NORFOLK, Va. – Coppin State's baseball team had four players selected to the Preseason All-MEAC Team while the Eagles were picked to finish second in the Northern Division, it was announced by the league office on Friday afternoon.
Marcos Castillo was voted onto the First Team while
Aaron Rea,
Eddie Javier, Jr., and
Toran Smith earned Second Team recognition.
A redshirt junior from Round Rock, Texas, Castillo hit .378 last season with three home runs and nine RBI while drawing nine walks in 12 games before the season was cut short due to CoVID-19. Castillo added four doubles and a triple to slug .711 and stole three bases. In 89 career games for the Eagles, Castillo is a .331 career hitter while recording 22 doubles, a school-record 12 triples, five home runs, 59 RBI and 26 stolen bases.
One of the top pitchers in school-history, Rea recorded a 5.29 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 17.0 innings last season, which included a ten-strikeout performance versus UNC Asheville. A redshirt senior from Altamonte Springs, Fla., Rea ranks second in CSU history in games started (44), wins (15), innings pitched (248.1) and strikeouts (208).
In his first collegiate season in 2020, Javier started in all nine games that he appeared in at shortstop while hitting .172 with a pair of RBIs. Javier, who hails from Bergenfield, N.J., came on strong at the end of the season, recording a pair of hits with an RBI in a win at Georgetown before driving in another run at Mount St. Mary's.
A native of Plainfield, N.J., Smith started in 12 games last season, primarily at third base, and recorded a double and three RBI while drawing five walks. Smith drove in a pair of runs and scored another in a win at Richmond and later had a multi-it game at UMBC.
Norfolk State narrowly edged Coppin for the top spot in the Northern Division Preseason Poll, earning six first place votes to the Eagles' five. Delaware State received one first place vote to finish third in the poll.
In the Southern Division, North Carolina A&T received eight of 12 first place votes to take first, followed by Florida A&M and North Carolina Central.
The Eagles are set to open the season on February 24 at Navy before hosting Lehigh for a 12 pm doubleheader on Saturday, February 27.
