NORFOLK, Va., Feb. 6, 2020—
Norfolk State junior Alsander Womack was named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Baseball Preseason Player of the Year and
North Carolina A&T State senior Michael Johnson was named Preseason Pitcher of the Year, the conference announced today. In addition, North Carolina A&T State was selected as the preseason favorite to win the conference this season.
All awards were voted on by the conference’s head coaches and sports information directors.
Womack hit .377 last season, second-best in the MEAC and 31
st in NCAA Div. I, while ranking third in on-base percentage (.444) and fifth in slugging (.503). His 63 hits were tied for seventh-most in the league, and he had 10 doubles, three home runs and 31 RBIs. Womack had least one hit in 36 of the Spartans’ 42 games in 2019, including a season-long 19-game hitting streak from Feb. 24-April 27. He was a two-time MEAC Player of the Week and a First Team All-MEAC selection last season.
Johnson was fourth in the MEAC in ERA last season at 3.22 and his 81.0 innings pitched ranked eighth in the conference. In 14 starts in 2019, Johnson’s 13 walks were tied for the fewest given up in the MEAC, and he was second on the team with 46 strikeouts. He threw a complete-game shutout on March 3 against the College of Charleston, and his 29 earned runs allowed were the sixth-fewest in the league.
There will be no divisional play this season, as the conference’s eight baseball-playing institutions will see each other during league play. North Carolina A&T State picked up nine first-place votes and was picked to win the MEAC this season, with 2019 tournament champion Florida A&M (three first-place votes) predicted to come in second. Norfolk State (one first-place vote), which has made the tournament final in four of the past five seasons, was picked to finish third.
Rounding out the poll were Bethune-Cookman (one first-place vote), North Carolina Central, Coppin State (one first-place vote), Delaware State and Maryland Eastern Shore (one first-place vote).
Joining Womack and Johnson on the Preseason All-MEAC First Team are Coppin State first baseman Justin Banks, Delaware State outfielder Miguel Rivera, Florida A&M starting pitcher Kyle Coleman, third baseman Octavien Moyer, catcher Tucker Rayburn and utility man Jared Weber, Norfolk State outfielder Caleb Ward, North Carolina A&T State shortstop Dustin Baber and reliever Leon Davidson and North Carolina Central outfielder Carter Williams.
The 2020 MEAC Baseball Championships will be held at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Daytona Beach, Fla. May 13-16. Only the top six teams in the standings will qualify for the tournament. Defending champion Florida A&M is ineligible for the conference championship and postseason play.
The 2020 MEAC baseball season begins the weekend of Feb. 14-16, with seven teams in action.