NORFOLK, Va. – North Carolina Central University had five players be selected to the 2024 All-MEAC Softball Teams as announced by the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference at an awards ceremony on Tuesday evening leading into 2024 MEAC Softball Championship scheduled for May 8-11.
 
Freshman outfielder Tyler Suttles was selected to the First Team; senior shortstop Jaylah Barr, junior pitcher Jaden Davis and sophomore first baseman Makiya Graves were all tabbed Second Team; and senior catcher Hailey Batista garnered Third Team accolades.
 
The All-MEAC softball teams are voted upon by the league's head coaches and sports information directors. Players are nominated and voted upon by position.
 
Tyler Suttles batted .327 in her first collegiate regular season, playing in 37 games as a rookie with 36 starts. Suttles saw a lot of time in NCCU's leadoff position and the left-handed hitter delivered with a .414 on-base percentage and a team-high eight stolen bases. The Menifee, California, resident ranks second on the team with both 17 runs and two triples.
 
Against conference competition, Suttles led NCCU's regulars with a .435 batting average, 12 runs and six stolen bases in 18 MEAC starts. She enters the MEAC Championship ranked in the top-10 of the league with two triples and 16 walks.
 
Suttles was named MEAC Player of the Week on April 17.
 
Jayla Barr topped NCCU with a .340 batting average in the regular season. Barr played a team-high 51 games, including 50 starts, and led the Eagles with 29 RBI and nine doubles while finishing second on the team with five home runs.
 
The resident of Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina, ranks in the top-10 of the league in hits, RBI, batting average, slugging percentage, OPS, home runs and walks.
 
Barr has now earned All-MEAC honors two times representing the maroon and gray and she was a two-time MEAC Player of the Week award winner this season (Feb. 22, April 24). Barr was announced as NCCU's team MVP this season at the 2024 Eddies Awards.
 
Jaden Davis led the Eagles in the pitcher's circle all season, topping NCCU in ERA, wins, complete games, shutouts, innings pitched and ERA. Davis ended the regular season ranked second in the MEAC with 101 strikeouts, 163.1 innings pitched and 20 complete games while also ranking third with 10 wins.
 
The local Knightdale, North Carolina, tenant stepped up her pitching against conference competition, going 9-4 with a 2.29 ERA, nine complete games, two shutouts, and 59 strikeouts over 82.2 innings pitched in 13 MEAC appearances.
 
Davis has earned All-MEAC status for a second consecutive season, adding to her pair of MEAC All-Tournament Team selections and MEAC Most Outstanding Performer at the 2023 MEAC Softball Championship. She was tabbed MEAC Pitcher of the Week twice this season (Feb. 22, March 26), including first after throwing her first collegiate no hitter against PVAMU.
 
Makiya Graves, who moved over first base this season while dealing with injury, steadily increased her batting average this season and once again become a big threat in NCCU's lineup. Graves batted .282 in the regular season with 15 runs, six doubles and nine RBI in 45 games, including 36 starts.
 
The local Mebane, North Carolina, resident made her biggest impact against league opposition, batting .377 in 18 MEAC tilts.
 
Graves has now landed on the All-MEAC Softball Teams for a second straight season to start her collegiate career after being awarded MEAC Rookie of the Year in 2023.
 
Hailey Batista manufactured much of NCCU's offense this season with team-high totals of six home runs and 18 runs scored to go along with 20 RBI. She finished the regular season tied with Barr with 14 extra-base hits, including eight doubles. Batista has played in 46 games this season, including 41 starts, and ranks tied for first in the MEAC with six home runs.
 
The fellow local resident of Mebane, North Carolina, has started all 21 conference clashes, batting .321 with five doubles, three home runs, 14 RBI and 11 runs.
 
Batista has now matched Barr and Davis with two All-MEAC Team selections in her time at NCCU to go along with MEAC All-Tournament and team MVP honors she has over collegiate career with the maroon and gray.
 
NC Central (18-34) will try to successfully defend its 2023 MEAC Softball Championship title when the Eagles begin play in the 2024 edition of the league tournament as the fourth seed after posting a 14-7 conference record. The Eagles open postseason play against fifth-seeded South Carolina State University on Wednesday at 9 a.m.
 
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