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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Comments » 14
WorkinLikeHeck writes:
WOW!!!! NO thanks to Delmonico though. Hmmm...Raliegh still getting top notch recruits to UT despite his "tough" caoching.
utvolz#637682 writes:
Welcome to the Big Orange Nation Cody! GO VOLS!
Frank in Miami
andefromtn#212139 writes:
It's great to see another local kid committed to UT. So many in all sports, have been forced to go to other schools. If you don't live in West Knoxville many times UT just skips you. Good luck at UT, Cody!
WorkinLikeHeck writes:
It was really more of a case of Hawn's parents not being members of Fox Den Country Club more than anything.
miamiVOL writes:
sry Heck but my uncle was tossing back Makers and Coke with his father just like week at their End of Summer Ball
vol4gzus writes:
What? Need an interpreter for 9:55 am post. I got the drank part but the rest is in Miamise I think with a lil sauce added to mix up reading somewhat.
Welcome young man to Big Orange Country!!!
WorkinLikeHeck writes:
we'll need some clarification from miamivol as to who he is referring to. Thanks in advance.
richvol writes:
As mentioned earlier, several kids in local HS have been passed over by former UT coaches. These boys went on to star elsewhere. The South-Doyle team that Cody was on had 8 or 9 scholarship players on it and UT didn't seem interested in any of them. If UT wants to build attendance then sign some of our great local players. Glad to see him back.
utvolz#637682 writes:
miamivol,
Why RUIN Makers by mixing it with coke? Mix it with water if you must, on the rocks is better though.....
Frank in Miami
cobbwebb writes:
kosmo - i agree , past coaches turned their heads on many good local players, for whatever reason i dont know. im with you on these south doyle kids , many good ones, but delmonico would rather use the 1/3 scholarship on a player from florida or farragut with comparable skills.coach raleigh will build this program into a perennial contender , just give him time! GO VOLS!!!!!!
pdhuff#552644 writes:
utvolz 10:57 am, true, true, Makers needs nothing but a cold splash.
BillBrasky writes:
Saw this kid play in high school and he was unreal. Met him a few times and he's a classy, stand-up dude. Delmonico is a pr!ck and there is no reason this kid should not have been wearing Orange already. I guess the ridiculous amount of homeruns he hit in high school and his nearly .500 batting average scared off Delmonico, a.k.a. Mr. Small-Ball...Either way. Cody will make an immediate impact with his power at the plate and bring more fans to the park. Didnt go there, but South Doyle has a heckuva program now.
N2Motorsports writes:
Well Kosmo the last guy from SDHS that played here failed academically and wasn't that good to begin with. My summer league team played against him last summer here in Knoxville and one of our guys took him deep. He was overrated.
N2Motorsports writes:
Hawn, however, is not overrated.
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