Brandon McArthur earns SEC honor

Senior Brandon McArthur has been named to the 2008 SEC Baseball Community Service Team, announced by the SEC on Monday. The league sponors community service teams for all 20 SEC-sponsored sports, and highlights and athlete from each school who gives back to the community in service.

McArthur, a native of Seffner, is a representative on Florida's Student-Athlete Committee (SAC) and is a frequent speaker at the Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ meetings. He often visits the pediatric care unit at Shands Hospital and participates in wheel-chair basketball with Special Olympians.

He has been a speaker at “Youth Quake,” an organization that provides alternative Christian entertainment that confronts issues relevant to today’s teenagers and has given speeches at Gainesville middle schools about the importance of doing well in school. He's also a member of the Big Brothers' organization.

The Gators’ starting first baseman, McArthur has overcome numerous injuries, including a life-threating head injury after he was attacked his freshman year. This year, he decided to finish out his senior season, despite suffering a ruptured ACL earlier in the year. He is currently hitting .339 with 40 RBI, 10 doubles, four triples and a pair of home runs. He helped lead UF to a third-place finish in the league with a
team-high .362 and tied for second on the squad with 23 RBI.

Last Thursday, McArthur snapped a 6-6 tie against No. 13 Vanderbilt with a two-run homer in the eighth inning that provided the winning margin and sent the Orange and Blue on its way to a three-game sweep of the Commodores.