Hawn's next stop is UT

Cody Hawn has finally come full circle.

It was a wild trip, but the former South-Doyle High School star will play baseball at the University of Tennessee.

"It has been a really, really long road," Hawn said Wednesday. "I love UT athletics, especially baseball. I grew up in UT's backyard my whole life, but we just never saw eye to eye out of high school."

That's where Hawn's circuitous journey began. He signed with Arkansas out of high school but changed his mind after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that wiped out his senior season.

He spent this past season on a tear at Walters State, earning Tennessee junior college player of the year after hitting .402 with 23 home runs.

The Vols wanted Hawn, but knew he was off limits because of SEC restrictions from the original Arkansas letter of intent.

Hawn then opted to sign with Louisville, but found out Arkansas had never released him from the national letter of intent and had to honor it for two years.

The Hawn family filed a three-page appeal to the Razorbacks in mid-July and were granted a release on July 29. The Louisville signing had been voided and the door was open for Hawn to play for the Vols.

"This is always what I wanted to do," Hawn said. "Circumstances and things didn't work out in the beginning, but God gives people a plan and I think everything worked out.

"This is where I'm supposed to be and always wanted to be. I get to play in front of friends and family and it feels good to represent the school where you're from."

One of the most excited people to find out Hawn had been released from Arkansas and cleared of his path to Louisville was UT coach Todd Raleigh.

"He was ecstatic," Hawn said of Raleigh. "He liked me when I was at Walters State and this is just like a bonus to get me a year early."

Hawn missed the official signing period, but he is committed and plans to enroll at UT for the fall semester classes beginning Aug. 20.

The next step will be fall drills and finding a spot in the lineup for the 2009 season.

Hawn has played third base since high school, but is open to moving around to wherever UT might need him to play.

"I'm going to try to work on moving to second base and fitting in there," Hawn said. "If not, I may end up at first base. Cody Brown might end up having to play some shortstop so I could be all over the infield.

"I'm just excited about it, When it comes down to it, this is what I've always really wanted to happen and I'm glad it did."

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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