Lorman &8212; BlackCollegeBaseball.com announced its third annual Black College Baseball Awards last week, and the Braves of Alcorn State found themselves well represented.

Five members of the Alcorn club were named to the team. Catcher Bradley Hubbert and Outfielder Marcus Davis were named first-team position players, while the other outfielders &8212; Shawn Taylor and Caleb Betschart &8212; were named to the second-team position players.

Alcorn head baseball coach Willie McGowan said the honors go to show how strong a team he fielded last season.

&8220;You can tell (by the number of players on the team) what type of ballplayers we had this year,&8221; McGowan said. &8220;We had a great ball team. Those guys proved they could really compete. Not only did we place a lot of them on the black college team &045; we also placed a lot on the All-SWAC team. That just goes to show why we played for the (conference) championship. If we can keep everything intact, we should be repeating that same way next year.&8221;

McGowan also had nothing but good things to say about each player.

&8220;We lost (Bradley Hubbert),&8221; he said. &8220;He was a strong catcher. We got him out of Georgia. It didn&8217;t come as too much of a shock that he got drafted, because we expected him to. We knew he had everything the pros were looking for. He had the size, the strength, and the arm. When he got drafted, I didn&8217;t want to lose him. If he had come back he could have gone a little higher. That&8217;s what he wanted to do, though, and we&8217;re glad for him.&8221;

Davis&8217; offensive power was his biggest contribution to the team.

&8220;Marcus is a tremendous hitter,&8221; McGowan said. &8220;He led the team in home runs. He&8217;s a fired-up ballplayer. He&8217;s got to work on being lackadaisical at times. I think he would&8217;ve gotten drafted if he had pitched. Just playing the field, hitting the ball, and running isn&8217;t always enough. He&8217;s going to have to show off his tools. He wanted him to be our closer, but something&8217;s wrong with his arm. He is a tremendous ballplayer, though.&8221;

Shawn Taylor, on the other hand, sparked the Braves through his defense.

&8220;Shawn Taylor is probably one of the better defensive players we&8217;ve had,&8221; said McGowan. &8220;He&8217;s our centerfielder, but we can move him into the infield, too. We let him bat fourth, and he hit about five or six home runs. He also got 62 RBI. He is one of our key personnel. I really thought he would get drafted, too, but he&8217;s got another year.&8221;

Matt Chapman&8217;s unique style helped him in his role as closer.

&8220;(He) made first team last year, and second team this year,&8221; McGowan said. &8220;He did a good job the whole three years he was here at closer. He was an all-conference

ballplayer. He wasn&8217;t a closer that you would normally see that throws 92 or 93 (mph). He had so many different pitches that he confused the batters. He could throw sidearm, underhand, and move around. That&8217;s why we used him at closer.&8221;

Betschart achieved his accolades through sheer toughness, according to McGowan.

&8220;Caleb made second team last year, also,&8221; he said. &8220;He&8217;s a hard worker. He loves the game and he stays focused on the game. Some of the scouts like him and some don&8217;t. If he can come back in and have a good year it&8217;s always a possibility with him (getting drafted).&8221;