Coppin State’s baseball team was picked to finish third in the MEAC Preseason Poll, it was announced by the league office on Monday afternoon, as voted on by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors. Additionally, five Eagles were named to Preseason All-MEAC Teams.
Norfolk State took the top spot in the poll with three first place votes and 25 total points, followed by Delaware State with a pair of first place votes and 23 points. CSU received three first place votes along with 22 points and Maryland Eastern Shore earned ten points.
Mike Dorcean, Sebastien Sarabia, Marcos Castillo, Darren Hagan and Jordan Hamberg were all named to the Preseason All-Conference Team.
A First Team All-MEAC selection at catcher in 2021, Dorcean finished fifth in the MEAC with a .377 batting average to go with three doubles and 23 RBI while scoring 19 runs. A redshirt sophomore from Bellerose, N.Y., Dorcean led the Eagles in home runs (5), slugging percentage (.610) to go with a league-high .524 on-base percentage while drawing 15 walks and hit by a pitch ten times. Starting nearly every game behind the plate, Dorcean ranked second in the MEAC with a 1.134 OPS, hit .410 in conference games and led Coppin with seven multi-RBI games. Dorcean had a pair of four RBI games, coming against Mount St. Mary’s and Delaware State and had two additional games against the Hornets with three runs batted in.
At first base, Sarabia ranked sixth in the conference with a .371 batting average to earn Second Team honors in 2021 while recording four doubles, a home run and 23 RBI. Hailing from Simi Valley, Calif., Sarabia scored 16 runs, drew 19 walks and added four sacrifice flies to accumulate a .449 slugging percentage and .478 on-base percentage. Sarabia tallied ten multi-hit games which included a school-record five hits in five at bats to go with three runs and three RBI in Coppin’s victory at Navy on April 28. A three-time MEAC Rookie of the Week last year, Sarabia had another three RBI with a home run at Mount St. Mary’s.
Despite missing all last season, Castillo still earned Preseason honors in the outfield. A senior from Round Rock, Texas, Castillo is a .331 career hitter and has racked up 22 doubles, a school-record 12 triples, five home runs and 59 RBI in 89 career games. In a COVID-shortened 2020 season, Castillo hit .378 with four doubles, a triple, three home runs and nine RBI in 12 games. Castillo has accumulated a .408 on-base percentage and .520 slugging percentage in his collegiate career.
A sophomore from Chichester, Pa., Hagan was the only Coppin State player to play in every game last season as he hit .312 while leading the Eagles in runs (35), hits (44), total bases (64) and sacrifice flies (6). Hagan won a league-high four MEAC Rookie of the Week awards and led the conference in sacrifice flies while ranking sixth in runs scored and ninth in batting average. Recording seven doubles, three home runs and 25 RBI, all of which were second on the team, Hagan had a team-high 12 multi-hit games, including a school-record five hits at Navy on February 24 where he scored two runs, doubled twice, and drove in five runs.
A sophomore from South Plainfield, N.J., Hamberg was a key two-way performer last season, starting as a corner outfielder as well as a weekend starting pitcher, and was named Black College Nines Freshman of the Year. Hamberg led all CSU eligible hitters with a .382 batting average while recording five doubles, a triple and seven RBI while accumulating a .474 slugging percentage and .460 on-base percentage. Hamberg recorded seven multi-hit games with a 4-for-4 performance at Norfolk State and a pair of three-hit games at Delaware State.
On the mound, Hamberg went 1-3 with a 6.58 ERA, striking out 28 batters in 26.0 innings. Hamberg picked up the win in a start at Delaware State on March 21 where he gave up just one earned run while striking out four in 4.2 innings.
The Eagles are set to open the season at California Baptist on Feb. 18-20 for a tree-game series. All three games will be televised live on ESPN+