By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Fort Hays State Men’s Soccer coaching staff has been selected as the United Soccer Coaches Division II Central Region Staff of the Year for 2021, announced Tuesday (Nov. 30). Head coach Gerry Cleary receives this honor for the second time in his three years as head coach at FHSU, while Brian Werchek receives recognition in his first year as assistant coach.
The Tigers are currently preparing for their Round of 16 match with Lake Erie College in the NCAA Tournament, which will be played Thursday in Indianapolis. FHSU owns a 14-5-2 record for the season and won the GAC/MIAA Tournament Championship to qualify for their ninth-straight NCAA Tournament, which is the longest streak of consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in the country.
Nine Tigers picked up All-GAC/MIAA honors, including Offensive Player of the Year Taisei Arima and Defender of the Year Alec Bevis. They joined Blake Arndt, Kieran Brown, and Viktor Robertsson as first-team selections. The same five individuals also received D2CCA All-Central Region First Team honors and the Tigers had seven D2CCA All-Region selections overall. This Tiger squad also produced the most CoSIDA Academic All-District selections for a season in program history with honors going to Bevis, Brown, Robertsson, and Nicolas Cortes.
Fort Hays State has now had the United Soccer Coaches Central Central Region Staff of the Year three of the last four years (2018, 2019, and 2021).
Each of the eight NCAA Division II men’s staffs receiving Regional Staff of the Year honors will be recognized at the College Coaches Awards Ceremony at the United Soccer Coaches Convention on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022.