B.A. Vollmuth Signs Professional Baseball Contract Sunday with Oakland
8/14/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Aug. 14, 2011
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Southern Miss infielder B.A. Vollmuth will not return for his senior season after signing a professional baseball contract with the Oakland Athletics on Sunday.
The Athletics picked Vollmuth in the 3rd round of the 2011 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft as he was the 105th player chosen overall. He was also picked by the Houston Astros in the 32nd round of the 2008 draft, but opted to come to Southern Miss instead.
Vollmuth, a native of Biloxi, Miss., collected a .301 average to go along with team-bests of 12 home runs and 49 runs batted in during his junior campaign in helping the Golden Eagles reach their ninth-straight NCAA regional.
Over his three-year career, he finished with a .326 batting average in 152 games to go along with 32 doubles, five triples, 40 home runs and 153 runs batted in. His home run tally ranks No. 7 on the school's career chart.
During his time at Southern Miss, Vollmuth collected All-America honors, was a two-time first-team Conference USA selection and was the Most Outstanding Player of the Atlanta Regional during the 2009 season.
Vollmuth was a big factor for the Golden Eagles reaching their first College World Series during 2009 as he collected six of his eight home runs during the postseason, including a three-run homer versus North Carolina in the CWS and also belted a pair of homers in the same inning against Georgia Tech in regional play.
He is the highest drafted player for the Golden Eagles since Cliff King was a third-round selection in 2003 by the Chicago White Sox.
