[Tuck4Bama]

It's Big Day For Big Man
Tommy Hunter
By UofA Media Relations

Posted Jun 8, 2007

Alabama sophomore right-hander Tommy Hunter had a big day Thursday. The Crimson Tide sophomore was the 54th overall pick by the Texas Rangers on the opening day of the Major League Baseball draft Thursday.


Tommy Hunter became the fourth player in Alabama history to be drafted in the first or supplemental round of the MLB First-Year Player Draft.
“It has been a very exciting day,” Hunter said from his home in Indianapolis, Ind. “I am very excited to be the 54th overall pick in the country. I could not be happier with that. And, I just caught another four-pound bass.”
After learning he was the 54th pick in the 2007 MLB Draft, Hunter headed out the lake near his back yard to fish and think about the day that landed him in the Top 60 picks of the draft.
“This has been very exciting,” he added. “I had a pretty good idea that Texas was going to draft me. They had shown a lot of interest in me, especially recently. It was really just a matter of when because they had so many picks.”
Hunter was the fifth player drafted by the Texas Rangers on Thursday, the first of the MLB Draft’s two days.
“I have already spoken with Texas and we are going to meet to see what their plans might be for me,” Hunter added. “There is a lot of information to process right now. I have not talked with Coach (Jim) Wells, but I will do that before I make any decisions.”
Hunter said that he expects a decision to be made “sometime next week” as to whether he will sign with the Rangers or return for his junior season at Alabama. Hunter becomes the fourth Alabama player taken in the first round (or supplemental round) of the MLB draft, joining Joe Vitiello, Jeremy Brown and Taylor Tankersley. Vitiello was the seventh overall pick of the 1991 MLB Draft by the Kansas City Royals. Brown was the 33rd pick (Supplemental Comp A Round) in 2002. Tankersley was the 27th overall pick by the Florida Marlins in 2004. He is the first Alabama player to be drafted by the Rangers since third baseman Bret Elbin was selected in the 1983 draft. No other Alabama players or signees were drafted through first five rounds on Thursday. The draft concludes on Friday with rounds six through 50.

[Tuck4Bama]

Tide Baseball Players Active
Alex Avila in Cape Cod League
By UofA Media Relations

Posted Jun 12, 2007

The University of Alabama baseball program will be well represented this summer as 10 current players will play for five different summer collegiate leagues across the country.


Members of the Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team will be participating in the Cape Cod League, New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL), Valley League, Texas Collegiate and the Hawaiian Collegiate League.
Sophomore third baseman/designated hitter Alex Avila (Jr., Pemborke Pines, Fla.) and sophomore left-hander Miers Quigley (Roswell, Ga.) will spend the summer together in the Cape Cod League. The Crimson Tide duo will be teammates for the Harwich Mariners. The Cape Cod League opens the 2007 season on Friday, June 15.
The Crimson Tide will send five players to the NECBL to play for two different teams. Freshman third baseman Jake Smith (Shannon), freshman pitcher Austin Graham (Hoover) and freshman outfielder/left-hand pitcher Del Howell (Tuscaloosa) will be teammates this summer for the Concord (N.H.) Quarry Dogs. Freshman second baseman Brandon May (Marietta, Ga.) and junior left-hander Will Stroup (Birmingham) are both with the Newport (R.I.) Gulls. The NECBL opened play on June 8.
Sophomore outfielder Tyler Odle (Vestavia Hills) will play for the Front Royal (Vir.) Cardinals in the Valley League. The Valley League opened play on June 1. Sophomore second baseman Jeff Texada (New Iberia, La.) will be back in the Texas Collegiate League for the second straight year with the McKinney (Texas) Marshalls. Texada helped the Marshalls to the 2006 TCL Championship last summer. The TCL opened league play on June 7. Sophomore infielder/catcher Kyle Moore (Wetumpka) will spend his summer on the island of Oahu in Hawai’i as he plays for the Oahu Peddlers in the Hawaiian Collegiate Summer League, which opens its 2007 summer league season on Friday, June 15.

[Stoney]

Can they take coach Wells with them? Call it a two-for-one deal.

[Tuck4Bama]

Very good question. I wonder what his 5 day retirement will do to recruiting?

[Stoney]

Originally Posted by Tuck4Bama

Very good question. I wonder what his 5 day retirement will do to recruiting?

It was killed from the start.