By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
ATLANTA – The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced Monday (Mar. 25) the eight 2019 United States Marine Corps/WBCA NCAA Division II Region Coaches of the Year, along with the United States Marine Corps/WBCA NCAA Division II National Coach of the Year. Tony Hobson of Fort Hays State is the WBCA Central Region Coach of the Year for the 2018-19 season. All eight Region Coaches of the Year were finalists for National Coach of the Year, which goes to Molly Miller of Drury University this year.
The WBCA Region Coaches of the Year are as follows:
| NAME | SCHOOL |
| Jonathon Barbaree | Anderson University (Southeast Region) |
| Betsy Harris | Florida Southern College (South Region) |
| Jackie Hartzell | University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (East Region) |
| Tony Hobson | Fort Hays State University (Central Region) |
| Shelley Jarrard | Westminster College (South Central Region) |
| Molly Miller | Drury University (Midwest Region) – National Coach of the Year |
| Kenny Osborne | Concord University (Atlantic Region) |
| Heidi VanDerveer | University of California – San Diego (West Region) |
Hobson guided Fort Hays State to its second Mid-America Intercollegiate
Athletics Association Regular Season Championship and the program’s first-ever
MIAA Tournament championship in 2018-19. Hobson led the Tigers to a 30-1 record
entering the NCAA Championship Tournament, the fewest losses in the regular
season in program history. The Tigers made their fifth appearance in the NCAA
Tournament (fourth under Hobson) and earned the No. 1 seed in the Central
Regional for a second time in Hobson’s tenure. FHSU finished the year 32-2
overall, the best overall record produced in the program’s NCAA Division II
history. Hobson has guided the Tigers to eight consecutive seasons of 20-plus
wins going back to the 2011-12 season.
Hobson now has 16 “Coach of the Year” honors in his 27-year history
as a women’s college basketball coach. Hobson was also the MIAA Coach of the
Year this season. He has guided three different colleges to at least 30 wins in
a season in his career (FHSU for the second time this year, Hastings College
five times, and Barton (Kan.) Community College once). He now has an overall
record of 650-200 as a college coach, a .765 win percentage.