MEAC Announces Baseball Preseason All-Conference Honors

NORFOLK, Virginia -- The Norfolk State Spartans and Bethune-Cookman Wildcats were predicted to win the 2017 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) baseball northern and southern divisions, respectively, the conference announced today.

All preseason honors were voted on by the conference’s head coaches and sports information directors.

Bethune-Cookman’s Danny Rodriguez was selected as the conference’s Preseason Player of the Year, while teammate Tyler Norris earned Preseason Pitcher of the Year accolades.

Rodriguez, the 2016 MEAC Rookie of the Year, led the Wildcats in hits (69) and RBIs (46); he was second in the MEAC in RBIs, tied for second in home runs and tied for fourth in hits. He recorded 224 at-bats with 10 doubles and 10 home runs, with 38 runs scored, last season. Defensively, he notched a .986 fielding percentage.

Norris earned Second Team All-MEAC honors last season after appearing in 15 games and recording six wins, including one shutout, in 69.2 innings pitched. He ranked first in the MEAC in games started (14), second in wins (6), and fourth in strikeouts (71).

Norfolk State was the 2016 MEAC Northern Division champion. The Spartans finished the season with a 29-21 overall record and a 19-5 MEAC mark.

Delaware State was picked to finish second, followed by Coppin State and Maryland Eastern Shore to round out the Northern Division.

The Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, defending MEAC Baseball Tournament champions, posted a 29-27 overall record and a 17-7 MEAC mark last season.

Florida A&M was predicted to finish second in the Southern Division, followed by North Carolina Central, Savannah State and North Carolina A&T State.

Rodriguez (B-CU) and Norris (B-CU) are joined by Brian Beard (NSU), Brian Davis (FAMU), Denathan Dukes (NSU), Ben Ellzey (FAMU), Jonathan Mauricio (NSU), Alex Mauricio (NSU) Willis McDaniel (FAMU), Adan Ordonez (NCAT), Carlos Ortiz (NCCU), Tim Ravare (NCAT) and Demetrius Sims (B-CU) on the 2017 Preseason All-MEAC First Team.

The 2017 MEAC Baseball Championship Tournament is scheduled for May 17-20 at Perdue Stadium in Salisbury, Md.

2017 MEAC Baseball Preseason Predicted Order of Finish

As voted on by the conference’s head coaches and sports information directors

(First-place votes in parenthesis)

Northern Division	Southern Division
Norfolk State (15)                       69	Bethune-Cookman (10)                                82
Delaware State (1)                     51	Florida A&M (6)                                            74
Coppin State (2)                         32	North Carolina Central (1)                            53
Maryland Eastern Shore            28	Savannah State (1)                                      33
	North Carolina A&T State                             28 2017 MEAC Baseball Preseason All-MEAC Teams As voted on by the conference’s head coaches and sports information directors Preseason Player of the Year: Danny Rodriguez, Bethune-Cookman Preseason Pitcher of the Year: Tyler Norris, Bethune-Cookman First Team Pos. Name School Cl. Ht. Wt. Hometown SP Tyler Norris Bethune-Cookman So. 6-1 160 Coral Springs, Fla. SP Jonathan Mauricio Norfolk State Sr. 6-2 180 Midlothian, Va. RP Alex Mauricio Norfolk State Jr. 6-0 180 Midlothian, Va. C Adan Ordonez North Carolina A&T State Jr. 5-7 185 Clermont, Fla. 1B Danny Rodriguez Bethune-Cookman r-So. 6-3 240 Pembroke Pines, Fla. 2B Tim Ravare North Carolina A&T State Sr. 5-7 175 Los Angeles, Calif. 3B Ben Ellzey Florida A&M Sr. 6-0 205 Ocala, Fla. SS Demetrius Sims Bethune-Cookman r-Jr. 6-2 200 Ann Arbor, Mich. OF Carlos Ortiz North Carolina Central Jr. 5-9 197 Cleveland, Ohio OF Denathan Dukes Norfolk State Sr. 6-2 185 Woodbridge, Va. *OF Willis McDaniel Florida A&M So. 5-9 165 Tallahassee, Fla. *OF Brian Beard Norfolk State r-Sr. 5-11 200 Chesapeake, Va. UTL Brian Davis Florida A&M Jr. 195 5-10 Pensacola, Fla. *Indicates tie Second Team Pos. Name School Cl. Ht. Wt. Hometown SP Devin Hemmerich Norfolk State Sr. 6-1 190 Norfolk, Va. SP Lane DeLeon Delaware State Jr. 6-4 185 Georgetown, Del. RP Ivan Coutinho Bethune-Cookman So. 6-1 200 Oviedo, Fla. C Jacky Miles, Jr. Florida A&M Sr. 6-0 205 Graceville, Fla. 1B Roger Hall Norfolk State r-Sr. 6-0 210 Chesapeake, Va. 2B Chase Anderson Norfolk State So. 5-8 150 Norfolk, Va. 3B Ellington Hopkins North Carolina Central Jr. 5-6 174 Lansing, N.Y. SS Milton Rivera North Carolina A&T State Jr. 5-6 175 Humacao, Puerto Rico OF Josten Heron Bethune-Cookman r-So. 6-2 195 Miami, Fla. OF Austin Bentley Delaware State Jr. 5-11 205 Waldorf, Md. OF Khalyd Cox Savannah State So. 6-1 175 Palmetto, Fla. UTL Todd Henry Delaware State So. 5-10 180 Egg Harbor Twp., N.J.

 CREDIT: MEAC MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS