Photo: Regina Rickert
UK to Honor AJ Reed Prior to Homecoming Game vs. Mississippi State
LEXINGTON, Ky. — One of the best players in the history of college baseball and the 2014 unanimous national player of the year, former Kentucky star AJ Reed will return to campus to be honored during UK’s homecoming football tilt with Mississippi State on Oct. 25 at Commonwealth Stadium and the Wildcats will host a homecoming tailgate before the game, head coach Gary Henderson announced on Tuesday.
Reed will be honored during UK’s game on Saturday, Oct. 25 with No. 3 Mississippi State, with the kickoff time to be announced on Monday. The baseball program will host a homecoming tailgate honoring AJ Reed before the game. The tailgate tent will open two hours before kickoff, past the green parking lot and in between the KET and BCTC buildings. The ceremony at the tailgate tent will begin 75 minutes prior to kickoff.
A native of Terre Haute, Ind., Reed became the third unanimous national player of the year in Southeastern Conference history (Dave Magadan, 1983; David Price, 2007), while leading college baseball in homers (23), slugging (.735) and OPS (1.211) in 2014. The John Olerud 2-Way Player of the Year, Reed led the SEC with a 12-2 record and a 2.09 ERA, becoming the first player in conference history to pace the league in wins and homers.
A 6-foot-4, 240-pounder, Reed was honored as the national player of the year by USA Baseball with the Golden Spikes Award, by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association with the Dick Howser Trophy, also earning the American Baseball Coaches Association National Player of the Year, the Baseball America College Player of the Year, the Collegiate Baseball/Louisville Slugger National Player of the Year and the Perfect Game USA National Player of the Year awards.
A unanimous first-team All-America selection, the SEC Player of the Year and the SEC Male Athlete of the Year, Reed was the 42nd overall pick in the 2014 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros. In his professional debut, Reed smashed 12 homers in 68 games over the rookie-level New York-Penn League and the low class A Midwest League, hitting .289/.375/.522 with 54 RBI and 20 doubles. Reed was named an all-star in the rookie-league level by Baseball America following the season.
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