Two North Carolina Central University baseball student-athletes have earned preseason awards, as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference announced both Luis DeLeon (Providence, R.I.) and Ryan Miller (Blandon, Pa.) were named Preseason First Team All-MEAC, the league office announced on Friday, Feb. 5.
DeLeon ripped the cover off the ball last season over 16 starts, and batted a torrid .393 with a .689 slugging percentage and .500 on-base percentage. He also drove in 24 RBI on 24 hits, and led the MEAC in RBI and ranked eighth in NCAA Division I in that category. DeLeon also topped the league in runs scored (15), home runs (6) and total bases (42), tied for the lead in hits and stolen bases (6), finished second in the MEAC in batting average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage, and tied for second in the conference in doubles (6).
Miller only got four starts on the mound in 2020 before the season was ended, but he still collected a league-leading 36 batters in 23.1 innings of work, and earned one win. He also reached a new single-game career high 12 strikeouts in a winning effort against Niagara, while allowing five hits and just one earned run. Miller ranked top-40 in NCAA Division I in total strikeouts, and top-50 in strikeouts-per-nine innings at a rate of 13.89. This is the second time in his career that he’s earned Preseason All-MEAC honors after being garnering Second Team accolades in 2020.
To view the entire Preseason All-MEAC list, visit MEACSports.com.