Published: 12:18 AM, Sat Jul 03, 2010
Huffman named to All-America team
By Earl Vaughan Jr.
Scholastic sports editor
For a second straight year, South View High School's Brandon Huffman has been named to the Louisville Slugger High School All-America Baseball team in Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.
Huffman, who led the Tigers to the Mid-South 4-A Conference regular-season championship this year was chosen as a pitcher.
He was one of 29 pitchers chosen to the first team. The full first-team unit is broken down by pitchers, catchers, infielders, outfielders and multi-position players. There were 103 players on the first team squad. Huffman was one of only three from North Carolina and the only player picked from the Cape Fear region.
"It's pretty special,'' Huffman said. "When I first started out the season, I had all the goals I wanted to finish. The main thing was to accomplish all of them, and that was what I did.''
Huffman tied for the batting lead in Cumberland County this year with a .471 average. He led the county in hits with 41, doubles with 16 and tied for the lead in home runs with five.
He drove in 24 runs.
On the mound he was 7-3 with a 0.96 earned run average. The seven wins tied him for most in the county.
He led the county in strikeouts with 133 and innings pitched with 82.7. He threw a no-hitter against New Bern in the first round of the state 4-A playoffs.
During the year, Huffman made a change in his college plans. He had made an early oral commitment to the University of North Carolina, but decided to sign with nearby UNC-Pembroke, where he will enroll this fall.
He has spent this summer so far playing American Legion baseball with the Hope Mills Boosters.
Pembroke has sent him a summer workout schedule which he said he is following in preparation for enrolling at the school on Aug. 17. He won't begin working out with the rest of his UNC-Pembroke teammates until then.
In addition to having fall practice, Huffman said the UNC-P baseball team will be divided in half by the coaching staff and meet in a seven-game world series.
Huffman remains hopeful he will be given a chance to pitch as well as play in the field at either first base or third base.
"I want to be able to hit,'' he said. "I'll play whichever one suits me best.''
Scholastic sports editor Earl Vaughan Jr. can be reached at vaughane@fayobserver.com or 486-3519.