EAST GREENSBORO – Three former North Carolina A&T baseball players – pitchers Xavier Meachem, Evan Gates, and Leon Hunter Jr. are doing well in the professional baseball ranks. Two sluggers are also doing well in Gregory White and Dustin Baber.
"I'm really proud to see the guys continuing to thrive in the professional ranks," said A&T head Ben Hall, who coached all five gentlemen during his time at A&T. "It is a grind in professional baseball, and it is a job. So, to see them continue to do well and perform is exciting. We as a program want to continue supporting them in their walk and look forward to preparing the next group of guys who may generate the same opportunity for themselves."
Xavier Meachem
Meachem, a right-handed pitcher out of Winterville, N.C., has excelled in baseball since leaving the A&T baseball program in the summer of 2023. During the 2023 season, Meachem held a 2-1 record with 47 strikeouts, five saves, and a 5.59 ERA in 48.1 innings pitched.
After an outstanding three-year career with A&T, the Miami Marlins drafted Meachem in the 10th round with the 293rd overall pick on July 10, 2023. The organization assigned Meachem to the Jupiter Hammerheads, where in 10 appearances, he has a 2.66 ERA, 28 strikeouts, and a 1-0 record in 20.1 innings pitched.
Meachem's march toward the professional ranks received a boost over the summer. Major League Baseball (MLB) invited Meachem to its Draft Combine in June 2023, an event for prospective players entering the 2023 MLB Draft.
A month later, Meachem was one of four players from an HBCU who earned a tryout for Team USA. Meachem started and pitched in the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team's Stars versus Stripes game for the Stripes as a part of the tryout process. In a momentous event, Meachem became the first Aggie to pitch for Team USA.
Meachem's presence at the HBCU Swingman Classic on July 7, 2023, in Seattle, Wash., increased his profile. The event highlights the legacy of HBCU baseball programs and displays 50 HBCU baseball players' talents on a national level.
Meachem is expected to graduate from A&T in December 2023 with a degree in business management.
Leon Hunter Jr.
Hunter graduated from A&T with a degree in criminal justice. The Texas Rangers followed, making Hunter the 1,045th pick overall in the 35th round of the MLB Draft on June 12, 2019. Hunter played for two Seattle Mariners affiliates over the summer, including the Everett AquaSox of the Northwest League and the Tacoma Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League.
He played for the Peoria Javelins of the Arizona Fall League during the fall. Hunter did most of his work for the Single-A+ AquaSox, where he made 22 appearances, posted a 2.59 ERA, 42 strikeouts and a 6-1 record. He made one appearance for the Triple-A Rainiers and nine appearances for the Javelins.
An integral player to the 2019 A&T baseball program, Hunter made 25 appearances, posting a 3-1 record with a 2.87 ERA. He also posted 31 strikeouts while walking eight in 31.1 innings pitched. Hunter made the Chancellor's Academic List recurrently and was an All-MEAC academic team member. Hunter made 91 career appearances, had a 5.03 ERA, and posted 87 strikeouts.
During his minor league career, Hunter has made 103 appearances with an impressive 3.29 ERA, 200 strikeouts and a 22-7 record.
Evan Gates
Gates pitches for the Richmond Flying Squirrels, the San Francisco Giants' Double-A affiliate. He started with the Flying Squirrels in August of 2022. During the 2023 season, Gates made 42 appearances and posted a 4.39 ERA in 55.1 innings. He received the 2023 Flying Squirrels Community Service Award. Gates is active within his Richmond community and volunteers his time by mentoring youth baseball teams in Richmond. He worked with the ASK Childhood Cancer Foundation 5K & Fun Walk. He also visited children at the Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU.
Gates transferred to A&T from Mott Community College in 2019. In 2021, Gates came out of the bullpen to post 79 strikeouts, a 4.37 ERA and five saves in 47.1 innings pitched. For his A&T career, Gates went 5-5 with a 3.59 ERA and 89 career strikeouts in 80.2 innings pitched.
Gregory White
White played for the Zurich Barracudas, Switzerland's largest baseball/softball club, in 2023. He plays center field, shortstop and pitches for the Barracudas. At the plate, he batted .303 (20-for-66) with one home run, nine doubles and 12 RBI. He faced four batters in his one-pitch appearance and gave up one hit and no runs.
White is a Greensboro native who played on the Aggies 2018 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) championship team in 2018. In his two years in Aggieland, he earned second-team All-MEAC honors in 2017 before winning third-team accolades in 2018. He hit .344 for his career with two home runs, 42 RBI, 23 doubles and two triples. He also stole 23 bases and posted a .420 slugging percentage.
Dustin Baber
Baber played for the Savannah Party Animals as a part of the Banana Ball League, an alternative minor league baseball organization with 11 unique rules designed to speed up the game, entertain fans and add a different twist to traditional baseball. Baber batted .370 with five RBI but was once called out because a fan caught his foul ball. In Banana Ball, he is known as Dustin "Barber."
Baber spent three seasons (2018-21) with A&T, batting .306 with five home runs and 76 RBI in 122 games. He was named first-team All-MEAC in 2019.
