A new age in North Carolina A&T athletics begins as the Aggies leave the Mideastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and officially transition to the Big South Conference. The move represents a leap forward for the baseball program with an eye towards increasing both its regional footprint and competition.
North Carolina A&T’s tenure in the MEAC saw the Aggies rise to become one of the top baseball teams in the league and aims to continue that high standard for athletic competition and academic performance into the Big South.
This is great for Aggie Nation. The growth to achieve the vision of becoming the leading mid-major athletics department in the nation takes a big step forward starting in the 2021-2022 school year.
With the addition of NC A&T into the Big South membership, the conference strengthens its footprint in the Carolinas and will schedule games in close proximity to its campus. This will reduce travel costs and start new regional rivalries amongst member schools in close proximity to each other.
On the diamond, NC A&T wrapped up its fall season with games against Florence Darlington and Catawaba Valley Community College where they played very well and beat both teams. Key additions to the team are Cort Maynard and Chet Sikes both from North Carolina Central University when they cancelled the program. Cort was an all-star in the Appy league over the summer and made 2nd team all MEAC. Chet was Freshman of the year in the MEAC.
The Aggies also add JUCO transfers Anthony Hennings and Logan Jarosz from Pitt Community College who put up good numbers. Grad transfers Alex Seaton and Tyshawn Barrett will also make an impact where they had careers and Peace College.
Freshman impact players include pitchers Jahiem Brown, Jackson Hull, Evan Demerius, and catcher Canyon Brown.
According to pitching coach and recruiting coordinator Jamie Serber ”We are very excited about our transition to the Big South. We will be the only [NCAA Division I] HBCU playing baseball in a non-HBCU conference. It will be challenging, but we are excited about the competition.”