Mervyl Samuel Melendez Sr. is a Puerto Rican baseball coach and former third base player and relief pitcher.

Mervyl Melendez
Biographical details
Born (1974-02-04) February 4, 1974 (age 50)
Carolina, Puerto Rico
Playing career
1993–1996Bethune–Cookman
Position(s)3B, P
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1997–1999Bethune–Cookman (asst.)
2000–2011Bethune–Cookman
2012–2016Alabama State
2017–2022FIU
Head coaching record
Overall663–593
TournamentsC-USA: 0–4
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
11 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference baseball tournament
Awards
8× MEAC Coach of the Year

Career

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He played college baseball for the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats from 1993–1996. He then served as the head coach of Bethune-Cookman (2000–2011), the Alabama State Hornets (2012–2016) and the FIU Panthers (2017–2022).

Melendez played for Bethune-Cookman from 1993 through 1996, seeing time at third base and relief pitching. At his playing career's end, he held program records in doubles (30) and batting average (.342). Melendez earned all-conference and all-tournament honors in 1995 and 1996. Following the end of his playing career, Melendez became an assistant coach for the Wildcats. During his tenure as an assistant, the team won the 1999 MEAC Tournament.[1]

Prior to accepting the job at Alabama State, Melendez was the head coach at Bethune-Cookman, leading his alma mater to eleven Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championships in his twelve seasons. As coach at Bethune-Cookman, Melendez led the team two back-to-back undefeated conference seasons in 2010 and 2011. His teams also won the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference baseball tournament every year from 2000 through 2011, with the exception of 2005. He won 379 games as coach of the Wildcats, and in 2009 became the second-youngest coach in NCAA history to win 300 games.[1][2] He resigned following the conclusion of the 2022 season from FIU.[3]

Head coaching record

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The following is a table of Melendez's yearly records as an NCAA head baseball coach.[4][5]

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Bethune–Cookman Wildcats (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) (2000–2011)
2000 Bethune-Cookman 33–28 10–8 3rd (Southern) NCAA Regional
2001 Bethune-Cookman 26–34 11–5 1st (Southern) NCAA Regional
2002 Bethune-Cookman 39–22 16–2 1st (Southern) NCAA Regional
2003 Bethune-Cookman 30–28 11–5 1st (Southern) NCAA Regional
2004 Bethune-Cookman 27–28 14–4 1st NCAA Regional
2005 Bethune-Cookman 22–28 11–6 2nd
2006 Bethune-Cookman 30–27 15–0 1st NCAA Regional
2007 Bethune-Cookman 33–27 16–1 1st NCAA Regional
2008 Bethune-Cookman 36–22 17–1 1st NCAA Regional
2009 Bethune-Cookman 32–28 16–2 1st NCAA Regional
2010 Bethune-Cookman 35–22 18–0 1st NCAA Regional
2011 Bethune-Cookman 36–25 18–0 1st East NCAA Regional
Bethune-Cookman: 379–319 173–34
Alabama State Hornets (Southwestern Athletic Conference) (2012–2016)
2012 Alabama State 20–36 14–10 T–2nd (East)
2013 Alabama State 32–25 18–6 2nd (East)
2014 Alabama State 37–20 21–3 1st (East)
2015 Alabama State 31–19 18–6 1st (East)
2016 Alabama State 38–17 24–0 NCAA Regionals
Alabama State: 158–117 95–25
FIU Panthers (Conference USA) (2017–2022)
2017 FIU 31–27 15–15 7th
2018 FIU 26–28 15–13 6th
2019 FIU 23–32 12–18 T-9th
2020 FIU 10–5 0–0 Season canceled due to COVID-19
2021 FIU 20–31 11–19 5th (East)
2022 FIU 16–34 8–22 11th
FIU: 126–157 61–87
Total: 663–593

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

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  1. ^ a b "Staff Directory – Head Baseball Coach". Alabama State University. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
  2. ^ "Mervyl Melendez Leaves Bethune-Cookman To Become Head Baseball Coach At Alabama State". tspnsports.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-06. Retrieved 2012-08-02.
  3. ^ Watler Villa (May 26, 2022). "FIU baseball coach Melendez steps down after program's worst season in over a decade". www.miamiherald.com. Miami Herald. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  4. ^ "Annual Conference Standings". BoydsWorld.com. Boyd Nation. Archived from the original on May 30, 2013. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
  5. ^ "2013 Southwestern Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament". D1Baseball.com. Jeremy Mills. Archived from the original on May 16, 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2013.