Mervyl Melendez, a contemporary coaching icon in historically black college baseball, was yesterday named the head baseball coach at Florida International University.
It is Melendez’ first coaching position at a non-HBCU, where in 17 years primarily spent at his alma mater Bethune-Cookman University, Melendez won 11 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference regular season and conference tournament championships with the Wildcats.
This year, Melendez led his Alabama State University Hornets baseball program to a 38-win season and an undefeated conference record, the first in SWAC baseball history. From the Montgomery Advertiser:
“This journey started for me many years ago,” Melendez said. “Twenty years ago, I became a baseball coach thinking that one day I’d be here. You start with the idea that you not only want to be successful, but you want to get to a place that you can call home. This is one of the few jobs that I looked at as one day could be mine. One day I could be there. One day I can call FIU home and this day has arrived.”
