Western Michigan assistant coach Brent Alwine is making progress after a serious car crash left him hospitalized for 18 days. Alwine was released from a Kalamazoo, Mich., hospital Tuesday and transferred to a rehabilitation center.

Alwine was critically injured when his car slammed into a semi-trailer on I-94 on Aug. 26.

"He almost died on the scene—they needed 60 staples to close his head," Western Michigan head coach Billy Gernon told BA today. "There's a lot of miracle stuff going on. He's already been back on his feet."

Alwine's wife, Brandi, wrote on Facebook that her husband is "once again doing great" and "has been talking with the (tracheotomy) all day," according to the (Fort Wayne, Ind.) News-Sentinel.

Alwine played second base for Gernon at IPFW until his graduation in 2006, then served two years on the Mastadons coaching staff. Gernon said WMU has some momentum with recruiting right now, and Alwine (the recruiting coordinator) deserves much of the credit.

We will continue to monitor Alwine's progress, and we wish him a full and speedy recovery.