NORFOLK, Va., Oct. 21, 2021 — Morgan State junior guard De’Torrion Ware was named the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Men’s Basketball Preseason Player of the Year, presented by TowneBank, the conference announced today. In addition, Norfolk State was selected as the preseason favorite to win the MEAC All awards were voted on by the conference’s head coaches and sports information directors.
Ware, a Second Team All-MEAC honoree from last season, led the MEAC in scoring and was seventh in rebounding in 2020-21, averaging 17.2 points and 5.7 rebounds a contest. His .427 field goal percentage was top-15 in the conference and he was fifth in free throw percentage, making 83.2 percent of his shots at the charity stripe. Ware also tied for seventh in the MEAC in steals (1.4 per game) and eighth in 3-point field goal percentage (.388). His 2.5 made 3-pointers per game were second-best in the MEAC and Ware was fourth in the league in offensive rebounding (2.0 per game). He had a pair of 30-point games last season (including a career-high 36 against Delaware State), and he averaged 26.7 points per game in the Air Force Reserve MEAC Basketball Tournament.
Defending MEAC champion Norfolk State picked up 10 of a possible 16 first-place votes in being named the preseason
favorite, while the Bears notched three first-place votes and were picked to finish second. North Carolina Central (two
first-place votes) and Coppin State (one first-place vote) rounded out the top four. Rounding out the predicted order of finish were Howard, Delaware State, South Carolina State, and Maryland Eastern Shore.
Joining Ware on the Preseason All-MEAC First Team is Coppin State’s Nendah Tarke, Delaware State’s Myles Carter,
Morgan State’s Malik Miller and Norfolk State’s Joe Bryant. The 2022 MEAC Basketball Tournament will be held March 9-12 at the Norfolk Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va.
Preseason Player of the Year: De’Torrion Ware, Morgan State
FIRST TEAM
Nendah Tarke G So. 6-4 Coppin State Gaithersburg, Md.
Myles Carter G r-Sr. 6-1 Delaware State Philadelphia, Pa.
Malik Miller G Sr. 6-4 Morgan State Washington, D.C.
De’Torrion Ware G Jr. 6-4 Morgan State Hopkinsville, Ky.
Joe Bryant G Sr. 6-1 Norfolk State Norfolk, Va.
SECOND TEAM
Kyle Cardaci G r-So. 6-2 Coppin State Holmdel, N.J.
Dontarius James F Sr. 6-8 Howard Kershaw, S.C.
Lagio Grantsaan F Sr. 6-8 Morgan State Utrecht, Netherlands
Jalen Hawkins G r-Sr. 6-2 Norfolk State Bronx, N.Y.
Randy Miller, Jr. G r-Sr. 6-2 N.C. Central Odenton, Md.
THIRD TEAM
Steve Settle, III F r-So. 6-10 Howard Glenarden, Md.
Da’Shawn Phillip G Jr. 6-5 Maryland E. Shore Baltimore, Md.
Sherwyn Devonish G Sr. 6-1 Morgan State Bladensburg, Md.
Trevor Moore G Sr. 6-5 Morgan State Houston, Texas
Rashaan Edwards G Jr. 6-0 South Carolina St. Charlestown, W.Va.
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
School (First-Place Votes) Points
- Norfolk State (10) 119
- Morgan State (3) 99
- North Carolina Central (2) 93
- Coppin State (1) 89
- Howard 70
- Delaware State 43
- South Carolina State 39
- Maryland Eastern Shore 24