Mervyl Melendez
Bethune-Cookman Wildcats |
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Over the past two years Mervyl Melendez’s
Bethune-Cookman Wildcats have amassed a phenomenal 31-1 conference
record, back-to-back MEAC Regular Season and Tournament titles
and wins over nationally ranked teams including Tennessee,
Jacksonville and Stetson.  Additionally,
the Wildcats have accumulated a number of close-but-not-quite
one run losses to power house teams such as Miami, Mississippi,
Michigan and Coastal Carolina.
While the modest Melendez attributes much
of his team’s success to the hard work and dedication
of his players and the foundation laid by his mentor and former
coach Brian Rhees, it would be amiss to minimize Melendez’s
impact on Bethune-Cookman’s winnings ways. Before Melendez
took over the reigns as head coach in 1999 at the age of 25,
winning seasons in Daytona Beach were scarce. From 1978 to
2000 the Wildcats were on the sunny side of .500 only four
times – a number that was eclipsed last season after
B-CC finished 33-27 (.550) - the fifth time in just eight
years a Melendez coached team had a winning record. In honor
of his recent successes, Melendez has been named both the
MEAC Coach of the Year as well as the Black College Baseball
Coach for the past two seasons.
While most coaches wear the team uniform,
cleats, stirrup socks and all out of tradition during practice
and games, with Melendez it’s a necessity (well, maybe
not the stirrup socks...). He teaches his student athletes
how to play hardball hands on; throwing batting practice,
fielding ground balls and running the bases to demonstrate
proper style and technique. The accomplished Melendez has
the background to coach in such a manner. While playing for
the Wildcats as both a third baseman and a relief pitcher,
Melendez was named to the 1995 and '96 All-MEAC Teams and
finished his collegiate career with a .342 batting average.
He also established the Wildcat record for doubles (30), was
twice named to the All-MEAC Tournament Team and was selected
to the first-ever Black College All-American team.
Once his playing days for Bethune-Cookman
were over, the motivated Melendez quickly found himself back
on the diamond after Coach Rhees went to bat for him (pun
intended) with B-CC Athletic Director Lynn Thompson. Rhees
informed Thompson that he unequivocally needed to hire Melendez
as an assistant and that one day he would be the Wildcats’
head coach. Thompson wisely obliged and Melendez spent the
next three years as the team's top assistant, continuing to
learn about the game under Rhess before earning the head coach
nod.
Melendez’ appreciation and respect
for the man who brought him to Bethune-Cookman out of junior
college as a player is unquestionable. Melendez said of Rhees,
“He is a very special person, friend, and mentor who
I owe a lot to. He is definitely a big reason for our success.
He showed me how to be a winner and how to do it with hard
work and no excuses.”
The Wildcats have compiled a stunning .968
MEAC winning percenrage over the past two years - an accomplishment
Melendez attributes to a tough out of conference schedule
in which is stockpiled with stiff competition including teams
such as UCLA, USC, Miami, Stetson, Jacksonville and Florida.
"Part of our success is our out of
conference schedule which makes us a better team and challenges
us to become better but a big part of our success is our coaching
staff." Melendez stated.
While optimistic the Wildcats’ winning
ways in the MEAC will continue, Melendez knows continuing
their dominance will be difficult. "There are good coaches
in the league and I know that the players will enjoy their
time playing for them. Needless to say the teams are getting
better and better," Melendez affirmed.
Melendez’s recipe for success at Bethune-Cookman
starts with fundamentals, "Games are won on the mound,
and defensively and that's what we believe in," Melendez
avowed. Accordingly he has stressed an aggressive, smart offense
combined with a stout defense and strong pitching to compile
wins. Opposition must constantly be on the ready as the quick
Melendez driven offense looks to take the extra base whenever
given the opportunity. Last year the Wildcats ranked in the
top 50 nationally in triples per game and finished 52nd in
stolen bases. Defensively B-CC placed 59th in the country
in double plays per game while the Wildcat staff ranked 38th
in ERA at 3.90.
Melendez also attributes his team’s
on field success to developing his players off the field.
The athletes are more than teammates, they’re practically
family. "We work hard to bring not only good players
but good individuals with good morals," Melendez stated,
"Once they arrive to campus we treat them as individuals
not as pawns and we create a family environment for them.
In other words, we have the best interest at heart for our
players and that is part of the reason for our success."
A growing number of Melendez coached Wildcats
have been drafted by major league teams, including outfielder
Angel Mercado (whose .404 batting average ranked 26th nationally
last season) who was selected by the San Diego Padres in the
23rd Round of last years Major League Baseball Draft. However,
Melendez is quick to state his is most proud of his players’
academic success and strives to build his players into better
people, not just better athletes. "We, as a staff, want
to teach them on and off the field." Melendez has affirmed.
Stetson Head Coach Pete Dunn said the following
of Melendez, "Mervel does as good a job at BCU as any
coach in the country as evidenced by his team's string of
NCAA regional appearances. His teams reflect the persona and
skills he displayed as a player - aggressive, fundamentally
sound, well disciplined, and always play hard."
Melendez and the Wildcats begin the 2008
season on February 22nd, hosting the Temple Owls for a three
game series in Daytona Beach.
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