NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion Baseball's 2024 Step Up to the Plate fundraiser will be held on Friday, Jan. 19 in the Priority Automotive Club at S.B. Ballard Stadium, where Peninsula Pilots Manager Hank Morgan will be honored as the 46th recipient of the Bud Metheny Award.
"We're really proud to have Hank Morgan as this year's recipient of the prestigious Bud Metheny Award," said ODU head coach Chris Finwood. "Hank has been a fixture in the Hampton Roads baseball community for as long as I can remember. He has mentored so many young men along their journey as collegiate baseball players and along with his father, Henry, has created an amazing product over at War Memorial Stadium with the Peninsula Pilots organization."
The fundraiser will begin at 6 p.m. Guests in attendance will have the opportunity to meet and greet this year's ODU Baseball team and coaching staff, and food and beverages will be included in the ticket price. The 2024 season will be the program's final season at the existing Bud Metheny Baseball Stadium before renovations begin on The Ellmer Family Baseball Complex.
Individual 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.
The 46th Bud Metheny Award Recipient, Hank Morgan
A Hampton, Virginia native, Coach Morgan recently finished his 15th season as Manager of the Peninsula Pilots of the Coastal Plain League and has been a longtime champion for baseball in the Hampton Roads community. In his 15 seasons leading the Pilots, he has amassed over 482 wins, the most in CPL history, captured two Petit Cup Championships in 2013 and 2014, and has coached 11 former Pilots who have made it to the MLB. He is also the only manager to lead an individual CPL team to a victory over Team USA, winning in back-to-back years in 2014-15.
Hank is the son of Pilots caretaker Henry Morgan, who was the 31st recipient of the Bud Metheny Award in 2008. The Morgans are the first father-son honorees in the award's rich history. Hank played baseball at Hampton High School and went on to play at VMI from 1995-97 and Christopher Newport University from 1997-99.
"I've been sending players to play for him for over 20 years and they have all come back the better for it," continued Finwood. "I'm so proud to call the Morgan family friends and it's such a cool thing to have Henry and Hank as the first ever father and son recipients of this great award."
For a list of all Bud Metheny Award winners, click here.
FOLLOW ODU BASEBALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow @ODUBaseball on Twitter for the latest updates on the Monarchs.
ODU Baseball's Step Up to the Plate Fundraiser set for January 19
