June 13, 2018 Article from GOBLUERAIDERS.COM

Aucker Wins the Spring Spirit of Service Award

First Blue Raider baseball player to receive honor

photo of Aaron AuckerMURFREESBORO, Tenn - On Wednesday, Aaron Aucker was named as one of the 14 recipients C-USA Spirit of Service Award recipient for the spring for his exceptional academic record and community service in his time at MTSU.

The award is presented three times a year to one athlete from every school in the C-USA regardless of gender and depending upon when their particular sport is played. The spring award is given to athletes who participate in baseball, softball, golf, tennis, or outdoor track & field.

In his time as a Blue Raider, Aucker has been a part of numerous organizations and charities that give back to the community. Among these include Team Impact, the Albert Pujols Foundation, the American Cancer Society, and volunteering for the Special Olympics.

His academics are nothing short of impressive as well. The biology major plans to pursue a career in Orthodontics and has already completed over 350 hours of work at O'Rourke Orthodontics in Knoxville in order to further his career goals.

The Knoxville native maintained a 3.44 grade point average throughout his career, and for his work in the classroom, he was named to the Google Cloud Academic All-American Team and the C-USA All-Academic Team.

Coming into this season, Aucker was selected as a preseason All-American, and he did not disappoint as he ranked in top 100 in the nation in several major statistical categories including RBI (8th, 71), home runs (58th, 14), total bases (59th, 132), slugging percentage, (60th, .623), doubles (68th, 18), and hit by pitch (77th, 14).

With his commitment to excellence in both his studies and baseball, Aucker truly represents what it means to be a Blue Raider.

List of honorees: 

Meredith Harris, Charlotte, Softball
Alec Dominguez, FIU, Men's Track & Field/Cross Country
Bethany Hardcastle, Florida Atlantic, Women's Track
Morgan Turkoly, Louisiana Tech, Softball
Abigail Tolbert, Marshall, Softball
Aaron Aucker, Middle Tennessee, Baseball
Baylee Nelson, Women's Track & Field, North Texas
Chad Heiss, Old Dominion, Men's Golf
Amanda Pasko, Rice, Women's Track
Samantha Papp, Southern Miss, Softball
Analyse Petree, UAB, Softball
Courtney Clayton, UTEP, Softball
Erica Sanchez, UTSA, Softball
Mary Joiner, WKU, Women's Golf