TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference announced on Tuesday that Florida A&M head coach Jamey Shouppe has been named the MEAC Coach of the Year and Dylan Dillard the MEAC Player of the Year for the 2016 season. This is the second time (2014) in his first three seasons that Shouppe was tabbed as the MEAC Coach of the Year. Eight different Rattlers picked up All-MEAC honors as four were voted to the First Team All-MEAC, including three of the four starting FAMU infielders. It marks just the second time in program history that a FAMU player earned Player of the Year honors as Bennie Robinson earned the recognition in 2014.
Shouppe led FAMU to its first 30-win season since 2003 and the most conference wins (19) in program history. The Rattlers set conference win total records in back-to-back seasons and won the MEAC Southern Division outright in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history. Shouppe is now just one win shy of tying the school record for most wins over any consecutive three-year period. FAMU, who has had a strong year offensively, ranks 2nd nationally in on base percentage (.429), 5th with a .327 team batting average, 6th in scoring (8.2 runs per game), 10th in total runs scored (402) and 22nd in total hits (547). The Rattlers also lead the MEAC in 11 offensive categories.
Dillard came to Florida A&M this season after spending the last three seasons at Jacksonville University. The Kissimmee, FL native started in 48 games for the Rattlers both at first base and in right field this season. After not having a triple in his career, he erupted for six triples in 2016 which ranks 14th nationally. Dillard currently ranks fifth all-time at FAMU with 53 RBI in a single season, which also leads the MEAC this season. He is currently batting .335 on the year with eight doubles, six triples and six home runs. He posts a .563 SLG%, 4-for-5 on stolen bases and is four RBI away from tying his three-year total at JU.
Four Rattlers picked up All-MEAC First Team honors, including three of the four FAMU infielders, and there were two FAMU players selected to both the Second and Third team All-MEAC. Brian Davis (1B), Alec Wong (2B), Ben Ellzey (3B) and Dillard (OF) were the four selected to the First Team, while Ricky Page (SP) and Marlon Gibbs (OF) were placed on the Second Team. Chase Jarrell (SP) and Jacky Miles, Jr. round out the eight Florida A&M All-MEAC selections as they nabbed Third Team honors.
For the FAMU players selected to the All-MEAC First Team, Ellzey leads the MEAC with a .393 batting average as there are five Florida A&M players represented in the top 10 in the MEAC in batting average. Ellzey has four home runs on the year, 10 doubles and is tied for 2nd on the team with 66 hits. Davis (.579) and Dillard (.563) rank 2nd and 3rd in the MEAC in SLG%, while Wong leads the conference with a .500 OB% and is 2nd with 54 runs scored. Wong is currently batting .377 and recorded a FAMU record 11 consecutive base hits this past week. Davis leads the team and is 5th in the MEAC with seven home runs, 2nd on the team with 14 doubles and is batting a career best .371.
Page, who was selected to the All-MEAC Second Team, was 4-1 in conference play and led the conference with a 1.58 ERA in conference games and a conference low eight earned runs allowed. He also set a personal best for strikeouts in a game in each of his last two outings, including nine this past Friday against North Carolina A&T. Page finished the conference schedule with 47 strikeouts to just 11 walks. Gibbs who was also named to the All-MEAC Second Team is batting .317 on the year with a career-high 15 doubles, which currently ranks tied for third all-time at FAMU in a single season. Gibbs is just behind Wong as he ranks 3rd in the MEAC with 53 runs scored. He had a special day on Saturday for Senior Day as he belted his first-career grand slam, in walk-off fashion, to end game one against NC A&T.
Jarrell and Miles, Jr. were selected to the All-MEAC Third Team. Jarrell was tied for 2nd in the conference with six wins on the year as he finished with a record of 6-3 in 60.0 innings pitched with 35 striketouts. Miles, Jr. ranked 8th in the MEAC with .497 SLG% and was tied for 4th with 41 RBI on the year. He also led the MEAC with a .411 batting average in conference games and raised his overall average by 137 points over the final two months of the regular season.
Listed below is the 2016 MEAC All-MEAC teams:
2016 All-MEAC Teams
Coach of the Year: Jamey Shouppe, Florida A&M
Player of the Year: Dylan Dillard, Florida A&M
Pitcher of the Year: Matt Outman, Norfolk State
Rookie of the Year: Danny Rodriguez, Bethune-Cookman
First Team
SP Matt Outman Norfolk State
SP Jonathan Mauricio Norfolk State
RP Andrew Vernon North Carolina Central
RP Alex Mauricio Norfolk State
C Clay Middleton Bethune-Cookman
1B Brian Davis Florida A&M
2B Alec Wong Florida A&M
3B Ben Ellzey Florida A&M
SS Milton Rivera North Carolina A&T
OF Nathan Bond Bethune-Cookman
OF Dylan Dillard Florida A&M
OF Carlos Ortiz North Carolina A&T
UTL Michael Cruz Bethune-Cookman
Second Team
SP Ricky Page Florida A&M
SP Tyler Norris Bethune-Cookman
RP Joseph Calamita Bethune-Cookman
RP Michael Parmentier Norfolk State
C Adan Ordonez North Carolina A&T
1B Danny Rodriguez Bethune-Cookman
2B Mike Escanilla Maryland Eastern Shore
3B Ellington Hopkins North Carolina Central
SS Tom Prospero North Carolina Central
OF John Kraft Coppin State
OF Denathan Dukes Norfolk State
OF Marlon Gibbs Florida A&M
UTL James Dey North Carolina Central
Third Team
SP Alex Dandridge North Carolina Central
SP Chase Jarrell Florida A&M
RP Devin Repine Maryland Eastern Shore
RP Ryan McCranie Savannah State
C Jacky Miles, Jr. Florida A&M
1B Kyle Clary North Carolina A&T
2B Jonathan Moore Savannah State
3B Bryant Miranda Coppin State
SS Demetrius Sims Bethune-Cookman
OF Austin Bentley Delaware State
OF Zachary Marszal North Carolina Central
OF Rakeem Quinn Bethune-Cookman
UTL Kylae Vaas Norfolk State
The Rattlers open the 2016 MEAC Baseball Tournament on Friday, May 20, at 12:00 PM against the winner of the Delaware State/NC Central game, which is played at 3:30 PM on Thursday, May 19. All games are played at Perdue Stadium in Salisbury, MD.
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