| Jonathan Merritt |
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Meet Jonathan Merritt 
2008 (Sophomore)
Played in and started 58 of a possible 60 games as the Blazers' shortstop ... tied a school record with 68 runs scored, the fourth-highest total last season in Conference USA ... ranked ninth in the league with 169 assists ... posted a .324 batting average with nine home runs, 14 doubles and 30 RBI ... also drew 34 walks ... ranked second on the team with 15 stolen bases, including five games with multiple steals ... managed a .502 slugging percentage ... tallied 19 games with multiple hits and five contests with mulitple RBI ... posted his best offensive game of the season March 18 versus Mississippi State when he went 5-for-6 with two home runs, one double, three RBI, three runs scored and two steals ... matched his season-high of three RBI on three other occasions ... collected four hits in six different games ... scored a season-high four runs May 17 in the regular season finale against Southern Miss ... tallied his second two-homer game of the season May 13 against Troy ... recorded a triple May 23 in a Conference USA tournament victory over Houston ... ended the season on a six-game hitting streak, including four games with multiple hits ... named to the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll.
2007 (Freshman)
Played and started in 54 games ... named to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team ... led the team with his .364 batting average in C-USA play ... hit .294 overall for the year with 32 RBI ... ranked third on the club and tied for ninth in C-USA with 13 stolen bases ... ranked eighth in the league in fielding double plays with 39 ... his 154 assists ranked him eighth in Conference USA ... hit two home runs and legged out one triple while doubling seven times ... had 14 multiple-hit games, including two four-hit performances, while also posting multiple RBI eight times ... was a .556 (5-for-9) hitter with one RBI in ninth inning at bats for the year ... led the club with his .355 batting average in the month of April ... went 4-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored against No. 29 East Carolina on May 17 ... was 2-for-6 with three RBI, a home run and two runs scored at Troy May 8 ... provided the game-winning home run with an 11th inning blast at Tulane May 4, a game in which he was 2-for-4 with four RBI and three runs scored in addition to his first career homer ... was 2-for-4 with a double against third-ranked Rice April 27 ... put together a season-best nine-game hit streak from April 6-April 21, a stretch that included six multiple-hit games ... was dominant in the team's series against Memphis, going 7-for-13 with four runs scored, two RBI and two doubles ... started his nine-game hit streak with a 4-for-5 effort with two RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base at Houston April 6 ... went 2-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored in his first-ever Conference USA game against UCF March 30 ... against Samford on March 27, Merritt was 2-for-4 with three RBI ... responsible for two of the team's three hits at No. 16 Alabama on Feb. 28 ... had two stolen bases in a 1-for-2 showing against Central Michigan Feb. 17 ... spoke to students at Lee Elementary as part of UAB's Blazer Classroom Connection program ... named to the Conference USA Commissioner's Honor Roll ... awarded C-USA Commissioner's Academic Medal ... spent the summer playing with the Eau Claire (Wis.) Express where he hit .214 with 10 stolen bases.
High School
Was a four-year player under head coach Alan Adair at Douglas County High School ... was tabbed one of the nation's top prospects, being ranked the 215th-best player in the high school class of 2006 by Perfect Game ... earned all-county recognition as a junior after hitting .302 with 22 stolen bases and a .512 on-base percentage ... was named to the all-tournament prospect team at the Perfect Game National Underclass Showcase in Ft. Myers, Fla. ... maintained a perfect GPA of 4.0 throughout high school and was awarded the 2005 Georgia Certificate of Merit at the conclusion of his junior year.
Personal
Jonathan Mark Merritt ... born Jan. 13, 1988 ... parents are Mark and Jackie Merritt ... has one brother and one sister ... major is undecided.
