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NCCU Baseball Program Continues To Set Records

Alexis Bailey

NORFOLK, VA – The North Carolina Central University baseball program had an outstanding season as it won its first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Southern Division championship with a 25-18 mark, and a program-record 10 Eagles have been selected for All-MEAC honors, the league office announced on Tuesday, May 18.

Alexis Bailey NCCU eagles baseball all-meac honors spectacular magazine writer

Head coach Jim Koerner was named MEAC Coach of the Year, Ryan Miller garnered MEAC Pitcher of the Year honors, and Chet Sikes was tabbed as MEAC Rookie of the Year to highlight NCCU’s (25-18, 17-11 MEAC) award winners.

Miller landed on the First Team list along with Austin Vernon and Scott Meylan. Kokko Figueiredo, Cort Maynard, and Luis DeLeon earned Second Team honor, while Sikes and Cameron Norgren received Third Team nods.

The Eagles set new records in single-season win percentage (.581), home winning percentage (.714), and MEAC wins (17), and also tied for the third-most wins in a season under the supervision of Koerner in this historic campaign. The Eagles led the league in ERA (5.01), and set a new program record with six shutouts, which is also the third-most in NCAA Division I. Offensively, the Eagles clubbed a league-leading 37 homers, which is now the second-most in the modern era, and are 27th in NCAA Division I with a .395 on-base percentage.

Miller became the first Eagle to be named MEAC Pitcher of the Year in his first full season since being named the league’s Rookie of the Year in 2018 and set a new NCCU modern-era record by going 10-0 on the mound. He has the second-most wins in the nation and was a four-time MEAC Pitcher of 

the Week winner. He leads the MEAC in ERA (2.24), which is also a new regular-season record at NCCU. He also leads the league in innings pitched (68.1), and has held opponents to a MEAC second-lowest .195 batting average.

Sikes is now the fourth Eagle to earn MEAC Rookie of the Year honors and is the third from NCCU to receive the honor in the last four full seasons. Sikes has made 32 starts, with 29 of those coming from behind the plate, and batted .296 with a .417 slugging percentage. He had 10 multi-hit games, as well as an eight-game hitting streak at the dish and, caught nine runners stealing as well. Sikes also drew 14 walks for a .402 on-base percentage and went 3-for-3 on stolen base attempts.

Vernon made history of his own this year by throwing the first no-hitter at NCCU in the modern era on May 7 against Delaware State, and one week later he tied the NCCU single-game baseball record with 13 strikeouts against Florida A&M on May 13. He also has set a new Eagle single-season record with 100 strikeouts and leads the MEAC in that category. Vernon is ranked sixth in the nation in strikeouts-per-nine innings at 14.29 and is ranked 19th in total strikeouts. He is also second in the league with a 2.86 ERA.

Meylan set a new Eagle record with 10 saves this season, and his first came in three perfect innings with eight strikeouts against Army on opening day. Meylan is seventh in the nation in saves and made the second-most relief appearances in the MEAC with 22. He pitched 33.1 innings with 37 strikeouts and holds a 2.97 ERA.

Figueiredo finished the season red-hot at the plate and was named MEAC Player of the Week after batting .500 with a 1.143 slugging percentage in the final series with Florida A&M. He finished the season with a team-best .338 batting average and slugged .487 with eight doubles and five homers for a team-high 34 RBI. He also drew 18 walks for a .434 on-base percentage. He’s top-five in the MEAC in batting average, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage, along with the third-most RBI and fourth-most hits (52).

Maynard ended the regular season with a .419 on-base percentage to rank top-10 in the MEAC and did so with the seventh-most walks in the league with 24. He had a 10-game streak of reaching base safely and is batting .279 with a .449 slugging percentage. Maynard generated 12 extra-base hits with six doubles, one triple, and five homers, and drove in 22 RBI with a team-best 31 runs scored.

DeLeon started the baseball season with an 11-game hitting streak and didn’t strike out for more than 20 consecutive at-bats, and finished the year third in the league with a .493 slugging percentage. He is ranked 21st in the nation with four triples and led the league in doubles with 13. DeLeon batted .316 with 48 hits and 30 RBI, and also stole seven bases. He also collected 13 multi-hit games and six multi-RBI games.

Norgren became the first Eagle to hit a home run in four consecutive baseball games and finished tied for the league lead in long balls with eight. He’s top-10 in the MEAC with 32 RBI, and he added three doubles to his eight homers for a .456 slugging percentage. Norgren has a total of 40 hits and 30 runs scored, and defensively he’s ranked second in the MEAC with 86 assists at shortstop. He’s drawn 17 walks for a .366 on-base percentage and has also stolen four bases.

The Eagles will return to the diamond on Thursday, May 20, to begin the MEAC Baseball Championship against Delaware State at noon.