BULLDOGS EARN HONORS: Tyler Dent, Ethan Wilson receive top awards
Published 12:00 am Thursday, December 13, 2018
The Alabama Baseball Coaches Association recently named Andalusia’s Tyler Dent as the Class 4A Coach of the Year and Ethan Wilson as the Dual Player of the Year.
Dent and Wilson helped lead Andalusia to the school’s first ever baseball state championship in May.
“When you win a state championship, you usually get selected as the Coach of the Year for your classification,” Andalusia head coach Tyler Dent. “It’s an honor to be selected, but I really feel like I’m undeserving.”
Dent said he told his players and coaches that they are the ones that earned the award.
“I told them yesterday that I don’t feel like I deserve this award,” Dent said. “I get the recognition, but they are the ones that went out there and got the job done. They are the ones that bought into what we were doing last year. It’s a testament to them. I thanked them for this award. They deserve the majority of the credit. Yeah, I spend a lot of time with them and watching film, but this is what I love doing. This is just a tremendous group of guys that love the game.”
Along with Dent, Wilson was also honored by the association.
Wilson was named Dual Player of the Year for all classifications.
“Who is more deserving than him,” Dent said. “He has poured his life into the game of baseball. He was and still is a tremendous baseball player.”
Dent said that Wilson’s work ethic is part of what makes him a special player.
“When people ask me about Ethan and what makes him a great player, I tell them it’s because he does everything right,” Dent said. “I truly believe that he approaches everything the right way. He has devoted his life to the game of baseball with the goal of becoming a tremendous player. He hasn’t done that by himself. He has a great family that is always there for him. For him to be named Dual Player of the Year for all classifications just goes to show you what kind of player that he is.”
Wilson and Dent were also honored over the summer by the Alabama Sports Writers Association.
Wilson was named Class 4A Player of Year, Hitter of the Year and First-Team outfielder.
Dent was named Class 4A Coach of the Year.
Wilson finished the year with a .505 batting average, 10 home runs, 40 RBIs, nine triples and eight doubles.
On the mound, he went 12-0 with a 1.01 ERA, one save and 118 strikeouts in 69 innings pitched.
Wilson is currently playing baseball for the University of South Alabama.