Courtesy of North Carolina Central Athletic Communications
Before the page turns on the 2019-20 campaign, here's a look back at the highlights from the North Carolina Central University sports seasons...
Football:
- Senior defensive end Darius Royster voted MEAC Defensive Player of the Year – honored during college football hall of fame banquet in New York City.
- Senior defensive end Darius Royster and junior defensive back Bryan Mills named to FCS All-America Teams.
- Three student-athletes – senior running back Isaiah Totten, senior receiver Daeshawn Stephens and senior punter John Pecaro – voted to the CoSIDA Academic All-District® Football Team.
- Junior defensive back Bryan Mills tied the school record with three interceptions at Morgan State on Sept. 28.
- Freshman quarterback Davius Richards became just the second quarterback in school history to pass for more than 380 yards in a game, amassing 384 yards through the air versus Norfolk State on Nov. 9.
- Freshman quarterback Davius Richards became just the sixth quarterback in school history to pass for more than 2,000 yards in a season, compiling 2,020 yards through the air in 2019.
- Junior running back Isaiah Totten climbed NCCU's all-time rushing list to seventh with 2,122 ground yards.
- Former offensive lineman Nick Leverett signed NFL free agent contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
- Former defensive back Mike Jones wins Grey Cup Championship as a member of the Canadian Football League's Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Volleyball:
- Registered most total wins (8) since 2012.
- Tallied most conference wins (7) since joining the MEAC in 2011.
- Earned No. 2 seed in the Southern Division of the MEAC - best seed since joining the MEAC.
- Redshirt freshman Ammaarah Williams selected NCCSIA All-State Second Team.
- Redshirt freshman Ammaarah Williams voted MEAC All-Rookie Team.
- Senior Jessica Pilivi named CoSIDA Academic All-District.
Cross Country:
- Sophomore Ashley Jean-Raymond achieved the best-ever finish for an NCCU runner at the MEAC Cross Country Championships by placing seventh to earn all-conference honors.
Track & Field:
- Five Eagles combined for seven medals during the MEAC Indoor Track & Field Championships.
- The women's team placed sixth as a team during the MEAC Indoor Track & Field Championships with 47 points, which is the most in NCCU's Division I era, topping last year's 41 points.
- The men's team placed eighth during the MEAC Indoor Track & Field Championships with 23 points, which is the most at the indoor conference championship since tallying 24 points in 2013.
- Senior thrower Corneisha Mitchell and junior jumper Bhrandi Crenshaw each earned a pair of medals – one silver and one bronze apiece – during the MEAC Indoor Track & Field Championships. Other medalists included sophomore Ashley Jean-Raymond (bronze, 5000m run), junior Marvin Jones (bronze, high jump), and junior Gordon Lewis (bronze, 400m dash).
Men's Basketball:
- Won fourth MEAC regular-season title in last seven seasons.
- Extended win streak to 16 consecutive home victories, including 12 straight against MEAC opponents.
- Finished season on six-game winning streak.
- Senior forward Jibri Blount named MEAC Player of the Year - third Eagle to win MEAC award, and fourth to be named conference Player of the Year (LeVelle Moton, CIAA 1995-96).
- Senior forward Jibri Blount finished sixth among NCCU single-season leaders with 596 points, fifth in field goals with 216, fifth in rebounds with 294, fourth in steals with 68, fifth in total minutes with 1,141, and fourth in minutes per game. He's also the only player to reach those points, rebounds, and steal single-season totals in program history.
- Reached semifinal round of MEAC Tournament for fourth consecutive year, and made quarterfinal round ninth consecutive year.
- Scored 92 points versus Delaware Stat in the MEAC Tournament quarterfinal round to tie for second-most points at the MEAC Tournament in the Division I era.
- Claimed two All-MEAC selections: Jibri Blount (First Team) and C.J. Keyser (Third Team).
- Junior point guard Jordan Perkins reached second all-time at NCCU in career assists, and is just the third Eagle to reach 400 career assists.
- Coach LeVelle Moton won gold medal with USA U-19 team at FIBA World Cup in Greece.
Women's Basketball:
- Collected most total wins (13) since 2006-07 (26-6), marking the most wins in the Division I era.
- Posted most conference wins (9) since joining the MEAC in 2011.
- Achieved first winning MEAC record (9-7, .563) since joining the league in 2011.
- Earned No. 5 seed in the MEAC Tournament - best seed since joining the MEAC.
- Advanced to the semifinals of the MEAC Tournament for the first in program history (semifinals not played due to COVID-19 threat).
- Senior center Paulina Afriyie voted First Team All-MEAC.
- Senior center Paulina Afriyie reached multiple NCCU Records…
- 1,203 career points – 2nd DI Era; 9th All-Time
- 955 career rebounds – 1st DI Era; 3rd All-Time
- 129 career blocks – 1st DI Era
- 126 career steals – 5th DI Era
- 123 career assists – T-9th DI Era
- 8.0 career rebounds per game average – 3rd DI Era
- 10.1 career points per game average – 6th DI Era
- 289 Rebounds in 2019-20 – 1st DI Era Single Season Record; 6th All-Time
- 9.6 rebounds per game average in 2019-20 – 1st DI Era Single Season Record
- Junior guard Kieche White named Second Team All-MEAC.
- Freshman forward Anissa Rivera selected to MEAC All-Rookie Team.
- Junior guard Zaria Atkins dished out 103 assists in 2019-20 – a Division I era single-season record.
Women's Tennis:
- Polina Sakharova and Ivana Dragovic won Gray Doubles Flight at the fifth annual NCCU Invitational.
- Senior Frida Cnossen graduated in May with a perfect 4.0 cumulative grade point average to capture the department's Chancellor's Award as the student-athlete with the highest GPA.
Men's Tennis:
- Achieved .333 win percentage (4-8 overall record), which is the program's best since the 2014-15 season.
- Won four consecutive matches - longest win streak in Division I era.
- Honored as national ITA Community Service Award winner for Division I Men.
Baseball:
- Senior outfielder Carter Williams became the first Eagle to reach 200 career hits.
- After first 17 games, junior Luis DeLeon led the MEAC in RBI with 24 and home runs with four. He was also second in batting average (.397), slugging percentage (.707), and hits (23), and third in on-base percentage (.485), and runs scored (12).
- Junior Luis DeLeon ranked eighth in NCAA Division I in RBI (24), and 17th in RBI per game at 1.41.
- Sophomore pitcher Ryan Miller led the MEAC in strikeouts with 36.
- Senior pitcher Brenden Bell tied for the MEAC lead in saves with three.
- Junior pitcher Shane Davis had the MEAC's lowest opposing batting average at .148, and fourth-best ERA at 2.01.
- Junior Luis DeLeon held a team-best 13-game hitting streak.
- Senior outfielder Carter Williams signed an MLB contract with the San Francisco Giants.
Softball:
- Knocked off Harvard with a 6-4 victory for the program's first Division I win over an Ivy League opponent.
NOTE: Sports competitions canceled on March 12, 2020, due to COVID-19 pandemic.
2019-20 NCCU Athletics Highlight Video: