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The following release was issued by Bethune-Cookman’s media department on Tuesday.
The university is in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) and announced that all sports are done for the year including softball.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Bethune-Cookman University has canceled its remaining 2020-21 athletic season because of the coronavirus pandemic, President E. LaBrent Chrite announced Tuesday.
“In the face of a surging COVID-19 spike across much of the country and the State of Florida, we have concluded that the risks are too great for our student-athletes and staff to travel and compete at this time,” President Chrite said. The university has ceased all student athletic activities until further notice, out of an abundance of caution. “The health and safety of our student-athletes, as well as our coaches, staff and fans will always be our top priority.”
B-CU becomes one of the first NCAA Division I institutions to opt out of all sports for the remainder of the year. The decision was made after a series of meetings with stakeholders across the campus community and with Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Lynn W. Thompson, coaches, medical and public health experts and state and local officials, President Chrite said.
“We obviously recognize that other institutions may elect to move forward with spring competition. The decision for us, however, was not a complicated one. The risk premium is simply too high and our priority remains the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff,” President Chrite said. “As members of the B-CU family constantly engage in various forms of civic engagement, this decision also protects our community partners as well.”
Through the pandemic, the dissemination of information on safety protocols and testing has been vital.
“We’ve administered nearly 6,000 tests since the start of the school year, and up until a little over a week ago, saw remarkably positive results from our testing protocols. Over the past eight days, however, we’ve noted a sudden spike in cases on campus, hence this decision.” Thompson said.
“B-CU athletics has survived hurricanes, tornadoes and a myriad of other challenges. This pandemic has affected us all, including me personally,” said Thompson, who lost his own brother-in law to Covid-19 last month. “Now is not the time for us to roll the balls out and play. It’s the time to close ranks and protect our community so that we can remain safe until it’s time to play again.”
The 2020-21 athletic season would have been the 40th and final season for B-CU as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). Effective July 2021, the Wildcats will become members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).
— end of release—
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More info…
Bethune-Cookman softball is led by Laura Watten, who coached the Wildcats previously from 1998 to 2006 before taking over as the head coach at Maryland. She returned to the Florida university in August of 2014 and in 13 total years at B-CU is 443-355 (.557).
Coach Watten has made eight appearances in the post-season and guided the Wildcats to consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championships in 2018 and 2019, giving the program 10 league titles and 11 NCAA tournament appearances.
The MEAC consists of the following teams:
Bethune-Cookman
Coppin State
Delaware State
Florida A&M
Howard
Md. Eastern Shore
Morgan State
NC Central
Norfolk State
North Carolina A&T
South Carolina State
The Wildcats were two-time defending conference champions when their 2020 season was suspended, but had struggled this year, compiling a 5-26 overall record, primarily because of offensive woes as the team was shutout in 11 games and scored only one run in 11 other games (meaning one or no runs scored in 71% of their games).
Collectively, the team had a .219 batting average and was outscored 157 to 56 and only had one home run by the team in its 31 games. On the flip side, the team’s ERA was 4.65 while opponents had a 1.78 ERA against the Wildcats.
The team was fairly young in 2020, with nine of the 21 on the Wilcats roster being upperclassmen (just five seniors) and eight being freshmen.
In May, the Wildcats signed four players in the Class of 2020; it remains to be seen if the quartet will stay at the school or be allowed to transfer, if desired, to play elsewhere.
Here is the info on the latest Bethune-Cookman signing class:
Bethune-Cookman University’s 2020 softball recruiting class has strong family ties with two of the four signees having older sisters who played or are currently playing for the Wildcats.
Head coach Laura Watten officially announced today that Joslynn Davis, Essence Gibbs, Jasmeen Rivera and Briana Velasquez have joined the 10-time Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) champions for the 2020-21 campaign.
Davis is the younger sister of former All-MEAC outfielder Mariah Davis, while Gibbs will join older sister Elise on the roster.
“This is an extremely solid 2020 class with speed, power, versatility and great softball IQ,” Watten said. “I honestly feel that this group will have an immediate positive impact on our team culture and talent level.”
Joslynn Davis was a four-year starter at Madera (Calif.) HS who was hitting .410 with three doubles, eight RBIs and 18 runs scored this season. Her team was 12-0 when play was suspended.
Gibbs was hitting .357 at Cerritos (Calif.) HS.
“Essense and Joslynn are outfielders who will add some great depth to our defense, Watten said. “They are also both lefty slappers, with a lot of aggressive speed.”
Rivera comes to B-CU from the Osceola County (Fla.) School For the Arts and enjoyed a stellar career as a catcher in travel ball.
Velasquez (Los Angeles, Calif.) is a pitcher with a strong bat as well – hitting .700 for San Pedro HS this spring. Velasquez was part of a city championship team her freshman year.
“Jasmeen is a great addition behind the plate for us as she has passion, energy and a very strong work ethic, while also being a solid offensive threat,” Watten said. “Briana will add strength and depth to our pitching staff in addition to providing an option for us as a middle infielder when not on the mound.”