BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – The Mountain East Conference has announced the winners of this week’s MEC Baseball Player and Pitcher of the Week awards. The MEC Player of the Week awards are presented by The Health Plan.
 
Wheeling’s Edward Mateo has been named the MEC Baseball Player of the Week while Concord’s Kaden Varela-Payne has been named the MEC Pitcher of the Week.
 
Mateo, a senior infield/outfielder from Miami, Florida, put together a dominant opening weekend at the plate as the Cardinals took two of three from USC Beaufort. The utility man finished 7-12 (.583) with five RBI and nine runs scored across the three-game series. He finished with multi-hit games in all three games during the weekend and was a table setter at the top of the lineup. He would finish the series with his best game of the series, finishing 2-3 with four RBI and five runs scored in the team's 17-12 win, playing a part in nearly half the offense on the day.
 
Varela-Payne, a sophomore pitcher from Raleigh, North Carolina, received a no-decision in Concord's 2-1 win over Ferrum that went 12 innings, however he racked up eight strikeouts in seven innings, only giving up three hits and a run. He went through the first five innings by facing one over the minimum and collecting seven of his eight strikeouts. 
 
2026 BASEBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
2/9: Edward Mateo, Davis & Elkins
 
2026 BASEBALL PITCHERS OF THE WEEK
2/9: Kaden Varela-Payne, Concord