Eric Bell '92 and Emily Moorefield Mariola '94, College of Wooster alumni who have made outstanding contributions to the coaching profession, are the latest selections for the W Association's Paul V. Barrett Award. Bell will be presented with his award during halftime of the 7 p.m. College of Wooster men's basketball game against Wittenberg University on Saturday, Jan. 31, while Mariola will receive her award at halftime of the 7 p.m. men's basketball game against Oberlin College on Saturday, Jan. 24.

Bell led Texas Christian University to the national semifinals this year for the Horned Frogs' first College Cup appearance. TCU went 18-3-3 this fall, with the wins ranking as the second-most in program history. TCU earned the No. 2 seed for the national championship tournament and ranked as high as fourth nationally in the United Soccer Coaches top-25 poll.
Bell has built TCU into a national power in 14 years as head coach. TCU earned its first-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament in Bell's fifth season on campus. The Horned Frogs are on a streak of eight straight NCAA berths. In 2020, Bell's team won the regular season title, and in 2021, the Horned Frogs won the program's first-ever Big 12 Tournament title. Bell was named Big 12 Coach of the Year for the fourth time this fall and eight players earned All-Big 12 honors.

During the 2020-21 academic year, TCU was the No. 4 national seed for the NCAA Tournament, advanced to the national quarterfinals, and three All-Americans, marking the first three in program history.

Prior to coming to TCU, Bell spent six seasons as an assistant and later associate head coach at Florida State University. As recruiting coordinator, he assembled the national's second-best recruiting class in 2007 per Soccer Buzz, and the Seminoles had the top-rated class in 2008. Bell helped guide the Seminoles to three College Cup appearances in six seasons, and the program played for the 2007 national title.

Bell's other coaching stops include the University of Illinois, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and Ashland University.

As a Fighting Scot, Bell helped Wooster's men's soccer team to a 51-17-9 record and two appearances in the NCAA Div. III Championship. Bell was part of Wooster's North Coast Athletic Conference championship team as a sophomore.

Mariola is currently the girls' cross country coach at Wooster High School, where she has made a major impact on the program. This year, Wooster qualified for the regional meet and had three all-county and all-conference performers. She previously was the head boys and girls cross country and track and field coach at Triway High School and was named the coach of the year.

Mariola is best known in the Wooster community for owning Flex Yoga Wooster and Wellness Center, which offers yoga, fitness, aerial, and holistic wellness services for everyone. She is a 1,000 hour yoga medicine therapeutic specialist. Mariola specializes in mental health and wellness for athletes, ADHD mentorship, and life coaching.

The W Association Hall of Fame inductee placed fourth in the 1,500 meters as a senior at the NCAA Div. III Outdoor Track and Field Championships and was fifth at the cross country national meet the following fall. She was the cross country program's first two-time All-American and was Div. III's 18th-place finisher at the 1993 national meet. At the conference level, Mariola was the 1994 NCAC Athlete of the Year for cross country. Earlier that year, she was the NCAC Athlete of the Year for track events at the conference's indoor meet. She was an eight-time NCAC champion.

The Barrett Award recognizes Wooster graduates who have made significant contributions as a coach of any sport at any level, factoring in both on-field success and off-the-field impact. For more on the award, or to nominate a College of Wooster graduate you know who meets the nomination criteria, click here.