NORFOLK, Va. – The 2020 Step Up to the Plate Old Dominion Baseball Reception will be held on Jan. 10, 2020 at the Priority Automotive Club at S.B. Ballard Stadium, where former MLB player and local product Billy Swoope will be honored as the 43rd Bud Metheny Award recipient and special guest, former ODU outfielder and professional Kevin Gibbs will speak.
Cocktail hour begins at 6 p.m. followed by heavy hors d'oeuvres and presentations at 7 p.m. Tickets are $100 per person, which includes two drink tickets, food and an inside look at ODU baseball. Tickets as well as different sponsorships can be purchased here.
This years reception will have a different format than previous years. Joined by the ODU baseball squad, head coach Chris Finwood will be presenting the prestigious Bud Metheny Award. ODU alumnus, Kevin Gibbs will take the stage as the evenings guest speaker.
The 43rd Bud Metheny Award Recipient, Billy Swoope
Swoope was a baseball standout at the local Norfolk Catholic High School before being drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers as a catcher in the 1976 draft. He played six years in the Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates systems before continuing his baseball career as the head coach at Virginia Wesleyan College, where he was named the 1985 Division III NCAA Coach of the Year. He also served as an assistant coach at VCU and a head coach at Virginia State University. Currently, Swoope serves as a scout in the Chicago Cubs organization.
Guest Speaker, Kevin Gibbs
Kevin Gibbs was an outfielder for the Monarchs from 1993-95. Gibbs was named 1994 CAA Player of the Year and member of team USA that same season. In 1994, Gibbs hit .436, the second highest bating average in school history and the best in the CAA. He led the league in stolen bases in 1993 with 45 and in 1995 with 48. Both ranked in the nation's top ten. Gibbs helped lead the Monarchs to consecutive CAA titles and NCAA Appearances in 1994 and 1995. He was named third team All-American in 1994 and second team All-American in 1995 by the Baseball Coaches Association and COLLEGIATE BASEBALL. In the 1995 regional, Gibbs helped lead ODU to wins over Mississippi and Central Florida. In 1994, he helped ODU knock off Notre Dame, and was named to the NCAA All-Tournament team.
Gibbs also got the job done in the classroom as he was named CoSIDA Academic All-American in 1994 and 1995. Drafted in the sixth round by the Los Angeles Dodgers, Gibbs graduated with a degree in political science. He was an All-Star in each of his first three professional seasons, and two of those seasons ended with league championships before retiring in 2004. Gibbs is currently the head baseball coach at his alma mater, St. John's high school in Washington D.C.
For a list of all Bud Metheny Award winners, click here.
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Billy Swoope, Kevin Gibbs Headline 2020 Step Up to the Plate ODU Baseball Reception
