May 15, 2026

NEW ORLEANS, La. – Regional Athletes and Coaches of the Year for the 2026 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field season were announced on Thursday by the United States Track & Field and Cross-Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Each of the five regions – Great Lakes, Midwest, South, South Central, and West – honored both genders' top track athletes and field athletes as well as the top men's and women's head coaches and assistant coaches.

Award winners were determined by a vote of USTFCCA member coaches.  Only individuals from USTFCCCA member programs are eligible for awards.

Many of these honored athletes and coaches are headed to the 2026 NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships next week in Asheville, N.C.

Dakota State's (S.D.) Alex Glover was selected as the USTFCCCA Midwest Region Women's Coach-of-the-Year.  Glover, in his first year as head coach, led the Trojans to their first outdoor conference team title since 1997 in the former South Dakota-Iowa Conference (SDIC), winning the Frontier Conference Outdoor Championships with 167 points and capturing three event titles. 

All of four Dakota State's throwing crews ranked top 10 in the national #EventSquad Rankings.

Glover was also named to the Frontier Conference Women's Outdoor Track & Field Coach-of-the-Year, DSU's inaugural year in the Frontier Conference.  The Trojans also snapped Dickinson State's (N.D.) streak of eight consecutive women's outdoor track & field conference title.

Dakota State will be sending 18 total athletes, along with three alternates, to the three-day NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championship meet Wednesday through next Friday.  The national meet takes place at Karl Straus Track in Asheville, N.C.