North Greenville baseball coach Landon Powell named national Division II Coach of the Year

North Greenville’s Landon Powell, who guided the Crusaders baseball team to the first NCAA Division II national championship in school history, has been named Division II Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association. 

Powell, in his eighth season at the Tigerville school, led North Greenville to a 54-10 record, including a 4-0 record in the Division II College World Series that culminated with a 5-3 victory against Port Loma Nazarene of San Diego, California, in the title game on June 10.

“I am very grateful for the honor,” Powell told The Greenville News. “My name is the one on the award, but I want people to know that this should be a staff award for the D2 National Coaching Staff of the Year. Our season was a total group effort. 

“Hunter Dilworth, Trey Dyson, Matt Williams, Ryan Brown and JK Love are all deserving of this honor as well; couldn’t have done it without them. I am lucky to coach alongside them every day.”

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The Crusaders also won the Conference Carolinas regular-season and tournament championships before winning the Division II Southeast Region title to earn their first-ever berth in the Division II College World Series.

North Greenville, which is 179-44 with four consecutive Conference Carolinas Tournament titles since 2018, outscored its four College World Series opponents by a combined 34-12 margin.

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Powell, a former South Carolina standout and Major League player, will be honored at the 2023 ABCA Convention in Nashville, Tennessee, on Jan. 6.