Alabama State University Athletics

Mervyl Melendez has transformed Alabama State baseball into a Southwestern Athletic Conference power and a rising, respected mid-major program nationally.

Alabama State has won back-to-back SWAC Eastern Division titles, finishing as the SWAC runners-up in 2014. This past season, the Hornets were crowned Black College National Champions by blackcollegenines.com. 

The 120 wins during Melendez' tenure is the highest four-year total in ASU baseball history. The Hornets won 31 games in 2015, the third straight year with 30+ victories. Milestones continue to be set yearly, as 2014’s 37-win total was the most in program history for the second straight year after 32 victories in 2013. It’s the first time ASU baseball has posted four straight 20-win seasons, as the 20-win total in Melendez' inaugural campaign of 2012 was the program's most in 10 years.

Alabama State baseball continues to be big-game hunters under Melendez. Last season, the Hornets defeated #17 Cal-State Fullerton (which went on to the College World Series), along with season sweeps of Jacksonville State and Troy for the first time ever.

In 2014, the program posted signature wins at then-#4 Miami and Auburn, along with key non-conference wins at South Alabama and Samford, and a pair of wins at Pacific. In addition to the victory over Miami, ASU posted wins over Jackson State and Youngstown State, three teams which competed in the NCAA Tournament. 

Over the past two seasons, Alabama State has had seven players sign professional baseball contracts, with five players selected in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. This past season, relief pitchers Armando Ruiz (29th round, Oakland) and Jorge Pantoja (30th round, Washington) were drafted, while a third pitcher, Michael Estevez (FA, Toronto) signed a contract. 

In 2014, Alabama State baseball had four players sign professional baseball contracts, with three players selected in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, the most in one draft in school history. SS Emmanuel Marrero (7th round, Philadelphia) became the highest drafted baseball player ever at ASU. OF Richard Amion (19th round, San Francisco) and C Richard Gonzalez (29th round, Houston) were also selected in the draft, while Pitcher/1B Dexter Price signed a free agent contract with Arizona.

 
Melendez, who was named 2014 Coach of the Year by both the SWAC and the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association, was selected to the coaching staff of USA Baseball's 17 and under team in the summer of 2015. 

During his ASU tenure, Melendez' Hornets have competed against only Division I schools. The Hornets have played weekend series at Oklahoma, at then-defending national champion Arizona and at Miami, and contests against Auburn, Troy, Jacksonville State, South Alabama, Mercer, Georgia State and UAB among others. 

His commitment to winning begins in the classroom and in the community. The Hornet baseball team has maintained at least a 2.7 team GPA, and have participated in numerous University-wide initiatives, including campus cleanup campaigns, A Call to Men focused on ending domestic violence, and Read Across America.
 
In 16 seasons as head coach, Melendez has posted 12 30-win seasons. In 12 years at Bethune-Cookman University, Melendez won 11 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Championships, earning 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, including a 2002 win over Florida International. 

Named one of Baseball America’s Top 10 head coaches under 40 years old, Melendez earned his 400th career win in the 2013 season opener vs. Chicago State in which then-sophomore pitcher T.J. Renda, the eventual SWAC Pitcher of the Year, threw a no-hitter.
  
Melendez, 41, has a career 499-420 record, and compiling an impressive list of victories and accomplishments in his head coaching career. Highlighted among them are two separate streaks of at least five consecutive MEAC titles (2000-04, 2006-11). He has coached more than a dozen players who have earned All-America or Player of the Year accolades and more than 30 players who went on to play professional baseball, including pitcher Hiram Burgos of the Milwaukee Brewers and outfielder Peter O'Brien of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
  
Melendez is a native of Carolina (pronounced kah-ro-LEE-nah), Puerto Rico (known as La Tierra de Gigantes aka “Land of the Giants”), located in the northeast corner of the country. Carolina is also home of Baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente.
 
As if destined to live up to the tradition of his hometown, Melendez’ teams have played like giants throughout his head coaching career. Regularly competing against some of the nation’s top college baseball programs, Melendez’ teams have won 46 games against opponents from Division I FBS conferences.
 
A nine-time conference coach of the year, Melendez led the Wildcats to 46 consecutive MEAC regular season wins, including back-to-back undefeated league seasons in 2010 and 2011 (18-0 both seasons). In 2009 at the age of 35 years and two months, he became the second youngest coach in NCAA Division I baseball history to win 300 games.
 
Melendez spent the final two years of his collegiate career at Bethune Cookman, and was an integral part of 14 MEAC titles as a player, assistant coach and head coach.
 
As a player at Bethune-Cookman, Melendez was selected to the first-ever Black College All-America Team during his senior season (1996). As a third baseman and relief pitcher, he finished his collegiate career as the all-time school leader in doubles (30) and batting average (.342). These accolades earned him all-conference and all-tournament honors in both 1995 and ’96.
 
It was Melendez’ relief-pitching efforts against North Carolina A&T in the final game of the 1996 regular season that allowed the Wildcats to capture their second consecutive MEAC Southern Division crown. In the NCAA Regional Play-in game against Georgia Southern in 1996, Melendez hit a bases-loaded double to give B-CU their first win in a regional.
 
He served as assistant coach from 1997-99, helping the Wildcats with MEAC titles in ’97 and ’99.
 
Melendez moved to Orlando, Florida at the age of 13, and attended Lake Howell High in Winter Park, Fla. He is married to the former Aixa Alicea, a native of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Together, they have two beautiful sons in Mervyl S. “MJ” Melendez, Jr., and youngest son, Jayden Savier.