NORFOLK, Va. (Jan. 30, 2025)--Morgan State graduate student
Victoria Fletcher was named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Softball Preseason Player of the Year, as announced by the league office on Thursday.
In addition to being named the preseason player of the year, Fletcher was also named to the first team as both a pitcher and a utility/designated player.
Also receiving preseason honors for Morgan State was sophomore outfielder
Amber Rivas, who was named to the first team and junior catcher
Alison Keener, who was named to the second team.
As a team, the Lady Bears, the defending MEAC champions, were picked to finish second. Morgan State received seven of the 16 first-place votes and earned 117 points. Howard was picked to claim the 2025 regular season title. The Bison received eight first-place votes for 118 points. Coppin State (85 points) received the lone remaining first-place vote and was picked third.
Howard junior pitcher Julia Holt was named MEAC Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
All awards were voted on by the conference's head coaches and sports information directors.
A pitcher and infielder, Fletcher was named the MEAC Softball Player of the Year back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024. She led the league in home runs (7) and total bases (85). In the pitching circle, she was named MEAC Pitcher of the Week three times last season. Fletcher logged 85.2 innings with 16 starts, a 9-6 record and limited opponents to a .245 batting average (3rd best in the MEAC).
At the plate, the Huntington, Md. native hit .360 with 54 hits, 10 doubles and seven home runs. Fletcher ranked in the top 10 in the conference in hits (T-3rd), at-bats (5th; 150), slugging (4th; .567), OPS (4th; .985), doubles (8th; 10), RBI (4th; 34) and batting average (6th).
Rivas, who was the 2024 MEAC Rookie of the Year, appeared in all 55 games, collecting a .311 batting average, .411 slugging percentage and a .361 on-base percentage. She registered 56 hits in 180 at-bats and totaled 38 runs, 12 doubles, three triples and 17 RBI.
The West Hills, Calif., native tagged 74 total bases, walked 13 times and had 17 stolen bases. Rivas nearly hit for the cycle, falling a homerun short in the series opener against Norfolk State on ESPNU (4/13). She finished the game going 3-for-3 with a single, double and triple, two runs scored and 2 RBI in the win over the Spartans. Rivas led the MEAC in hits and at bats and ranked 2
nd in runs scored, 4
th in triples, 5
th in doubles, 5
th in stolen bases and was 23
rd in batting average.
Keener played in 48 of 50 games last season and batted .226 with 106 at bats, 24 hits, 8 runs, a double, 12 RBI, 25 total bases. She had a .236 slugging percentage, 20 walks and a stolen base. A native of Nanticoke, Pa., Keener led the MEAC in sacrifice bunts with 10 and finished 6
th in walks and 56
th in hitting.
Morgan State begins the 2025 season on the road, as it will travel to Clearwater, Fla. to compete in the prestigious National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division I Leadoff Classic (Feb. 7-9). The Lady Bears open up the tournament facing Notre Dame and Pittsburgh on Friday, Feb. 7. On Saturday, MSU will take on Kentucky and former MEAC foe Bethune-Cookman. Morgan State will conclude the tournament on Sunday against Marshall.
The 2025 MEAC Softball Championship will be held in Norfolk, Va. on the campus of Norfolk State University May 7-10.
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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified
high research (R2) institution offering nearly 140 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's
Preeminent Public Urban Research University, and the only university to have its entire campus
designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit
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