Roy Vernon Named ABCA National Assistant Coach of the Year
Greensboro, NC — The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) has announced that Roy Vernon, Surry Assistant Baseball Coach, has been named the 2025 ABCA/Soldier Sports National Assistant Coach of the Year for NJCAA Division III baseball. Vernon becomes the first assistant coach in the history of Region 10 baseball to be honored with the prestigious ABCA award.
"It was a big surprise and honor to receive the ABCA/Soldier Sports NJCAA Division III Assistant Coach of the Year award," stated Vernon. "I would like to thank my baseball family and my wife, children and grandchildren for always supporting me."
Vernon played an integral part in helping lead the Knights to both a Region 10 and Mid-Atlantic District championship this past season along with finishing 5th in the NJCAA Division III World Series. The Knights finished 37-14 being nationally ranked the entire season. Surry also earned the NJCAA World Series Sportsmanship Award while being named as an NJCAA All-Academic Team with an overall 3.14 grade point average.
"Coach Vernon embodies what college baseball is all about — character, discipline, and dedication to helping young men reach their full potential," said Surry Athletic Director, Mark Tucker. "He has helped so many student-athletes over the years develop not only as better baseball players, but also better young men. This honor reflects his passion and hard work for our players and program."
Since helping start the baseball program at Surry in 1995, Vernon has played a pivotal role in success both on and off the field. He has coached in more Surry baseball games than anyone in school history having served as an assistant coach from 1995-2008 along with a second stint from 2022-2025. His recruiting classes have consistently been ranked among the top of Region 10 while establishing a reputation as one of the top hitting coaches nationally. Inducted into the Surry County Sports Hall of Fame in 2015, Vernon has coached numerous NJCAA All-Americans along with 26 players that signed or played at Surry that went on to play professional baseball.
The ABCA Assistant Coach of the Year award has been given annually since 1999 and expanded in recent years to honor top assistant coaches across eleven divisions of amateur baseball, including NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA. The ABCA selection emphasizes excellence in coaching fundaments, player development, recruiting, and retaining high quality student-athletes. The award also recognizes dedication to the mission of the program and institution along with respect for student-athletes and coaches while placing an emphasis on sportsmanship.
Vernon will be formally recognized at the 82nd annual ABCA Convention, scheduled for January 8-11, 2026, in Columbus, Ohio, where recipients from all divisions will be honored. The American Baseball Coaches Association consists of over 15,000 members nationally.