NORFOLK, Va. — 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 Monday.
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.
Preseason Player of the Year: Danny Rodriguez, Bethune-Cookman
Preseason Pitcher of the Year: Anthony Maldonado, Bethune-Cookman
Delaware State and Bethune-Cookman were selected to win the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Northern and Southern Divisions, respectively, in baseball this season, the conference office announced Monday.
The poll was voted on by the conference’s head coaches and sports information directors.
Delaware State picked up 13 first-place votes in being tabbed the preseason favorite to win the Northern Division, racking up 67 points. The Hornets finished second in the division last season and advanced to the third day of the 2017 MEAC Baseball Championship.
Norfolk State, which has won the Northern Division each of the last three seasons and was in last year’s championship game, was picked to finish second after tallying five first-place votes and 56 points. The Spartans are entering their first season under interim head coach Keith Shumate, and they lost the reigning MEAC Player of the Year (Alex Mauricio) and Pitcher of the Year (Devin Hemmerich).
Coppin State and Maryland Eastern Shore, entering its first season under head coach Brian Hollamon, rounded out the Northern Division.
Bethune-Cookman, with 13 first-place votes and 84 points, was picked to win the Southern Division. The Wildcats won the MEAC title last season, their 19th, before becoming the first MEAC team ever to advance to an NCAA regional final – where they faced eventual national champion Florida. Bethune-Cookman will be entering its first season under interim head coach Barrett Shaft.
North Carolina A&T State, under the direction of reigning MEAC Coach of the Year Ben Hall, was picked to finish second, edging out Florida A&M (five first-place votes) 64 points to 63.
North Carolina Central and Savannah State rounded out the Southern Division.
The 2018 MEAC baseball season begins on Friday, Feb. 16, when seven of the conference’s nine baseball schools are in action.
As voted on by the leagues’ head coaches and sports information directors
NORTHERN DIVISION
| School (First-Place Votes) | Points |
| 1. Delaware State (13) | 67 |
| 2. Norfolk State (5) | 56 |
| 3. Coppin State | 32 |
| 4. Maryland Eastern Shore | 25 |
SOUTHERN DIVISION
| School (First-Place Votes) | Points |
| 1. Bethune-Cookman (13) | 84 |
| 2. North Carolina A&T State | 64 |
| 3. Florida A&M (5) | 63 |
| 4. North Carolina Central | 37 |
| 5. Savannah State | 22 |
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