BlackCollegeBaseball.com has released its first Black College Baseball
Awards. Candidates were taken from nineteen Division I programs which
included the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, Southwestern Athletic Conference,
Chicago State of the Mid-Continent and Savannah State University, an independent
program.
The Coach of the Year Award goes to Prairie View A&M head coach Michael Robertson.
In his second year at the helm, he's guided the Panthers into the Black
College Baseball rankings and on the threshold of SWAC tournament play.
The Panthers improved by leaps and bounds from a 2003 record of 10-45 to
a 2004 record of 30-26.
The Player of the Year Awards goes to junior outfielder Bryant Lange of Jackson
State University. Lange scorched pitchers with a .439 batting average while
successfully stealing 29-of-31 bases. Lange also received SWAC Player of
the Year and Outstanding Hitter honors.
Delaware State junior hurler Shawn Phillips left opponents frozen at the
plate. He carried an 8-2 record with a 2.19 ERA over the season to earn the Pitcher of the Year Award. In 94.2
innings pitched, Phillilps has only walked 11 while striking out 92.
For the men and women behind the scenes that usually receive no recognition,
Sports Information Directors and their baseball contacts are the ones that
get the information out. Stan Bradley of Maryland-Eastern Shore kept the
press releases hot every game, won or lost. His releases were sent within two hours of the end
of game. He has made a commitment to doing his job well, which is even
more impressive, since he's the only SID for the university.
The Black College Baseball Elite Teams are comprised of athletes from the
MEAC and SWAC. Bethune Cookman landed 6 players on the squad, Prairie
View A&M 4, Jackson State 3, Mississippi Valley 3, Norfolk State 2, Coppin
State 2, Delaware State 2, North Carolina A&T 2, Southern 2, Alcorn State
1, Grambling State 1.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Michael Robertson, Prairie View A&M
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Bryant Lange, OF, Jackson State
PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Shawn Phillips, RHP, Delaware State
SPORTS INFORMATION DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Stan Bradley, Maryland-Eastern Shore
First Team Position Players
1B, Juan Figueroa, Bethune Cookman College
2B, Juan Serrano, Norfolk State University
3B, Carlos Garcia, Bethune Cookman College
SS, Justin Riggs, Coppin State University
C, Ralph Johnson, Jackson State University
OF, Bryant Lange, Jackson State University
OF, Sebastian Boucher, Bethune Cookman College
OF, Stephen Washington, Prairie View A&M University
First Team Pitchers
SP, Francisco Gomez, Bethune Cookman College
SP, Shawn Phillips, Delaware State University
SP, Michael Hauff, North Carolina A&T University
SP, Jose Pena, Southern University
RP, Nick Bitter, Delaware State University
RP, A.J. Corbin, Norfolk State University
Second Team Position Players
1B, Byron Carter, Prairie View A&M University
2B, Corey Wimberley, Alcorn State University
3B, Andrew Toussaint, Southern University
SS, Jermel Lomack, Prairie View A&M University
C, Edgar Wilson, Coppin State University
OF, James Cooper, Grambling State University
OF, Roberto Rodriguez, Bethune Cookman College
OF, Gerald Miller, Prairie View A&M University
Second Team Pitchers
SP, Jarred Vaughn, Jackson State University
SP, Ian Digiorgio, North Carolina A&T University
SP, Jermaine Shack, Mississippi Valley State Univ.
SP, Steve Acuna, Mississippi Valley State Univ.
RP, Colin Irvine, Bethune Cookman College
RP, Andrew Cunha, Mississippi Valley State Univ.
