Nationally recognized and not superstitious: Hunter Morris is no ordinary college baseball player. Auburn's season has just begun, and already Morris has been NCBWA Hitter of the Week, SEC Player of the Week, Collegebaseballinsider.com's Hitter of the Week and part of the College Baseball Foundation's National All-Star Lineup.
Head coach John Pawlowski said Morris has a great work ethic on and off the field.
"Hunter has worked extremely hard in the off season," Pawlowski said. "As far as getting his body in shape and putting a lot of time and effort into it, it's great to see someone who works that hard see the rewards." Beside all his honors and success, Morris has one thing that really puts him in a league of his own. He has no superstitions.
"If I do something out of the ordinary on a day that I have a great game, I might subconsciously think about it," Morris said. "But, as far as wearing the same socks or jumping over foul lines, I don't really pay attention to any of that." Pawlowski said Morris has a different demeanor about him, but he sees it as a positive thing.
"Hunter has played in some of the great venues," Pawlowski said. "He's played on an Olympic team, he's played in the Cape Cod League, he's played at the highest level and he was a high draft pick out of high school, but he is very unassuming." Pawlowski said Morris' accomplishments have greatly affected the team's performance. "A lot of our success has come from his success," Pawlowski said.
Morris said he started playing baseball just like every other young kid does. "I started picking up a baseball as soon as I could start walking," Morris said. Unlike with the traditional little leaguer, Morris' mom started him in baseball. "My mom was the big baseball fan, so she really got me started," Morris said. "My dad played football in college, so he probably would have thought I would have taken that route after him." Morris said his love for the game grew as he did.
"As I got older, I got more interested," he said. "It kept building, and the excitement to get out on the field and play built every time I stepped out there. It took over, and I didn't really have a choice at that point."
Morris said he hopes he can pursue a future in baseball. "With this being my junior year and having another opportunity to enter the draft, I want to pursue a career in professional baseball," Morris said. "Hopefully sooner than later, I want to have the opportunity to play in the big leagues every day. I look forward to having the opportunity to play beyond college and making a career in baseball."
Past the MLB, Morris said he wants to get into coaching.
"I want to be around the game for a long time," he said.
Morris said he isn't sure if he will be staying to graduate at Auburn.
"I am just going to play this year out an see how it goes," Morris said. "I haven't completely made a decision yet."
Morris said Auburn was the first college visit he made his junior year in high school. "I wasn't really an Auburn fan," he said. "I didn't live or die by one team. I just loved college sports in general." Morris said there were multiple factors that contributed to his decision to come to Auburn.
"The beautiful campus, the opportunity for a great education, the facilities that we have here for baseball, it was just an instant moment that I was like 'All right, this is where I'm going,'" he said.
Morris said beating Alabama twice in the Capital City Classic has been his favorite baseball memory at Auburn so far. "But, I know that the best memory I'll have is when we get to go to the SEC tournament this year," he said. "That hasn't happened my last two years, but hopefully we can make that a first, and I know that will definitely be on the top of my list."
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