NORFOLK, Va., Jan. 31, 2019—Morgan State senior Damali Young was named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Softball Preseason Player of the Year and Bethune-Cookman sophomore Alexis Bermudez was named Preseason Pitcher of the Year, the conference announced today.
 
In addition, Morgan State and Florida A&M were selected as the preseason favorites to win the Northern and Southern Divisions, respectively.
 
All awards were voted on by the conference’s head coaches and sports information directors.
 
Young was a First Team All-MEAC selection in 2018, led the MEAC in hitting past season with a .409 batting average. Her 63 hits and 16 doubles were both tied for the most in the conference, and she was second in the MEAC with a .462 on-base percentage. Young ranked second in the conference in runs scored (47) and drove in 18 runs on the season – on top of hitting two triples and three home runs.
 
Bermudez, the 2018 MEAC Rookie of the Year, led Bethune-Cookman with a 3.32 ERA last season, ranking ninth in the conference. She was fifth in the MEAC with 13 wins, and her 28 starts were the second-most in the league. She was second on the team with 66 strikeouts in 2018, and Bermudez picked up the win in the championship game of the MEAC Tournament against Florida A&M. She was also fourth in the MEAC with a .986 fielding percentage.
 
Morgan State totaled 125 points and 14 first-place votes in being picked to finish first in the Northern Division again in 2019. Norfolk State, with nine first-place votes and 105 points, was picked to finish second – followed by Delaware State (four first-place votes), Coppin State (two first-place votes), Howard (one first-place vote) and Maryland Eastern Shore.
 
Florida A&M, with 129 points and 13 first-place votes, edged defending MEAC champion Bethune-Cookman (127 points, nine first-place votes) as the preseason favorite in the Southern Division. North Carolina A&T State and North Carolina Central each picked up a first-place vote and were picked to finish third and fourth, respectively, and Savannah State and South Carolina State rounded out the Southern Division poll.
 
The 2019 MEAC Softball Championships will be in Ormond Beach, Fla. May 8-11. Only the top four teams from each division will qualify for the tournament.
 
Joining Young and Bermudez on the Preseason All-MEAC First Team are Florida A&M pitcher Kyaira Brown, Norfolk State catcher Kylee Lopez and outfielder Shelby DeChamps, Coppin State first baseman Cayla Brown and outfielder Nia Bowe, Delaware State infielder Jasmine Melgoza, Savannah State infielder Cortni Jones, Bethune-Cookman infielder Jacki Smith and North Carolina A&T State utility player Zadaisha Waddell.
 
The 2019 MEAC softball season begins the weekend of Feb. 8-10, when 10 of the conference’s 12 softball-playing institutions are in action.