Auburn University baseball has recently acquired Terrance Dedrick, a pitcher/outfielder and winner of the 2012 Alabama Junior College Player of the Year award.
"I felt really honored. There is a lot of talent in Alabama and a lot of great players," Dedrick said. "I was really excited and my parents were the same. They have always supported me in everything I did."
Shelton State Community College, under the direction of coach Bobby Sprowl, provided Dedrick with two years of experience prior to the start of his career at Auburn University.
"It was a really good program," Dedrick said. "Our coach had been around the game for a long time and he knew what it took to get to the next level."
Shelton State finished third at the JUCO World Series and won the Alabama Junior College State Championship in 2012.
"The experience he got at the World Series playing in front of 10,000 people is going to help out," Sprowl said. "That's one thing you always worry about: how is a kid going to react playing at LSU on a Friday night?"
Auburn began the process of recruiting Dedrick when he was still in high school, but was unsure how he would fit into the team.
After Dedrick's freshman year at Shelton State, Auburn University coach John Pawlowski and assistant coach Scott Foxhall heated up their recruitment efforts.
"It became apparent what type of hitter he was going to be and what type of pitcher he had turned into," Foxhall said. "We are ecstatic that he's here."
Playing at the next level presents other challenges that Dedrick will have to overcome.
"He's going to have to slow the game down a little bit and not get anxious," Sprowl said. "And he'll have to understand it may take him a game or two to get comfortable."
Foxhall said that the talent and difficulty of Dedrick's opponents will change.
"There is less margin for error," Foxhall said. "His good pitches are going to have to turn to great pitches, and his average pitches are going to have to become good pitches."
Foxhall and Sprowl both said that Dedrick is the type of person who can shut down an opponent late in the game.
"His arsenal is ideal for being at the back end of the game," Foxhall said. "It's going to be when the game is on the line, whether that's in the 7th inning or the 9th inning."
Dedrick has a stellar reputation both on and off the field, and was a leader on Shelton State's team.
"I've seen Terrance grow since he was about 7 or 8 years old," Sprowl said. "He's a great kid from a great family. He's what you want your son to grow up and be like."
Sprowl said that Dedrick was the ultimate team player.
"We have every bit of confidence and faith in him, and we're looking forward to him being out there for us," Foxhall said. "He has a lot of intangibles that make a team better and that make him a great person. That's why we're glad he's a Tiger."
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