Four Panola Ponies Drafted in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft

Two former Ponies, Aaron Clark and Corey Morris were drafted in the June 5 draft in the 8th and 15 rounds. Two Panola signees, Jim Tiller and Shaun LeBlanc, were selected in the 17 and 36 rounds respectively.

Clark was a 1999 graduate of Panola College and the recipient of the annual Lowery Award given to the top student/athlete at Panola College. Aaron helped the Ponies to the 1999 Conference Championship. The past two years Aaron has continued his baseball career as the starting first baseman at the University of Alabama. This year he led the Crimson Tide in hitting and homeruns, plus was one of the top hitters in the Southeastern Conference. Aaron was selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 8th round.

Corey Morris, one of the top pitchers at Panola, was also a member of the 1999 Panola Ponies Conference Championship team. He went on to play two years on scholarship at Dallas Baptist University where he was the top pitcher and led them to back-to-back College World Series Appearances. Dallas Baptist were runners -up in 2000 and placed 5th this year. Corey was selected in the 15th round by the Baltimore Orioles.

Jim Tiller, a right-handed pitcher from Elysian Fields, has signed to play next year with the Ponies. He has led his team with a 14-1 record to the Texas State Championship Game. Jim was selected in the 17th round by the Baltimore Orioles, but has opted to continue his education and play baseball at Panola College. Shaun LeBlanc, of Houma, La., is another hard throwing pitcher that has signed to play at Panola next year was drafted in the 36th round by the San Diego Padres.