Spring Hill First Baseman Micah Morgan Named ASWA Small College Athlete of the Year

The prolific first baseman was among the national leaders in most offensive statistical categories while leading his team to an NCAA Division II regional.

All one has to do to get an idea of how important Micah Morgan was to the Spring Hill College baseball team during the 2022 season is glance at the national Division II leaders in most offensive categories. 

His name is seemingly everywhere. 

The first baseman batted .446 with 82 runs scored, 82 hits, 24 doubles, 16 home runs, 77 RBI (single-season school record), .819 slugging percentage, .564 on-base percentage, 47 walks, and seven stolen bases in eight attempts.

The First-Team NCAA Division II All-American helped lead Spring Hill (38-15) to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament crown and a spot in the NCAA Division II regional in Tampa, Fla.

Oh, and the 6-foot, 1-inch product of Fairhope, Ala., did all that as a sophomore. 

On Wednesday, Morgan was named the Small College Athlete of the Year by the Alabama Sports Writers Association. 

It was just the latest on a long list of accolades, including: first-team Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) All-Conference, MVP of the 2022 SIAC Championship Tournament, the D2CCA and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) All-South first teams, and the Spring Hill College Male Student-Athlete of the Year for 2021-22

As for those national rankings, he finished: 

• Tied for second in doubles (24)

• Third in batting average (.446)

• Fourth in on-base percentage (.560)

• Tied for fifth in runs scored (84) 

• Tied for 11th in walks (47)

• 13th in slugging percentage (.819)

• 17th in total bases (158)

• Tied for 17th in hits (86)

It's also notable that in many of the cumulative statistical categories he was up against numerous players who played in more games. For example, Morgan finished 13th in RBIs (77), but was eighth in RBIs per game (1.45). 

Here are three other examples about what kind of player he was this past season:

• On March 16, Morgan hit two grand slams to help Spring Hill pull off a 14-12 victory over West Alabama. 

• With a couple of injuries on the pitching staff he was used first in some relief appearances and then as a starter toward the end of the season. Although his ERA was 6.49, the southpaw went 3-1 while striking out 36 batters in 26.1 innings of work. 

• He finished the season without having been credited with an error, a 1.000 fielding percentage. 

The ASWA will celebrate its 50th anniversary on Sunday with its annual convention and awards banquet in Birmingham.

ASWA Small College Athlete of the Year

Previous winners

2020 Liam Welch

2019 Robert Shufford

2018 Nicole Federovitch

2017 Hary Satterwhite

2016 Jacob Tucker

2015 Jewell Ratliff

2014 Chloe Richards

2013 Deonica McCormick

2012 Jaime Smith

2011 Chloe Roberts

2011 Brett Munson

2009 Michael Johnson

2009 A.J. Milwee

2007 Jacary Atkinson

2005 Laura Bellinger

2005 James Hall

2004 Vanessa Ferretti

2003 Will Hall

2002 Douglas Hargett

2001 Bobby Wilson

2000 Tony Cappola

1999 Eric Campbell

1998 Sam Lee

1997 Ronda Price

1996 James Cason

1995 Roland McKinnon

1994 Ronald McKinnon

1993 Tyrone Rush

1992 Danny Lee

1991 Tim VanEgmond

1990 James Davis

1989 Barry Wagner

1988 Jeff Branson

1987 Mike Turk

1986 Stewart Lee

1985 Melvin Allen

1984 Darryl Smith

1983 Scott Whaley

Pro Athlete of the Year

Dallas Cowboys

Former Crimson Tide player Trevon Diggs was named the 2021 ASWA Pro Athlete of the Year on Monday. 

Amateur Athlete of the Year

Alabama Athletics

Crimson Tide quarterback Bryce Young was named the ASWA Amateur Athlete of the Year on Tuesday.

Community College of the Year

Winner will be announced Thursday.

Other honors ...

All on Sunday evening: 

• Tuscaloosa columnist Cecil Hurt and Huntsville columnist Mark MacCarter will be inducted into the ASWA Hall of Fame. 

• Mobile media icon Vic Knight will be inducted into the ASWA Hall of Honors.

• Recognition of the state's athletes of the year (pro, amateur, small college and community college), plus of the announcement of Mr. Baseball, Miss Softball and the Jimmy Smothers Courage Award winner. 

• The organization's other major honors, including the Presidents’ Award and the Bill Shelton Award (person of the year in the state and in the ASWA) will be revealed.