Andrew Morales

Classroom

Morales will graduate in June. He is the second member of his family to graduate from college and the second among an extended family that includes 20 cousins. He also intends to continue his education by applying for the fire academy and EMT school and would like to get his paramedic’s license. He was named a 2014 Big West Scholar-Athlete.

Character

Morales received the Big West Sportsmanship Award. From his coach Daniel Bibona, “Andrew Morales has been a leader on the UCI baseball team from the moment he stepped foot on campus two years ago. He is not only a leader on the field but is one off as well. When I think of Andrew I think of a young man who puts others before himself. Andrew’s sister suffered from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and is his biggest supporter, but I think that he looks up to her more than she does to him. He is not just a great teammate who would do or be there for anyone on the team but every time he steps on the field he is trying to impress his hero, his younger sister. I think that part of being a good leader is not always doing what is easy, this is something that I never have to worry about when thinking about Andrew. He will always go the extra mile not just to be good but to be great, not just on the field but to make sure his teammates are doing things the right way as well. It is not always easy to hold your peers accountable and to do and act the way that they are supposed to and I think that his willingness to take on that responsibility says a lot about Andrew.”

Community

Morales is currently interning with the fire department. He has volunteered his time at the Build-a-Bear store to build bears that were then distributed to cancer patients at Children’s Hospital of Orange County and Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles and organized clothing drives in high school and delivered the clothing to Skid Row. He also volunteers his time coaching youth camps

Competition

National Collegiate Writers Baseball Association preseason first-team All-American…Collegiate Baseball “Louisville Slugger” preseason second-team All-American…College Sports Madness preseason third-team All-American…College Sports Madness preseason first-team All-Big West…first UCI pitcher to go undefeated on the mound and was 10-0 in his first year at the DI level in 2013…All-Big West 1st Team…American Baseball Coaches Association All-West Region first-team choice…Collegiate Baseball “Louisville Slugger” second-team All-American…National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association third-team All-American…CollegeBaseballInsider.com honorable mention All-American…Three-time Big West Pitcher of the Week…27th in the country in victories and 69th in WHIP last season…82nd in the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 4.05…98th in the country and fifth in the Big West in strikeouts with 85…Held opposing teams to a .227 batting average to sit third in the conference…allowed 20 earned runs in 95.1 innings for a team-leading 1.89 ERA