PEMBROKE — Raleigh native Wellington Guzman, who clubbed more than 20 home runs in two full seasons with the UNC Pembroke baseball team, has inked a professional contract with the United Shore Professional Baseball League’s Birmingham Bloomfield Beavers, team officials announced recently.

The Beavers are a professional baseball team based in Utica, Mich., and compete as a member of the United Shore Professional Baseball League. An independent baseball league in suburban Detroit, Mich., each team in the USPBL plays a 42-game regular season schedule from May through September, with a midseason all-star game and a championship game at the conclusion of the regular season.

The Beavers have advanced through to the USPBL championship game four times over the last six seasons, and captured the league’s crown in both 2017 and 2018. Birmingham Bloomfield has posted a USPBL West-leading 19-17 clip through Tuesday evening’s action.

A two-year starter for the Black & Gold on the left side of the infield, Guzman played in 109 games (102 starts) for the Braves from 2020-22 and logged 39 extra-base hits (21 HR), 82 RBI and 94 runs scored. He posted career-best numbers nearly across the board in 2022, including 15 home runs, 48 RBI and 51 runs scored.

A product of Garner Magnet High School in Raleigh, Guzman played his first two collegiate seasons (2018-19) at Winston-Salem State before transferring to UNCP in time for the 2020 campaign.

Hawley added to Braves softball staff

UNC Pembroke softball head coach Stephanie Graziani added the finishing touches to her coaching staff on Wednesday morning when the first-year skipper named Lauren Hawley as assistant coach for the Braves.

A former NCAA Division II student-athlete, Hawley treks to Pembroke from Alliance, Ohio, where she has spent the last three seasons as an integral part of the coaching staff at Mount Union. She also has a previous coaching stop at Moniteau High School in western Pennsylvania.

“Lauren is going to be a great addition to our program,” Graziani said. “We are looking forward to the skills, leadership, and positive mindset that she will bring to this program. I am excited to watch her grow here in BraveNation!”

Hawley has been a part of wake of success at Mount Union over the last three seasons, having helped lead the Purple Raiders to a 67-27-1 (.711) mark over that span, including an impressive 32-7 clip in 2021 that culminated in UMO’s staff being named the Ohio Athletic Conference’s Coaching Staff of the Year. Hawley mentored a dozen all-conference and six all-region players over her last two seasons in Alliance, including two-time all-American Grace Heath. The Purple Raiders climbed as high as No. 15 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Top 25 amid that magical season in 2021 as well.

Hawley made her coaching debut at Moniteau High School in 2019 where she guided a pair of student-athletes through the college recruiting process, while also increasing player strength, agility and game skills through practice preparation. She also has a previous stint as a grounds crew intern for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers collegiate baseball summer team.

Prior to making her debut in the coaching world, Hawley was a four-year starter (2015-18) and two-time Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Catcher of the Year for Slippery Rock where she helped lead the program to more than 75 victories across four seasons. She played in 155 games (153 starts) across her illustrious collegiate career, while also registering a .276 (124-for-449) batting average to go along with 33 extra-base hits (13 HR) and 75 RBI. She snapped the lid on her collegiate career ranking among the program’s top 10 in games played, walks (43), RBI, hits and home runs. She also logged a .988 career fielding percentage, committing just nine errors in 736 total defensive chances.

Hawley earned her bachelor’s degree in sport management from Slippery Rock in 2018. She received her master’s degree in education from Mount Union in 2021.

Mahana promoted to be track, cross country assistant

UNC Pembroke Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Dr. Peter Ormsby announced the elevation of Eddie Mahana to full-time assistant coach on Tuesday afternoon. Mahana previously served both programs as a graduate assistant coach during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 campaigns.

“It’s my pleasure to welcome Coach Mahana to #BraveNation,” Ormsby said. “He has shown great development, not only as a person over the past two years, but also with student-athletes both in and out of his event area. His enthusiasm and tenacity are infectious, and I look forward Coach Mahana’s assistance as we continue to elevate our program within the regional and national rankings.”

Having been charged with directing the sprinters and jumpers for both the indoor and outdoor track & field programs since his arrival in Pembroke, Mahana played a key role in leading the Black & Gold to the 2021 Conference Carolinas Women’s Indoor Track & Field championship, as well as runner-up finishes by both the men’s and women’s outdoor squads at the 2022 Conference Carolinas Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

A four-time all-American and 10-time all-region selection at St. John Fisher in Rochester, N.Y., Mahana qualified to compete in both the NCAA Division III Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field Championships as both a sophomore and a junior, and put the final entry into his collegiate resume with an all-American award in the 60-meter Hurdles in March 2020. He posted an eighth-place finish in the 60-meter Hurdles at the 2019 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, but outdid himself at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships with a sixth-place showing in the 400-meter Hurdles and a runner-up finish in the 110-meter Hurdles.

In addition to his national prominence, Mahana also made quite the splash on the conference level. The four-time (2019, 2020) Empire 8 Conference Track Athlete of the Year logged both conference rookie of the year and sportsman of the year laurels as a freshman on the way to capturing the league title in title in the 110-meter Hurdles. He also won back-to-back Empire 8 Conference indoor crowns in both the 60-meter Hurdles and 400-meter Dash during his junior and senior seasons, as well as league outdoor crowns in both the 110-meter Hurdles and 400-meter Hurdles during his junior campaign.

Prior to trekking to Pembroke, Mahana gained a variety of coaching experience as well. He served a four-month stint as a recruiting intern for the St. John Fisher football program in 2019, while also concurrently serving as a coaching intern with the track & field program at nearby Rochester Institute of Technology. While at St. John Fisher, he also served roles as coordinator of intramural sports, while also taking on the role of meet organizer for the Syracuse Chargers Track Club.

A native of Syracuse, N.Y., Mahana earned his bachelor’s degree in sport management from St. John Fisher in 2020. He completed his graduate work in sports administration at UNCP in May 2022.