TORONTO - Doug Wiseman of St. Clair College has been named the inaugural Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) Coach of the Year. Wiseman was at the helm of a Saints team that completed a historic women's softball season in 2022.
The Saints have been a traditional powerhouse for almost two decades, earning OCAA medals in 15 of the last 16 seasons entering 2022. But the Saints had been stuck with the bridesmaids label as of late, with four trips to the last five OCAA gold medal games with only silver to show for it. St. Clair's last OCAA championship came in 2014.
All signs pointed to a change in script early in the 2022 OCAA regular season, when St. Clair outscored its opposition 53-4 against its first four opponents. When the Saints opened a doubleheader with a 3-0 win against another perennial medalist Humber before a 16-4 victory in the nightcap on Sept. 17, St. Clair looked well on its way to the regular season championship. In a Sept. 25 doubleheader against defending OCAA champion and nemesis Durham, St. Clair swept the twin bill by scores of 8-0 and 7-0 for 12 straight wins.
St. Clair went on to defeat Humber and Durham again in single games to begin October, and following a doubleheader sweep of Conestoga by a 26-0 aggregate on Oct. 15, the Saints completed a perfect regular season. While teams have gone undefeated before in OCAA women's softball (the last coming in 2011), no team had come close to the 24-0 record compiled by St. Clair in a single season.
St. Clair broke three OCAA team regular season records including most RBI in a season (253), most hits in a season (318), and most runs in a season (277). Perhaps even more impressive was the 20 total runs allowed, less than one per game.
The record would only be a footnote in history had St. Clair not continue its historic run at the OCAA championship. St. Clair opened play with a 3-1 win against a pesky Fanshawe team, then in back-to-back games against Durham, won by a combined score of 15-0 to win its fifth OCAA championship in program history.
Not surprisingly, St. Clair swept the OCAA women's softball major awards, headlined by Wiseman's fifth OCAA Coach of the Year selection. The Saints also won the Canadian Collegiate Softball Association national title, and completed the entire season (exhibition, regular season and championship) with an overall record of 34-0.
The OCAA has expanded its season ending awards to include an athletic administrator, coach and rookies in addition to its traditional athletes of the year. Winners will be honoured at the 10th OCAA Hall of Fame ceremony, to be held at the St. Clair College Centre for the Arts in Windsor, Ont., on Monday, May 1.
2022-23 OCAA MAJOR AWARDS
Apr. 12 - Ray Chateau, Athletic Administrator of the Year
Apr. 13 - Emily Cooper, Female Rookie of the Year
Apr. 14 - Daniel Talmage, Male Rookie of the Year
Apr. 17 - Doug Wiseman, Coach of the Year
Apr. 18 - Male Athlete of the Year
Apr. 19 - Female Athlete of the Year
- OCAA -
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