BOSTON – Wofford men's basketball coach Jay McAuley was named a finalist for the 2019-20 Joe B. Hall Award, which is presented each year to the nation's top first-year coach in Division I basketball, CollegeInsider.com announced Monday. This season's award was won by Niagara's Greg Paulus.
 
In his first year, McAuley led Wofford to 19 wins, including a Dec. 15 victory over then-No. 17 North Carolina in Chapel Hill. McAuley also guided the Terriers to a SoCon tournament run that featured an upset of No. 2 seed Furman and a win over No. 6 seed Chattanooga to send Wofford to its second straight SoCon Championship game, where it ultimately fell to No. 1 seed ETSU.
 
McAuley's 19 wins in his debut season as a head coach rank first all-time at Wofford, topping both Richard Johnson and former Wofford great Mike Young, earning invitations to multiple postseason tournaments.
 
2020 JOE B. HALL AWARD FINALISTS
Lennie Acuff, Lipscomb
Shane Burcar, Northern Arizona
Quinton Farrell, Presbyterian
Dane Fischer, William & Mary
Joe Gallo, Merrimack
Todd Golden, San Francisco
Eric Henderson, South Dakota State
Juwan Howard, Michigan
Willie Jones, North Carolina A&T
Carmen Maciariello, Siena
Jay McAuley, Wofford
Bryan Mullins, Southern Illinois
Greg Paulus, Niagara
Mike Schrage, Elon
Danny Sprinkle, Montana State