Izaryk Named Joel Cooney Manager of the Year
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – After helping the Sanford Mainers reach the postseason for the eighth straight season, field manager Aaron Izaryk has been named the New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) Joel Cooney Manager of the Year for the 2015 season, the league announced Thursday.
Izaryk, who completed his seventh season with the Moose this summer, has guided the Mainers to the playoffs every season he has led them. He helped produce six NECBL All-Stars, raising his eight-year total to 38 All-Stars.
Sanford was very much in the thick of the North Division race throughout the summer and took North Adams to a three-game series before falling in the West Division Semifinals. Izaryk’s Mainers ranked second in the league in team batting average (.270) and fielding percentage (.970).
When not with the Mainers during the summer months, Izaryk serves as the head coach of the Bridgton Academy Wolverines. Before Bridgton, Izaryk enjoyed a post with his alma mater, the University of Maine, as the pitching coach and catching instructor for the Black Bears over a five-year span.
Previous summer league coaching experience for Izaryk includes a one-year post as assistant coach for the Keene Swamp Bats, and also served as an assistant coach with the former Hyannis Mets of the Cape Cod League in 2007.
As a player, Izaryk saw action in 197 career games for UMaine and batted .318, with 207 hits, 134 runs scored and 123 RBIs. He was a three-time All-America East First Team selection and was also named to the America East All-Tournament team and was an NEIBA All-New England Second Team pick. As a freshman in 2002, Izaryk was named a Collegiate Baseball /Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American. Izaryk was also named a Second Team Academic All-American, becoming the first Maine baseball player to receive such an honor.
2015 NECBL End-of-Year Awards
Joel Cooney Manager of the Year – Aaron Izaryk (Sanford)
Sportsman of the Year – Aaron Hill (Mystic)
Most Improved Player – Brent Rooker (Plymouth)
Christopher Ashmos 10th Player Award – Sam Dexter (Sanford)
Top Relief Pitcher – Sam Delaplane (Vermont)
Best Defensive Player – Manny De Jesus (Valley)
Robin Roberts Top Starting Pitcher – Tim Viehoff (Laconia)
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The New England Collegiate Baseball League is a wooden bat college summer league that fields teams in all six New England states. Partially funded by Major League Baseball, the NECBL started play in 1994 and has sent over 100 alumni to the Major Leagues. For continuing coverage of the NECBL, visit NECBL.com and follow the league on Twitter and on Facebook.
