NORFOLK, Virginia, February 6, 2024 - Morgan State graduate student Victoria Fletcher was named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Softball Preseason Player of the Year while fellow Lady Bear Anaya Hunte was named Preseason Pitcher of the Year, presented by TowneBank, the conference announced on Thursday.
In addition, Morgan State was selected as the preseason favorite to win the 2024 MEAC softball regular-season title.
All awards were voted on by the conference’s head coaches and sports information directors.
A pitcher and infielder, Fletcher was named the 2023 MEAC Softball Player of the Year while earning second team honors at third base and third team honors at pitcher. She led the league in earned run average (2.20) and runs batted in (43). In the pitching circle, she logged 70.0 innings with 13 starts, a 9-5 record and limited opponents to a .245 batting average (3rd best in the MEAC). At the plate, she hit .345 with 48 hits, nine doubles and seven home runs. Fletcher ranked in the top 10 in the conference in hits (3rd), at-bats (4th; 139), slugging (4th; .561), OPS (7th; .944), home runs (6th) and batting average (9th). She was named MEAC Player of the Week three times this season.
Hunte became back-to-back MEAC Pitcher of the Year winning the title in both 2022 and 2023, while also earning an All-MEAC First Team selection. She was selected as MEAC Pitcher of the Week six-times as she recorded 157.2 innings pitched, 137 strikeouts, 33 batters struck out looking, 15 wins and three saves. She ranked second in earned run average (2.22) and opponents’ batting average (.228). She recorded only the second perfect game in Morgan State’s history, after recording the first in Aprill 2022, and pitched a third no-hitter of her career during the 2023 season. Hunte ranked in the top five in the conference in ERA (2nd), wins (2nd; 15), games started (3rd; 24), shutouts (1st; 7), innings pitched (4th), strikeouts (1st), looking strikeouts (1st; 33) and batting average against (2nd; .228).
Joining Fletcher and Hunte on the Preseason All-MEAC First Team are Howard catcher Alyssa Vasquez, North Carolina Central first baseman Takia Nichols, Howard second baseman Lealani Ricks and third baseman Kenna Higa, North Carolina Central shortstop Makiya Graves, North Carolina Central outfielder Imara Harrell, Morgan State outfielder Nia Lewis, Delaware State outfielder Uxua Modrego-Lopez and Morgan State utility player Melissa Paz.
The 2024 MEAC Softball Championship will be held in Norfolk, Va. on the campus of Norfolk State University May 8-11.
The 2024 MEAC softball season begins the weekend of Feb. 8-11, when five of the conference’s eight softball-playing institutions are in action.
The predicted order of finish and the complete All-MEAC preseason teams are listed below.
2024 MEAC Softball Predicted Order of Finish
(as voted on by the league's head coaches and sports information directors)
|
School (First-place votes)
|
Points
|
|
1. Morgan State (10)
|
119
|
|
2. N.C. Central (5)
|
108
|
|
3. Howard (1)
|
90
|
|
4. Norfolk State
|
83
|
|
5. Coppin State
|
63
|
|
6. Maryland Eastern Shore
|
50
|
|
7. S.C. State
|
33
|
|
8. Delaware State
|
30
|
2024 MEAC Softball Preseason All-Conference Teams
(as voted on by the league's head coaches and sports information directors)
Preseason Player of the Year: Victoria Fletcher, Morgan State
Preseason Pitcher of the Year: Anaya Hunte, Morgan State
|
First Team
|
|
Name
|
Pos.
|
Ht.
|
Year
|
School
|
Hometown
|
|
Anaya Hunte
|
P
|
5-5
|
Sr.
|
Morgan State
|
Burlington. N.J.
|
|
Victoria Fletcher
|
P
|
5-8
|
Gr.
|
Morgan State
|
Huntingtown, Md.
|
|
Alyssa Vasquez
|
C
|
5-6
|
Jr.
|
Howard
|
Downey, Calif.
|
|
Takia Nichols
|
1B
|
5-5
|
So.
|
N.C. Central
|
Hillsborough, N.C.
|
|
Lealani Ricks
|
2B
|
5-11
|
Jr.
|
Howard
|
Madera, Calif.
|
|
Kenna Higa
|
3B
|
5-7
|
Jr.
|
Howard
|
Honolulu, Hawai'i
|
|
Makiya Graves
|
SS
|
5-7
|
So.
|
N.C. Central
|
Mebane, N.C.
|
|
Imara Harrell
|
OF
|
5-6
|
Sr.
|
N.C. Central
|
Mooreville, N.C.
|
|
Nia Lewis
|
OF
|
5-9
|
So.
|
Morgan State
|
Naperville, Ill.
|
|
Uxua Modrego-Lopez
|
OF
|
5-8
|
Gr.
|
Delaware State
|
Burlada, Spain
|
|
Melissa Paz
|
UTL
|
5-2
|
Gr.
|
Morgan State
|
Sylmar, Calif.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Second Team
|
|
Name
|
Pos.
|
Ht.
|
Year
|
School
|
Hometown
|
|
Jaden Davis
|
P
|
5-5
|
Jr.
|
N.C. Central
|
Knightdale, N.C.
|
|
Vanessa Carrizosa
|
P
|
5-2
|
Sr.
|
Coppin State
|
Moreno Valley, Calif.
|
|
Kelsie Elkstrom
|
C
|
5-7
|
Sr.
|
Md. Eastern Shore
|
Riverside, Calif.
|
|
Victoria Fletcher
|
1B
|
5-8
|
Gr.
|
Morgan State
|
Huntingtown, Md.
|
|
Jaylah Barr
|
2B
|
5-6
|
Sr.
|
N.C. Central
|
Batesburg-Leesville, S.C.
|
|
Maegan Garrison
|
3B
|
5-4
|
r-Sr.
|
N.C. Central
|
Harrisburg, N.C.
|
|
Sidney Fletcher
|
SS
|
5-7
|
Jr.
|
Howard
|
Whittier, Calif.
|
|
Celeste Gonzales
|
OF
|
5-6
|
So.
|
Coppin State
|
Moreno Valley, Calif.
|
|
Ivory Jones
|
OF
|
5-3
|
r-Sr.
|
N.C. Central
|
Douglasville, Ga.
|
|
Mia Ewell
|
OF
|
5-6
|
Sr.
|
Morgan State
|
Portland, Ore.
|
|
Amelia Weber
|
UTL
|
5-8
|
So.
|
Howard
|
Montclair, Calif.
|
About the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) is in its 53rd year of intercollegiate competition with the 2023-24 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.