NORFOLK, Va. – Former Norfolk State softball standout and player of the year Haley Ward was voted to the MEAC All-Time Softball Team, announced by the conference on Monday in celebration of its 50th anniversary.
 
The MEAC is honoring the top 50 players from each sport this year as part of its 50th anniversary celebration. Ward was the lone representative from Norfolk State softball to earn a spot on the team.
 
A native of Virginia Beach, Ward was named the 2013 MEAC Player of the Year as a sophomore. She became the first and only Spartan to be named all-region after earning a National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Southeast Region second team designation. The outfielder hit .482 that season to rank second in the nation.
 
Ward was voted to the All-MEAC first team in 2012 and '13 in her two seasons with the Spartans, one of just two players in program history to earn first-team honors twice. She was also a two-time VaSID All-State player, including first-team honors as a freshman in 2012 when she hit .409. As a sophomore in 2013, Ward tied the NCAA record with 13 consecutive hits.
 
She hit .446 in two seasons, the third-best average in school history. She also ranks third in career doubles with 32, including a school-record 21 in 2013.
 
The MEAC is using online fan voting to select its all-time teams in every sport in conjunction with the ongoing celebration of its 50th year of operation. More than 3,000 votes were cast for the softball team, with fans, media representatives, institution sports information contacts and others taking part.
 
To be considered on the ballot, athletes must have been named to the All-MEAC First Team or a MEAC Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year or Pitcher of the Year, be a holder of any MEAC single-season record, or have been inducted into the MEAC Hall of Fame.