Auburn baseball star Morris named SEC Player of Year

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — On Tuesday, the Southeastern Conference recognized Hunter Morris — the Tigers’ biggest bat since the days of Frank Thomas — as its 2010 Player of the Year.

Like Thomas, Morris is also a first baseman — though his bat is unlike no other.

Morris, from Huntsville, joined a very elite group of players as he becomes just the second player in league history to be named the SEC Freshman of the Year and the SEC Player of the Year. At the conclusion of the regular season he led the SEC in slugging percentage (.767), hits (94), home runs (20) and total extra-base hits (18), was second in runs scored (60), third in RBI (67) and fifth in batting average (.398).

“It started three years ago, as soon as I got to Auburn. A lot has gone into it (winning SEC Player of the Year),” Morris said. “There have been a lot of struggles, but the most important thing for me is what went on last summer. As soon as we got done playing I took it upon myself to try and change my body. Dropping 25 to 30 pounds made a huge difference, not only in my hitting but also in my defense, everything that goes into the game, and it has all paid off. It has been exciting and I am trying to enjoy it right now.”

In SEC-only games, Morris led the league in slugging (.816), runs scored (34), triples (three) and home runs (12), was second in hits (51) and RBI (37) and was third in batting average (.408), collecting at least one hit in 28 out of 30 SEC games.

The Tigers open the first round of the SEC Tournament against bitter rival Alabama today as a No. 2 seed.

Mississippi’s Drew Pomeranz was honored as the top pitcher in balloting by the league’s 12 head coaches. Florida third baseman Austin Maddox was named freshman of the year.

Kevin O’Sullivan, who directed Florida to the SEC regular-season title, was chosen coach of the year by his peers. Auburn’s Cory Luckie is the scholar-athlete of the year.