The Auburn Plainsman
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2018 MEN’S GOLF
Auburn places 5th in opening tournament By STAFF REPORT Freshman Brandon Mancheno tied for ninth at the Amer Ari Invitational, carding a 2 under 70 on Saturday at the King’s Crossings Course at the Waikoloa Beach Resort to finish at 9-under 70-67-70—207. No. 8 Auburn had the second-lowest round of the day to climb three spots and finished in a tie for fifth at 22-under 286-279-277—842. No. 2 Oklahoma State won the event with a 47-under 280267-270—817. Mancheno, a product of Jacksonville, Florida, picked up right where he left off from the fall, placing in the top-10 for the fourth time in his first five collegiate events. He tallied seven birdies in the final round on Nos. 1, 2, 4 and 9 on the front nine and Nos. 14, 17 and 18 on the back. Mancheno finished the weekend with 16 birdies and an eagle. Fellow freshman Wells Padgett climbed 34 spots to tie for 29th at 4-under 75-71-66—212 and sophomore Jovan Rebula finished a shot behind at 3-under 71-71-71—213 to t-32nd . Juniors Jacob Solomon (2-under 74-70-70—214) and Trace Crowe (1-under 71-73-71—215) tied for 37th and 41st, respectively. In the trio of individuals, senior Ben Schlottman climbed 14 spots to t-64th at 3-over 77-71-71—219, junior Graysen Huff finished t-81st at 74-75-75—224 and freshman Andrew Kozan t-91st with a 76-73-77—226. No. 14 Texas Tech finished runner-up at 30-under 278—834 followed by No. 19 Southern California (279—837), No. 16 Texas (279—841), Auburn, No. 3 Georgia Tech (286—842), TCU (279—842), Oregon (284—846), Arizona State (280—848) and No. 10 Stanford (282—852). Colorado (282—853) finished 11th followed by San Jose State (296—867), UC Davis (296—867), Osaka Gakuin University (287—869), Oregon State (287—876), Pacific (307—900), hostHawaii-Hilo (314—907) and Hawaii (302—921). Southern California’s Justin Suh won medalist honors at 13-under 69-66-68—203. Up next for the Tigers is a trip to Houston, Texas, for the AllAmerican held at the Golf Course of Houston Feb. 16-18.
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BASEBALL
FILE PHOTO
Dylan Ingram (27) and Conor Davis (24) welcome home Josh Anthony (3) after hitting his first career home run vs. Arkansas.
Anthony grateful for opportunity to come to AU By WILL SCHUETTE Sports Writer
Josh Anthony is set to be one of Auburn’s senior leaders for the upcoming 2018 baseball season, but less than eight months before he took control of the hot corner at Plainsman Park, the Tigers’ starting third baseman told the coaching staff he would never play a game for Auburn. The junior college product was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the 16th round of the 2016 MLB Draft and was torn between coming to the school he had grown up loving or chasing his dream of playing professional baseball. “I knew that regardless of what happened, I would be in the best possible place I could be in life,” Anthony said. At one point, Anthony decided to accept his offer from the Braves, but he was soon back on a path to Auburn when the team could no longer honor the original signing bonus they had offered him. “I didn’t really understand the benefits I would have coming to Auburn until I got here,” Anthony said. “When the Auburn Family embraced me the way they did, I feel like coming here was the ultimate decision. It was the best decision I could possibly have made.” Before joining the Tigers for their 2017 campaign, Anthony put up video game numbers in two seasons at Western Oklahoma State junior college. He finished his sophomore season with a .444 batting average, 25 home runs, 84 RBI and 49 steals. The Columbus, Georgia, native grew up under an hour away from The Plains, but he went unnoticed by most and re-
ceived no Division I offers out of Hardaway High School. “I chose to go to Western Oklahoma State because I just didn’t know who I was as a person at the time,” Anthony said. “I wanted to get away so I could find myself. That doesn’t work out for everybody, but that just so happened to work out for me. The success I had in Oklahoma blessed me with the opportunity to come back home and play in my backyard, so to speak.” Auburn head coach Butch Thompson and his staff were expecting Anthony to be a solid addition to their lineup after dominating junior college pitching, but his role in the field was unclear upon arrival. After spending time at multiple positions at Western Oklahoma State, including catcher, Anthony said Auburn was not fully aware of the ability he had with his glove at third base. “I feel like it was overlooked a little bit because in junior college I bounced around from position to position,” Anthony said. “Auburn didn’t really know I could play third base. When I came in and was at third base, they were like ‘oh, he can play third base’. Yes, I can.” Anthony made a collection of great defensive plays and only recorded nine errors while starting at third base in 62 of the Tigers’ 63 games a season ago. As a newcomer, Anthony was able to assume the part of an everyday third baseman in the SEC immediately, but the adjustment he had to make at the plate against much stiffer competition than he had been accustomed to did not come quite as easily. However, in a home series against Arkansas in late April, it all came togeth-
er for him. He broke out, going 9-for-12 and hitting his first home run of the season to help him earn SEC Player of the Week honors. “I knew the game was going to speed up,” Anthony said. “Everybody here was going to be a lot bigger, stronger, faster. I knew that, but I didn’t know what to expect. I was kind of trying to figure out things as the season went on, and some things worked more than others. The biggest thing for me going into that Arkansas series was the amount of work I put it prior to that series. Really getting a feel for my swing, and that translated during that series.” Anthony finished the 2017 season with adequate numbers, batting .266 and finishing second on the team in both RBI (39) and doubles (14), but unlike the year before, he was not selected in the MLB Draft. “I didn’t expect to get drafted, and I didn’t expect not to come back to school either,” Anthony said. “Baseball has a funny way of working itself out, so I tend to not worry about that stuff. What I’ve been doing for the past two years is building my relationship with God. I play through him, and whatever happens is part of his plan. Whatever happens, I’m at peace with.” For Anthony, the 2018 season will not be about proving anything or achieving any statistical goals, it will be about getting a chance to play his final season of collegiate baseball at the highest level without any regrets. “I just want to leave everything on the line,” Anthony said. “Go out there and do your thing, Josh. That’s it.” Auburn will open its 2018 season on Friday, Feb. 16 against Longwood.
FOOTBALL
S T UD E NT A F FA I R S
SPOTLIGHT
The Veterans Resource Center
Seven Tigers earn spot in NFL Combine By NATHAN KING Assistant Sports Editor
Beginning March 2, the Auburn Tigers will be wellrepresented inside Lucas-Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Seven former Tigers have been invited to the 2018 NFL Draft Scouting Combine. The combine, which spans from March 2 to March 5 at the Indianapolis Colts’ stadium, serves as a glorified skills challenge for
players looking to impress NFL Scouts. Three Auburn seniors headline the group, including offensive guard Braden Smith, kicker Daniel Carlson and safety Stephen Roberts. Auburn boasts four juniors in running backs Kerryon Johnson and Kamryn Pettway, cornerback Carlton Davis and edge rusher Jeff Holland. Senior safety Tray Matthews, who led Auburn in
tackles in 2016 and was second on the team in 2017, did not receive an invite. Linebacker Tre’ Williams was also snubbed from the list despite an eye-opening Senior Bowl week. Auburn has the eighthmost invites in college football, and the fourth-most in the SEC behind Alabama (14), Georgia (10) and LSU (10). The NFL Draft will begin on Apr. 26.
The AU Veterans Resource Center (AUVRC) assists student veterans in making the transition from military to civilian life at Auburn. The Resource Center also provides support and guidance for military dependents. Resources can be found online at www.auburn.edu/veterans or at 334-844-8167
auburn.edu/StudentAffairs
@AuburnStudents
facebook.com/AuburnStudents
@AuburnStudents
FILE PHOTO
Stephen Roberts (14) returns a punt in the second half. Auburn vs Ole Miss on Saturday, Oct. 7..