NORFOLK, Va. – Four members of the Norfolk State baseball team were named to the 2008 All-MEAC team, as announced Wednesday at the conference's awards banquet.

Catcher Brad Stephenson (Chesapeake, Va.) was named to the All-MEAC first team, while designated hitter John Boyd III (Hempstead, N.Y.), third baseman Chris Joyce (Chesapeake, Va.) and outfielder John Lynch (Newport News, Va.) were named to the All-MEAC second team.

Stephenson, a junior catcher, leads NSU and ranks fourth in the MEAC with a .355 batting average. He also paces the Spartans with 12 doubles, has one home run (a grand slam) and 29 RBI. Defensively, Stephenson has thrown out 35 percent of the base runners who have attempted to steal against him.

Boyd, a senior, leads the Spartans with six home runs and 42 RBI. Boyd, who was a first-team All-MEAC selection as a sophomore in 2006, ranks fourth in the conference this season with 1.05 RBI per game. He has been walked a team-leading 27 times.

Joyce, one of two Spartans along with Lynch to start all 43 games, is third on the team with a .310 average. He is second with 11 doubles and 37 RBI. Joyce was named MEAC Rookie of the Week three times this season and had the Spartans' longest hitting streak of the season, 11 games, from March 22-April 12.

Lynch, a freshman, has served as NSU's lead-off hitter for all but three games. Lynch is currently batting .300 with 35 runs scored, five doubles, one homer and 12 RBI.

Bethune-Cookman shortstop Jose Lozada was named the MEAC Player of the Year, and B-CU pitcher Hiram Burgos was voted Pitcher of the Year. B-CU's Mervyl Melendez was named MEAC Coach of the Year, and Florida A&M first baseman Tim Jones was selected Rookie of the Year.

No. 5 seed NSU opens play in the 2008 MEAC Tournament with No. 2 North Carolina A&T at 2 p.m. on Thursday.