Former Plattsburgh State baseball player Brian Mehan, of Plattsburgh High School, has earned an Award of Valor from the State University of New York Athletic Conference. Mehan, who played for the Cardinals during the 2006 season, died March 2 after a courageous battle against germ cell testicular cancer. He was 20. Cardinals head coach Kris Doorey last night presented the award to Brian's parents, Diana Betts and John Mehan, at the SUNYAC meetings held in Saratoga Springs.

"When I look in the dictionary for the word 'valor', the definition states 'the quality of mind enabling one to face danger or hardship resolutely.'" Doorey said. "In my opinion, Brian Mehan fits that definition exactly. "Brian had so much fun smiling, laughing while playing baseball. He also enjoyed talking about baseball, music and movies."

The team honored his memory throughout the 2008 campaign by holding a moment of silence before every home game and hanging his No. 26 jersey in the dugout.

Brian was a highly recruited player coming out of the local area. During his freshman year in 2006, he backed up all-SUNYAC catcher Jon Dumas, batting .227 in 13 games and helping the Cardinals to a school-record 27 victories that season. "I was very excited when Brian told me he was committing to SUNY Plattsburgh," Doorey recalled. "The program landed the catcher of the future."

Brian started to develop symptoms in the off-season before entering the fall as the No. 1 catcher. "Coming into his sophomore season, Brian was penciled in to be our starting catcher. Early in the fall, he came to my office and told me that he wasn't feeling well,"remembered Doorey. "At the end of fall workouts, he came to my office again and let me know that he was not going to play the following spring season. I was shocked and in total disbelief." But Brian remained attach to the team during the 2007 season as he was seen around the field watching practices and games. There was no doubt in my mind that he missed baseball," according to Doorey.

Coach Doorey learned through a cell phone call that Brian was diagnosed with cancer on April 22, 2007, when the Cardinals were returning home after a SUNYAC road trip at Fredonia and Brockport. "I will remember that day for the rest of my life," Doorey said. "For the next four hours, I sat in the front seat of the bus crying. I was apologizing to God for all the times I yelled at Brian because I thought he was being lazy, or not hustling. It wasn't that at all: he was truly sick."

The team rallied around Brian by visiting him in the hospital, presenting him with his jersey and his name on the back. Brian was excited, and told his teammates that he would be listening to an Internet broadcast of our SUNYAC Tournament games that weekend," Doorey said. "He also told me to try not to get ejected.

"We lost the opening game on a dropped fly ball. That was maybe the toughest loss I've ever had as a coach. But, it didn't seem that bad when it was put into perspective. It was a baseball game. One of my players was dying. As much as I love baseball, it didn't seem as important on that day," he wrote in his nomination letter to the SUNYAC office.

After treatment and passing of screen tests, Brian's cancer appeared to be in remission last summer so doctors cleared him to play in July 2007. He resumed taking classes for fall semester that started in late August, and he rejoined the Plattsburgh State baseball team. "There was a light in his eyes. It was inspirational to everyone around the program," Doorey said. "Everyday, Brian would stop by the baseball office to see how the coaches were doing and we would ask everyday how he was doing. But then one day, "Brian came to the office without his usual smile and I knew immediately that something was wrong." His cancer had spread. Doctors said he couldn't play baseball any more. Brian resumed treatment sessions in September and the family as well as team members started fundraising efforts to help offset his medical bills.

Brian continued his fight against the disease for the next several months. Last February, Coach Doorey visited him at his mother's home. "We talked about a lot of things. (But) I could tell he was in such pain," the coach said. "When I left, his mother came to me and told me that Brian said, 'Today was a good day because Coach Doorey came to visit me.'"

Later that month, the doctors explored performing a stem cell transplant. But when Brian went through his battery of tests, the doctors determined that the cancer had spread and that his liver and kidney functions were starting to slow down. The medical team told Brian's family he had 7-10 days to live. "Brian was transported back to Plattsburgh where he fought for exactly 10 more days before moving on to Heaven," Doorey said.

Brian is the first Cardinal student-athlete to receive a SUNYAC Award of Valor since 2006 when softball All-America pitcher Stephanie Zweig was honored for overcoming Erb's Palsy, a brachial plexus nerve injury that left her without full use of her right arm.v