NORFOLK, Va., May 9, 2023 – Morgan State’s Victoria Fletcher was named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Softball Player of the Year, presented by Wells Fargo, the conference office announced Tuesday.
North Carolina Central’s Makiya Graves is the league’s Rookie of the Year and
Anaya Hunte of Morgan State earned Pitcher of the Year honors.
Cat Tarvin of North Carolina Central received Coach of the Year accolades.
All awards were voted on by the conference's head softball coaches and sports information directors.
Fletcher, a pitcher and infielder, leads the league in earned run average (2.21) and runs batted in (41). In the pitching circle, she logged 66.2 innings with 12 starts, a 9-4 record and limited opponents to a .250 batting average (3
rd best in the MEAC). At the plate, she hit .343 with 46 hits, eight doubles and seven home runs. Fletcher ranks in the top 10 in the conference in hits (2
nd), at-bats (2
nd; 134), slugging (4
th; .560), OPS (6
th; .938), home runs (6
th) and batting average (7
th). She was named MEAC Player of the Week three times this season.
Graves leads the conference with 53 hits and 146 at-bats, is fourth in batting average (.363), tied for fifth in runs scored (27), and is eighth with a .439 on-base percentage. In conference play, Graves hit a MEAC-leading .441 against league opponents. She earned MEAC Rookie of the Week honors on April 3 going 6-for-14 (.429) in five games, driving in a combined 12 runs and scoring six times to help the Eagles to a 3-2 week – including a three-game sweep of Delaware State.
Hunte, the 2022 MEAC Pitcher of the Year, continued her dominance in the league this season. A six-time MEAC Pitcher of the Week selection, Hunte paces the MEAC with 148.2 innings pitched, 127 strikeouts, 27 batters struck out looking, 15 wins and three saves. She currently ranks second in earned run average (2.26) and opponents’ batting average (2.34). This season, she recorded Morgan State’s second perfect game on March 18 against Coppin State and pitched the third no-hitter of her career in the March 25 matchup against Norfolk State. Hunte is also responsible for the Lady Bears’ first-ever perfect game which came in a win over Delaware State on April 13, 2022, where she also set the program’s strikeout record at 16.
Tarvin, in her third season as head coach and sixth with the program, led North Carolina Central to the most MEAC wins in program history, as the Lady Eagles hit a 12-7 mark this season. In addition to the record number of league wins, NCCU also picked up non-conference wins over SoCon (Furman and Western Carolina) and ACC (North Carolina State) opponents this season. The NC State win was the first over a Power 5 opponent since 2009. NCCU, picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll, enters the 2023 MEAC tournament as the No. 3 seed.
Joining Graves and Hunte on the All-MEAC First Team are Norfolk State’s Cam Andersen, Kenna Higa and Yrral Davis, North Carolina Central’s Takia Nichols and Imara Harrell, Howard’s Alyssa Vasquez and Sidney Fletcher, Morgan State’s Melissa Paz, Coppin State’s Brissa Alvarado and Maryland Eastern Shore’s Jaycee Holt.
The 2023 MEAC Softball Championship begins Wednesday, May 10 at 9 a.m. at the Norfolk State Softball Field in Norfolk, Va. The championship game will be played on Saturday, May 13 at 12 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
For more information on the 2023 MEAC Softball Championship, please visit the
Championship Central page.
2023 All-MEAC Softball Teams and Awards
As voted on by the league's head softball coaches and sports information directors
Player of the Year: Victoria Fletcher, Morgan State
Rookie of the Year: Makiya Graves, North Carolina Central
Pitcher of the Year: Anaya Hunte, Morgan State
Coach of the Year: Cat Tarvin, North Carolina Central
FIRST TEAM
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Class |
Hometown |
| P |
Anaya Hunte |
Morgan State |
Jr. |
Burlington, N.J. |
| P |
Cam Andersen |
Norfolk State |
Sr. |
Norfolk, Va. |
| C |
Alyssa Vasquez |
Howard |
So. |
Downey, Calif. |
| 1B |
Takia Nichols |
North Carolina Central |
Fr. |
Hillsborough, N.C. |
| 2B |
Brissa Alvarado |
Coppin State |
r-Sr. |
Rialto, Calif. |
| 3B |
Kenna Higa |
Norfolk State |
So. |
Honolulu, Hawaii |
| SS |
Sidney Fletcher* |
Howard |
So. |
Whittier, Calif. |
| SS |
Makiya Graves* |
North Carolina Central |
Fr. |
Mebane, N.C. |
| OF |
Imara Harrell |
North Carolina Central |
Jr. |
Mooresville, N.C. |
| OF |
Jaycee Holt |
Maryland Eastern Shore |
Fr. |
Birchwood, Tenn. |
| OF |
Yrral Davis |
Norfolk State |
r-Jr. |
Norfolk, Va. |
| UTL |
Melissa Paz |
Morgan State |
Sr. |
Sylmar, Calif. |
*Indicates a tie
SECOND TEAM
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Class |
Hometown |
| P |
Jaden Davis |
North Carolina Central |
So. |
Knightdale, N.C. |
| P |
Alexis Robinson |
Norfolk State |
Sr. |
Virginia Beach, Va. |
| C |
Kelsie Ekstrom |
Maryland Eastern Shore |
Jr. |
Riverside, Calif. |
| 1B |
Gabby Vaughan |
Norfolk State |
Sr. |
Chesapeake, Va. |
| 2B |
Nola Mountain |
Maryland Eastern Shore |
So. |
Surrey, British Columbia |
| 3B |
Victoria Fletcher |
Morgan State |
Sr. |
Huntingtown, Md. |
| SS |
Jade Dixon |
Norfolk State |
r-Sr. |
Chesapeake, Va. |
| OF |
Kalita Dennis |
Howard |
Gr. |
Elk Grove, Calif. |
| OF |
Alison Guckin |
Norfolk State |
Sr. |
Virginia Beach, Va. |
| OF |
Ivory Jones |
North Carolina Central |
r-Jr. |
Douglasville, Ga. |
| UTL |
Lauren Sheehan |
Norfolk State |
So. |
King George, Va. |
THIRD TEAM
| Pos. |
Name |
School |
Class |
Hometown |
| P |
Victoria Fletcher |
Morgan State |
Sr. |
Huntingtown, Md. |
| P |
Vanessa Carrizosa |
Coppin State |
Jr. |
Moreno Valley, Calif. |
| C |
Rylie Gilbreath |
Norfolk State |
So. |
Meridian, Idaho |
| 1B |
Seryna Esparza |
Coppin State |
Fr. |
Hollister, Calif. |
| 2B |
Lealani Ricks |
Howard |
So. |
Madera, Calif. |
| 3B |
Maegan Garrison |
North Carolina Central |
r-Jr. |
Harrisburg, N.C. |
| SS |
Britney Phally |
Delaware State |
Fr. |
Braselton, Ga. |
| OF |
Nia Lewis |
Morgan State |
Fr. |
Naperville, Ill. |
| OF |
Uxua Lopez |
Delaware State |
Jr. |
Burlada, Spain |
| OF |
Emma Glawson |
Delaware State |
Sr. |
Victoria, British Columbia |
| UTL |
Katelyn Smitchko* |
Maryland Eastern Shore |
Fr. |
Clarence, Pa. |
| UTL |
Amelia Weber* |
Howard |
Fr. |
Montclair, Calif. |
*Indicates a tie
About the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) is in its 52nd year of intercollegiate competition with the 2022-23 academic school year. Located in Norfolk, Va., the MEAC is made up of eight outstanding historically Black institutions across the Atlantic coastline: Coppin State University, Delaware State University, Howard University, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Morgan State University, Norfolk State University, North Carolina Central University and South Carolina State University.