B-CU's Rodriguez, Maldonado Named Preseason Player, Pitcher of the Year

NORFOLK, Virginia  —  Bethune-Cookman junior Danny Rodriguez was named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Baseball Preseason Player of the Year and teammate Anthony Maldonado was named Preseason Pitcher of the Year, the conference announced today.

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

Rodriguez was the Most Outstanding Player of the 2017 MEAC Baseball Championships and a First Team All-MEAC selection at first base. He led the MEAC in slugging percentage at .555, home runs with 11 and total bases with 126, while his 75 hits were second-most in the conference and his 46 RBIs ranked third. Rodriguez was also second in the MEAC last season in doubles with 18, and his .988 fielding percentage ranked eighth in the MEAC.

Maldonado was a First Team All-MEAC selection as a freshman last season, going 8-4 on the mound with a 3.02 ERA. Opponents hit just .222 off Maldonado last year, and he struck out 61 batters in 86.1 innings pitched. A Collegiate Baseball News Freshman All-American in 2017, Maldonado ranked third in the conference in wins, opponents’ batting average and innings pitched, fourth in ERA and tied for fourth in strikeouts. He was also named to the MEAC All-Tournament Team.

Joining Rodriguez and Maldonado on the Preseason All-MEAC First Team are Bethune-Cookman’s Tyler Norris (SP), Ivan Coutinho (RP), Jameel Edney (3B) and Adonis Lao (OF), Florida A&M’s Willis McDaniel (OF) and Garrett Wilkinson (UTL), North Carolina A&T State’s Adan Ordonez (C), Brandon Melendez (SS) and Myles Sowell (OF) and North Carolina Central’s Corey Joyce (2B).

The 2018 MEAC baseball season begins on Friday, Feb. 16, when seven of the conference’s nine baseball schools are in action.

2018 MEAC Baseball Preseason All-Conference Teams
As voted on by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors

Preseason Player of the Year: Danny Rodriguez, Bethune-Cookman
Preseason Pitcher of the Year: Anthony Maldonado, Bethune-Cookman

FIRST TEAM

Name	Pos.	Ht.	Class	School	Hometown
Anthony Maldonado	SP	6-4	So.	Bethune-Cookman	West Palm Beach, Fla.
Tyler Norris	SP	6-1	Sr.	Bethune-Cookman	Coral Springs, Fla.
Ivan Coutinho	RP	6-1	Sr.	Bethune-Cookman	Winter Park, Fla.
Adan Ordonez	C	5-7	Sr.	N.C. A&T State	Clermont, Fla.
Danny Rodriguez	1B	6-3	Jr.	Bethune-Cookman	Pembroke Pines, Fla.
Corey Joyce	2B	6-1	So.	N.C. Central	Lexington, N.C.
Jameel Edney	3B	5-8	Sr.	Bethune-Cookman	West Palm Beach, Fla.
Brandon Melendez	SS	5-9	Sr.	N.C. A&T State	Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Adonis Lao	OF	6-0	Sr.	Bethune-Cookman	Elmhurst, N.Y.
Myles Sowell	OF	6-2	Sr.	N.C. A&T State	Greensboro, N.C.
Willis McDaniel	OF	5-9	Jr.	Florida A&M	Tallahassee, Fla.
Garrett Wilkinson	UTL	5-8	Sr.	Florida A&M	Evans, Ga.

SECOND TEAM

Name	Pos.	Ht.	Class	School	Hometown
Devin Sweet	SP	5-10	Sr.	N.C. Central	Greensboro, N.C.
Chase Anderson	SP	5-9	Jr.	Norfolk State	Norfolk, Va.
Justice Sampson	RP	6-0	Sr.	N.C. Central	Lumberton, N.C.
Jacky Miles, Jr.	C	6-0	r-Sr.	Florida A&M	Graceville, Fla.
Brian Davis	1B	5-10	Sr.	Florida A&M	Pensacola, Fla.
Nate Sterijevski	2B	5-10	Jr.	Bethune-Cookman	Clermont, Fla.
Justin Burrell	3B	6-3	r-Sr.	Norfolk State	Newport News, Va.
Dominic Cuevas	SS	6-0	Sr.	N.C. Central	Gurnee, Ill.
Greg White	OF	6-1	Sr.	N.C. A&T State	Greensboro, N.C.
Kyle Corbin	OF	6-1	Sr.	Bethune-Cookman	Orlando, Fla.
Carter Williams	OF	6-3	So.	N.C. Central	Brown Summit, N.C.
Perry "AJ" Hunt	UTL	5-11	Sr.	N.C. A&T State	Chesapeake, Va.

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