FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
Ty Megahee has been named an assistant coach at Auburn, head baseball coach John Pawlowski announced on Friday. Megahee steps into a full-time coaching position after spending three years as the volunteer assistant on Pawlowski’s Auburn staff, helping the team to a SEC Tournament appearance in all three seasons.
“Coach Megahee’s baseball knowledge and coaching abilities have been instrumental in our hitters’ success over the past three seasons,” Pawlowski said. “Auburn baseball has hosted an NCAA Regional, won two SEC batting titles and has been to three straight SEC tournaments during his tenure on the Plains. Ty reflects everything that is good about Auburn. Along with his coaching skill set, his loyalty, work ethic and ability to build and develop relationships make him a perfect fit for this position. We are excited about the continuity and consistency that Ty brings to our current team and the future of Auburn baseball.”
“I am truly honored to be a part of Auburn Baseball and very much look forward to the start of school and getting back to work with our players,” Megahee said. “The confidence that Coach Pawlowski has placed in me is extremely humbling. I feel that we have the hardest working staff in the country and I am looking forward to building on the rich tradition of Auburn baseball.”
Megahee has been an integral part of the Auburn offense over the past three years, helping Auburn lead the SEC in hitting in both 2010 and 2012. Working primarily with the outfielders in his first two years, he helped mentor MLB Draft picks Brian Fletcher, Trent Mummey, Kevin Patterson and Justin Fradejas, each of which hit over .300 during the SEC Western Division Championship season of 2010.
Megahee’s focus turned to the catchers for the 2012 season. In his new role he helped develop Blake Austin and Caleb Bowen into two of the top defensive catchers in the league, as the duo combined to throw out 30 of 72 base stealers (42 percent). He also continued his work with Creede Simpson, who had been an outfielder in 2010 and 2011 and was a 25th-round pick of the Baltimore Orioles in 2012 after moving to the infield.
“Our players will continue to play hard and exhibit the characteristics of winning baseball the Auburn way,” Megahee said. “The reception that has already come from our current and former players has been overwhelming. I will give my all every day for those players, coaches and the Auburn Family. I want to thank Coach Pawlowski, David Mines, and Jay Jacobs for this opportunity to meet the challenges of the SEC and accomplish our goals of winning Championships and going to Omaha.”
Since his arrival at Auburn, the program has set new school records in home runs (131), extra-base hits (293), total bases (1,385), batting average (.348) and slugging percentage (.591) and was just three stolen bases shy of matching the school record in 2012 with 113.
In three seasons at Auburn Megahee has seen 11 position players selected in the MLB Draft and has had eight players earn All-SEC honors.
Megahee came to Auburn from Monmouth University where he was an assistant coach/recruiting coordinator for Dean Ehehalt, helping the team to a NCAA Regional appearance in 2009, an accomplishment he replicated in 2010 when Auburn won the SEC Western Division Title and hosted a NCAA Regional.
In Megahee’s only season at Monmouth, he was the hitting and infield coach while also spearheading the program’s recruiting efforts. In 2009 the team hit .318 and set a school record for stolen bases (100) in a single season, winning the 2009 Northeast Conference Tournament Championship and a berth in the Oxford, Miss., NCAA Regional. Four Monmouth players were named to the all-conference team and two previously undrafted players were selected during the June MLB Draft.
Prior to his stay at Monmouth, Megahee spent three seasons as a volunteer assistant coach on Craig Gibson’s staff at Mercer, where he was also an infielder for two seasons. During his coaching stint, Mercer advanced to three Atlantic Sun Conference Tournaments and hit .292 or better in all three seasons.
An academic all-conference selection as a player in 2005, he hit .296 as the starting shortstop for a Mercer team that increased its win totals from 11 the season before he arrived to a 28-26 mark during his senior season.
Megahee is replacing Link Jarrett, who was named the head coach at UNC Greensboro in July.
