Dover, Del. (Nov. 26, 2019) --- Former women's basketball star NaJai Pollard and baseball standout Garrett Lawson were honored as the inaugural Mishoe Delaware State University Athletes-of-the-Year for the 2018-19 school year. The awards were presented during the recent DSU Athletics Hall-of-Fame Banquet and Induction Ceremony at the University's Martin Luther King, Jr. Student Center.
Pollard was selected as the first Dr. Wilma Mishoe Hornet Female Athlete-of-the-Year. The award is named in honor of the outgoing Delaware State University President, who plans to retire at the end of December after nearly two years as the University's chief executive and more than a year as chairwoman of the University's Board of Trustees.
Pollard capped off her record-setting Delaware State career with an outstanding senior season. She became the second player in DSU women's basketball history to capture MEAC Player-of-the-Year honors. During the 2018-19 season, she was an All-MEAC First Team selection after topping the league and ranking seventh among all NCAA Division I players in scoring at 22.9 points per game. A five-time MEAC Player-of-the-Week and HBCU All-America, Pollard was also the No. 2 MEAC rebounder at 10.3 per game.
Lawson, a pitcher on the DSU baseball team, was selected as the Dr. Luna I. Mishoe Hornet Male Athlete-of-the-Year. The award is named for the late Dr. Luna I. Mishoe, who served as University President from 1960 to 1987, and the father of Dr. Wilma Mishoe.
Shortly after the Hornets' 2019 season ended, Lawson was selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the 19th round of the Major League Baseball Draft.
Before the draft, he was honored as the 2019 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Pitcher-of-the-Year and two weeks later named to the 2019 East – American Baseball Coaches Association Rawlings NCAA Division I All-Region Second Team.
A three-time MEAC Pitcher-of-the-Week, Lawson was 7-3 with a league-best 1.85 earned run average during the 2019 regular season. He also led the MEAC with a .196 opponent batting average and tied for the conference high with 97 strikeouts, averaging 11.2 Ks per nine innings, during the regular year.
Lawson had a career-high 14 strikeouts in seven innings in a two-hit 10-0 victory over Coppin State on Apr. 12, struck out 10 without a walk in a 14-0 win at Norfolk State, and did not allow an earned run while striking out nine in eight innings of a 5-1 victory over Coppin State.
The Dr. Wilma Mishoe and Dr. Luna I. Mishoe awards will be presented to the top Hornet female and male athletes-of-the-year, respectively, during the annual hall-of-fame ceremony.
