for the most in college baseball over that span. OCU had its 11th consecutive 50-win campaign in 2009.