Baker head coach Jason Thoren walks toward a player during a summer camp Wednesday morning at Free State on June 26, 2019.

Jason Thoren and the Baker football program did not miss a beat during Thoren’s first season in charge of the Wildcats program.

The former Lawrence High and Kansas football standout this week was named the Heart of American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year after leading BU to a 9-2 regular season record and south division championship.

Thoren became just the second coach in the history of Baker football to win nine games in his first season and was supported by offensive coordinator Mitch Browning winning HAAC Assistant Coach of the Year honors.

A 15-year Baker assistant under former BU coach Mike Grossner, Thoren was promoted to the top spot last summer and vowed to keep the Wildcats as competitive as they had been for the past decade.

A big reason for Thoren’s early success was his familiarity with the players and the program and his belief in what Baker has to offer.

“I love it,” he said last summer. “I love the people. I love the fact that I can sell the education. I love that I can recruit local players and I know what kind of education they can get so it’s an easy sell. It’s an amazing place and I couldn’t be happier.”

In addition to the two coaching honors, 18 Wildcats earned all-conference nods, including Nigil Graves-Houston, who was named HAAC Freshman of the Year.

The other Wildcats honored this week for their play were: first-team offense selections JD Woods, Marco Aguinaga, Sam Huckabee, Jared Harvey and Brandon Lehnherr; second-team selection Graves-Houston, who ran for 705 yards and 12 touchdowns in the BU backfield; and honorable mention wide receiver Nate Pauly.

On defense, Sam Skwarlo, Mikeice Adams, Bryson Briggs, Grant Elston and Jon Scire earned first-team honors, with John Rincon, Terrel Simpson and Jake Zieler being picked to the second-team and Will Cox and Brennen Kellogg earning honorable mention status.

Place kicker Ethan Barnard also earned a spot on the first team for special teams.

This week, BU will travel to Salina to take on Kansas Wesleyan in the first round of the NAIA FCS playoffs.