« Baseball 2010

Clay Jones

School
University of Alabama
Position
First Base
Major
Kinesiology
AVG
.341
R
25
H
42
FLD%
.988
ERA
-
W-L
-
RBI
31

Classroom

Jones sports a 3.48 GPA in human performance exercise science, kinesiology and is expected to graduate in spring 2011. Jones was a member of the 2009 SEC Academic Honor Roll and was twice named to the Dean’s List (2008 and 2009).

Character

Jones lost his father when he was eight years old and he and his younger brother, Ben, have been raised a by a single mom. His father was killed in helicopter crash while working for the Alabama Forestry Commission. Jones always loved sports and he made a vow to be a successful athlete in memory of his dad. He played four years at Bibb County High School, winning one state title, and two years at Shelton State before signing with the Crimson Tide. He played on two NJCAA World Series teams at Shelton State and was named to the All-Tournament team after his freshman season. His brother, Ben, is a starting offensive lineman at the University of Georgia.

Community

Jones, along with the rest of the Alabama baseball team, spent much of the fall working out and preparing for the upcoming season, but in their spare time the team was very active in the Tuscaloosa area with numerous community service projects. The team visited many schools and nursing homes and hosted Halloween and Christmas parties for a number of school-aged children, all a part of head coach Mitch Gaspard’s plan of being visible and giving back to a community that has supported the Crimson Tide for many years. The baseball team spent numerous hours with students and the elderly this fall, but the highlight of the semester took place at the Sprayberry Education Center, where the team hosted a Christmas party for the students and faculty. Sprayberry is the special education facility for the Tuscaloosa County School System and serves the needs of children in five different programs, including preschool, multiple disabilities, autism, alternative and TARGET, for gifted education. The Christmas party at Sprayberry was just one of many community service projects the baseball team participated in during the fall.  Other events included visiting a retirement center and spending 30 minutes each walking with the retirees; assisting with the golf tournament to benefit persons with Down’s syndrome; and collecting canned foods for the Beat Auburn, Beat Hunger Canned Food Drive. UA collected more than 175,000 pounds of canned goods to beat Auburn for the third straight year. In addition, members of the team spent two hours at Brookwood Middle School to talk about the importance of education and the dangers of drugs and alcohol. They also participated in the Athletic Department’s annual Halloween Extravaganza in the Hank Crisp Indoor Facility.  This provides children with a safe place to go and trick-or-treat in Tuscaloosa.  The baseball team spent time working a booth that allowed children to see just how fast they could actually throw a baseball with a speed gun. And the team spent a Monday night in Northport serving as coaches, officials and administrators for the annual Turkey Bowl, sponsored by Davis-Faucett Elementary School. In addition, the team raised money for gifts for children whose parents are incarcerated and hosted a party at Coleman Coliseum.  Former Alabama All-American and current New York Yankees relief pitcher David Robertson also attended the event and gave the Angel Tree a $1,500 gift card to Toys r us to assist in this year’s project.

Competition

A solid hitter, Jones returns for his senior season and is the front-runner to win the starting job at first base, a position he shared with Wes Henderson last season. The senior can hit for average and power and is coming off an excellent summer in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. He hit .336 in the wooden bat league with two doubles and 16 RBI and led the Vermont Mountaineers in on-base percentage (.442) and walks (20). He also ranked second in hitting (.336) and third in hits (40) and RBI (16). He is coming off a solid junior season, where he hit .336 with seven home runs and 37 RBI in 41 games. He was one of UA’s top pinch hitters with a .571 (4-for-7) average with one home run and three RBI. Jones was a talented and highly decorated junior college hitter, who played on back-to-back National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) World Series teams in 2007 and 2008 at Shelton State Community College.