As the suspense builds on Auburn’s baseball coaching search — with no hire expected for at least a week — AU fans can focus on their team’s bright future.

The youthful Tigers’ talent was on display Tuesday, when freshman first baseman Hunter Morris was named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year. Morris also earned second-team All-SEC honors, and three of his teammates earned spots on the SEC’s All-Freshman Team.

The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Morris led the team with a .351 batting average and 11 home runs. He was even more impressive in SEC play, hitting .393 — the fourth-highest mark in the conference — with seven homers.

After his senior season at Grissom, Morris was drafted in the second round of the Major League Baseball draft, No. 84 overall, by the Boston Red Sox. But Morris turned down Boston’s contract offer to enroll at AU, the highest-drafted player in the ’07 draft to enter college baseball.
Morris also made the SEC’s All-Freshman team, along with three other AU freshmen.

Left-hander Grant Dayton, Auburn’s Friday night starter throughout the SEC season, was one of three pitchers on the All-Freshman team.
Dayton went 7-2 this season with a 3.89 ERA, including a 6-2 mark in SEC play. He finished with 79 strikeouts and 13 walks in 81 innings.
Freshman outfielder Brian Fletcher, like Morris, saved his best play for the SEC schedule. Fletcher, who hit .324 with 10 home runs for the season, hit .346 in SEC play, with eight homers.

Redshirt freshman third baseman David Cunningham, AU’s fourth All-Freshman honoree, hit .319 and started 19 SEC games. Cunningham missed all of 2007 after undergoing back surgery.

Auburn has had at least one player on the league’s All-Freshman team in each of the past three seasons. AU is the first school in four seasons to have four All-Freshman picks in the same season.

Junior catcher Ryan Jenkins earned a spot on the SEC’s Community Service Team for his work with the Boys and Girls Club of Lee County and the East Alabama Food Pantry.

| 737-2561