Super Bowl Update

Tyler Vaughn at bat against Bethune-Cookman

I got to write a couple of stories in today's paper about Troy athletics. The first one is on Troy second baseman Tyler Vaughn, who went 5-for-5 in his first career start and right now looks like he's the guy unless he gets hurt or if that .727 average drops about 600 points. You can read that story HERE.

Vaughn is a great story. He came to Troy on a full academic ride with the chance to try out for the team. He came from five hours away and three states over, so it's not like he was coming from Birmingham. He made the team, but had to wait to get his shot and he delivered.

It reminds me of Bear Woods, when he had to wait to get his shot and he had 20-something tackles against Middle Tennessee in his first start of the 2008 football season. Vaughn's hair isn't nearly as long, though.

I talked to Vaughn for a while, but obviously couldn't get everything into the story. He's strong in his Christian faith, he's a chemistry major (hard enough for a regular student, let alone an athlete) and he wasn't looked at by bigger schools in high school because he was smaller than he is now and played at a small school. The thought in that area is that baseball west of Asheville, N.C., isn't real strong.

Troy head coach Bobby Pierce couldn't say enough about Vaughn. Same about pitcher Thomas Austin, whom I asked about in anticipation for a story in Friday's paper. Both are former walk-ons who have carved out a nice role on this team.

Troy plays UAB tonight at 6, and I'll be there after they announce the school's first athletics Hall of Fame members at 3. The Hall of Fame will be at the new Trojan Arena.
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Shifting gears to basketball, I did talk to head coach Don Maestri. He pretty much said the season was a disappointment, despite playing several new guys.

For more of what he said about the upcoming offseason, recruiting, next year's schedule, etc., go HERE.

It's a key offseason for Troy in the recruiting, as the Trojans are now able to get in the mix with some better players because of the new facility. If you look at the past two Sun Belt Tournaments, the best teams aren't winning the league, so getting a team that gels at the end of the year (like Western Kentucky, or The Team That Troy Swept) can go on a hot streak in Hot Springs and reach the NCAA Tournament.

Western Kentucky, seeded No. 8, and North Texas, seeded No. 5, play in the Sun Belt title game at 6 p.m. today.