By JONATHAN HULL
Sports Editor
It's already been an unforgettable year for the Howard College Hawks after claiming a Division I Junior College national title to cap the 2009 season.
However, three players had a little icing add to their cake Wednesday.

Outfielders Runey Davis and Joe Leftridge and pitcher Hunter Hill were each selected in the 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, leaving the three Hawks with important decisions to make concerning their future.

Many thought with the Hawks finishing 63-1, which is the best record a championship team has posted at any level of collegiate baseball, meant there would be a litany of players coming off the board and heading to the majors.

Howard College Head Coach Britt Smith wasn't surprised at the lack of Hawks being selected, though.

"I really wasn't shocked. We have some guys who were drawing interest from teams, but our players have really good college programs in their back pocket. That means they're not going to sign for cheap," explained Smith. "That's really what a lot of it is about. The only guy not drafted that I thought should have gone a bit higher was Miles (Hamblin). There are some reasons behind that I'm not going to comment on, though."

Davis, Leftridge and Hill now have until Aug. 15 to decide if they want to sign with the MLB clubs that drafted them. If they opt not to, then they'll be eligible to be drafted again in 2010.

All three players have collegiate options to fall back on, though.

Davis was the first Hawk taken, coming off the board in the 12th round as the 380th selection of the draft with the Chicago Cubs pulling the trigger on the speedy center fielder.

"Runey is a great athlete and when teams look for a center fielder then they look at top-end speed. He's got that along with an above-average arm," said Smith. "He can play any of the three outfield positions. He's got a great opportunity to sign for a good bit of money where he was drafted. It's enough to where he can completely focus on baseball and not have to worry about anything else for a few years."

Davis was one of the heroes during the Hawks' run to a national championship. In the opening game of the World Series in Grand Junction, Davis hit a walk-off solo home run to lead off the bottom of the 11th inning, delivering the Hawks a 4-3 win over Western Nevada College.

Davis came to the Hawks as a transfer from the University of Texas in Austin. During his sophomore campaign with Howard, he hit .404 with eight homers and 48 RBI. He led the team with 37 stolen bases in 42 attempts.

He was an honorable mention All-Conference player in the Western Junior College Athletic Conference and was selected to the All-Tournament team at the World Series.

Davis has already signed a letter of intent to play for Mississippi State University.

Hill was also a transfer from the University of Texas and found himself drafted in the 13th round by the Tampa Bay Rays as the 409th overall selection.

"I think the Rays see Hunter as a closer," speculated Smith. "They'll prep him that way. Hunter has big league stuff. That's why a guy who saw limited action for us during the season gets drafted so high. His breaking ball is a great strikeout pitch. Closers have to have that type of pitch and Hunter's got a great one with his breaking ball. If he can refine a few other things, Hunter has a chance to develop into a good closer."

Howard recruited him to be their closer and he stepped up to fill that role in a big situation in the second-to-last game of the year.

In the semifinals of the World Series, Hill was called upon to get three outs in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Hawks clung to a 12-11 lead over San Jacinto College.

He answered the call, getting the first two batters to pop up and then forced a groundout to end the game with his second save of the year.

Hill finished the season with a 3.94 ERA in 16 innings pitched. He recorded just one win on the season, but struck out 24 batters in his short time of work.

Hill received honorable mention for the WJCAC's All-Conference team.

He's committed to play for Texas State University in San Marcos next season should he not sign with the Rays.

It wasn't until Round 27 before Leftridge came off the board. The Atlanta Braves made him the draft's 808th over all selection.

Leftridge was the only freshman starting everyday in Howard's lineup and manned left field for most of the season, although he did see time in center when Davis was injured.

"Joe compares to Runey a lot. Runey is a little bit more physical with a bigger build, but they're similar players," said Smith. "Joe is going to be a better professional than he is a collegiate baseball player. He sat out a year and it took him some time to get going at the plate this season. He was batting just .220 after 14 games. He ended up batting over .400. That says a lot about his ability."

Leftridge's biggest moments of the season also came in critical games. In the final of the Region V Tournament in Fort Worth, Leftridge hit a solo home run over the fence in left, tying the game at 3 in the top of the ninth inning.

The solo shot set the stage for a dramatic Hawks victory in the 10th, when Davis doubled home Andrew Collazo for what turned out to be the winning run.

In Howard's third game of the World Series, Leftridge, who served as Howard's leadoff batter, played the role of catalyst in an 11-3 victory over Western Nevada.

Heading into the game, Leftridge was 2-for-13 in two World Series games. He finished that contest 3-for-5 with two RBI and three runs scored.

If Leftridge decides not to sign with the Braves, he will return to Howard as one of the few holdovers from the championship team, which seems likely, according to Smith.

"The Braves are going to have to offer Joe good money to get him to sign," said Smith. "He's on task at Howard. He's going to summer school and is ready to come back next year. Unless the Braves really make a nice offer to him, I expect him to come back and play."

Smith says he expects to see a few more Hawks come off the board today, which is the final day of the MLB draft. He speculated that cousins Anthony and Andrew Collazo and catchers Hamblin and Monk Kreder should all be drafted at some point.

However, don't necessarily expect them to sign.

"Any guy being drafted today is just an organizational pick. Teams are trying to fill out rosters and push the first four or five guys they took in the draft," said Smith. "Anyone who is drafted today and ends up signing is doing so because they really want to play professional baseball. They know they'll really have their work cut out for them to make a squad."