2006: Making the transition from leftfield to rightfield... once again will hit in the one or two spot in the lineup... outstanding fall offensively due to his concentrated effort of utilizing all aspects of his game.
2005: Played in 55 games, getting the starting nod in 43 of those contests... started 37 games in leftfield, with the other six in center... ended the year with a .284 batting average accumulating 52 hits... drove in 20 runs while scoring 28 times... recorded nine extra base hits, seven doubles, one triple, and his second career home run coming in game one of a double header with Wofford (4/2)... was 3-4 in stolen bases and set a career mark in walks with 32... set a career high in RBI and runs scored in the same game against ETSU (5/8) tallying three RBI and four runs in the contest... tied a career high in hits with four against West Virginia (2/26)... had a total of 16 multi-hit games, getting four in one contest, three in six contests and two hits in nine games... had a hitting streak of seven games from 5/4 to 5/14... played for the Martinsville Mustangs of the Coastal Plain League.
2004: Played in 58 games and started 47 as either the designated hitter or the starter in centerfield ... finished the season with 61 hits in 203 at-bats for a .300 average ... scored 41 runs and recorded 31 runs batted in ... tallied 15 extra base hits, 11 doubles, three triples and one home run ... first career home run came against Coastal Carolina in the NCAA Regionals ... stole four bases and drew 23 walks after taking over the leadoff role half way through the season ... recorded career highs in runs with three against Furman on 5/7, hits with four versus Western Carolina in the SoCon Tournament and tied a personal best two RBI six times in 2004 ... posted 18 multi-hit and six multi-RBI games, along with a nine-game hitting streak ... also pitched a total of seven innings in five different games ... finished the year with a 1-1 record and a 6.43 earned run average ... best outing of the year was against High Point on 4/17 ... did not allow a run on one hit in two innings of work ... struck out a season high three versus Charleston Southern on 4/7 ... was named to the SoCon All-Tourney team after tying a Southern Conference Tournament record with 13 hits ... played for the Rock Hill Sox of the Southern Collegiate Baseball League.
2003: Saw action in 17 games ... started one in leftfield and two on the mound ... batted .250 with one hit in four at-bats ... first career hit came against Lafayette on 3/18 ... scored his first career run on 3/30 against CofC after reaching base on a walk ... saw 23.1 innings of work on the hill ... posted a 1-0 record with a 4.63 earned run average ... his lone win came against North Carolina A&T on 4/1 on six innings of work in his first career start ... earned second start against Winthrop on 4/23 ... set career high with seven strikeouts against North Carolina A&T on 4/1 ... played for the Carolina Clippers of the Southeast Collegiate Baseball League.
High School: Lettered four times at Batesburg-Leesville High School ... played for the Diamond Travelers in 2001 when the AAU team finished fifth nationally ... as a senior he led the team to a third place finish in the State 2AA playoffs ... has earned honors ranging from all-area, all-region, and all-state.
Personal: Matthew Lee Covington ... born May 10, 1984 ... son of Terry and Tammie Covington ... volunteers time in the athletic department's media relations office during the off season ... cousin, Brett Price, who is a member of the Oakland A's organization, pitched for South Carolina from 1999-2001.
Major: English.
