The Auburn baseball team has signed eight players to National Letters of Intent during the early signing period, Head Coach Tom Slater announced on Wednesday.

Signing NLI's to join the Tigers next season are Brian Fletcher (Fayetteville, Ga.), Wes Gilmer (Pinson), Bradley Hendrix (Birmingham), Jon Luke Jacobs (Gainestown), DJ Jones (Gulf Shores), Hunter Morris (Huntsville), Trent Mummey (Pinson) and Kevin Patterson (Birmingham).

"(Assistant Coaches) Butch Thompson and Matt Myers have done a tremendous job of once again bringing in a very talented group of young players who have great character and are also great students," Slater said. "I believe we have done an excellent job of signing kids in our own backyard. Seven of our signees come from Alabama and we also signed one of the top kids out of Georgia.

"My goal every year is to get the best kids in our area and I think we were able to achieve that goal again this year."

Fletcher is a 6-1, 185 lbs. shortstop out of coach Brent Moseley's program at Starr's Mill High School in Fayetteville, Ga. Ranked 94th nationally by Perfect Game, he was a First Team All-Region 4A for a team that finished 28-0 during the regular season, was ranked as high as No. 2 nationally by USA Today and was the top-ranked program in the state of Georgia for most of the season.

A 2006 East Coast Pro Showcase participant in Wilmington, N.C., and a Perfect Game National Showcase participant in Fayetteville, Ark., he hit 28 home runs between high school and summer ball. He is the son of, Scott, who enjoyed a 15-year major league career, and Angie Fletcher.

"Brian Fletcher is one of the best looking young high school hitters in the country this year. He is very savvy in the way he plays the game of baseball, as you would expect of someone who has been around baseball like he has been through his dad," Slater said. "He comes out of a great Starr's Mill program that was one of the best teams in the country last year. Brian is a solid infielder who swings a very potent bat. He has power and can hit for average and I am very excited to have Brian as a part of our team."

Gilmer is a 6-0, 195 lbs. switch-hitting infielder/right handed pitcher from Shelton Stalls' team at Pinson Valley High School. A First Team All-State selection by the ASWA and the Birmingham News, he was a 2006 Louisville Slugger Preseason All-American and an AHSAA North-South High School All-Star. Nationally ranked 315th by Perfect Game, he was the Pinson Valley team MVP in both 2005 and 2006. Last season he hit .400 and drove in 22 runs with an on-base percentage of .556 and was selected to play in the Perfect Game National Showcase in Fayetteville, Ark.

A quarterback for the football team and a standout in the classroom that was listed among the Who's Who Among High School Students, he is the great nephew of former Alabama football star Harry Gilmer and a cousin of former AU baseball player Brandon Moore. He is the son of Bill and Terri Gilmer.

"Wes Gilmer is a very good looking hitter out of Pinson Valley. Shelton Stalls does a great job and Wes can really swing the bat," Slater said. "Wes has a good lineage in his family with both his great uncle and his cousin having been outstanding athletes. His cousin, Brandon Moore, as Hal Baird will tell you, was probably one of the best shortstops that he ever coached at Auburn and is now a hitting instructor in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.

"Wes has obviously been well coached along the way and I am impressed with his toughness and his ability to swing the bat."

Hendrix is a 6-2, 190 lbs. right handed pitcher/infielder at Oak Mountain High School where he plays for former Tiger great Tommy Youngblood. A 2007 Preseason All-America selection by Baseball Factory, he hit .424 last season at Oak Mountain. An Alabama Top 100 All-Star Showcase selection, he has led Oak Mountain in hitting in two of the past three seasons and was a Birmingham News All-State Honorable Mention in 2006. He is the son of Brad and Sherri Hendrix. His father played in the NFL for both the Dallas Cowboys and San Diego Chargers.

"Bradley Hendrix is a kid who I was very impressed with on the mound. He has great feel for pitching and has a tremendous breaking ball. In addition to that, he is also is an infielder and is a very good athlete," Slater said. "Bradley has been one of the leading hitters Oak Mountain for the last few years along with his ability to pitch and really spin the breaking ball. He also plays for a former Tiger great in Tommy Youngblood, who is one of the best two-way players to ever come through Auburn. Anyone who knows Tommy talks about what a great guy and great competitor he was.

"I know that we are definitely getting a kid in Bradley Hendrix who is not only a very talented athlete but also very tough."

Jacobs is a 6-0, 175 lbs. right handed pitcher from Jason Jones' team at Jackson High School in Gainestown. As a junior, he struck out 96 while walking just 20 in 61 innings pitched. Ranked 235th nationally by Perfect Game, he attended the 2006 East Coast Pro Showcase in Wilmington, N.C., and the Perfect Game National Showcase in Fayetteville, Ark. A National Honor Society member and president of the SGA at Jackson, he participated in the Alabama Super 100 at Troy and was named the team MVP at Jackson. He is the son of Tim and Darlene Jacobs.

"Jon Luke Jacobs really impressed me with his ability to pitch. He is a sinker-slider-fastball pitcher that will run it in there 87-89 with a very good slider as well. He commands the strike zone and he commands both sides of the plate with his fastball," Slater said. "What we were most impressed with was his pitchability and his ability to fill up the strike zone as he already has two plus-pitches. He comes from a great family and I am excited about his ability to come in here and contribute on the mound right away."

Jones is a 6-1, 190 lbs. outfielder/left handed pitcher out of Gulf Shores High School where he plays for Donnie Spohn. Ranked 57th nationally by Perfect Game and an East Coast Pro Showcase and Perfect Game National Showcase participant in 2006, he was named the North All-Star MVP at the ABCA State All-Star Game in July in Huntsville. A First Team All-State selection in 2006, he hit .557 with eight triples and eight home runs as a junior, swiping 21 bases in 22 attempts.

Named All-Baldwin County First Team, All-State Class 4A, Birmingham News Super All-State Team and Press Register Dandy Diamond Team, he had an on-base percentage of .652 and a 1.091 slugging percentage and holds the state record for career triples with 27. He is the son of David and Robin Jones.

"DJ Jones is a dynamic young player who combines great speed with power in his bat along with a good throwing arm," Slater said. "He has been very successful on the high school level as both a hitter and a pitcher. One of the things I really like about him is that he can really run and you combine that with the juice in his bat and he has a chance to be a real exciting player here at Auburn. He is already a very accomplished high school player and that is before he has played a game in his senior year. He is also a football player and that is something I like. I like dual-sport athletes because it shows the athleticism that they have."

Morris is a 6-4, 205 lbs. infielder who plays for coach Adam Moseley at Grissom High School in Huntsville. Ranked 20th nationally by Perfect Game, he participated in the 2006 AFLAC All-American Game in San Diego, the East Coast Pro Showcase in Wilmington, N.C., and the Perfect Game National Showcase in Fayetteville, Ark.

A member of USA Baseball's Junior National silver medal-winning team this past summer, he was a Birmingham News First Team All-State selection in 2006 after hitting .484 while driving in 48 runs, knocking 12 home runs and going a perfect 8-for-8 in stolen bases. He was the Huntsville city Player and Pitcher of the Year and Huntsville Times North Alabama Super Metro Player of the Year as a junior. He is the son of Jeff and Linda Morris.

"Hunter Morris was the first kid in this class to commit to us as he committed early last spring. He really is a good bat swinger and has been one of the top young hitters in the state of Alabama this year. He has had international experience with the USA Baseball Junior National Team that traveled to Cuba and he has great experience around the country. We feel great that Hunter has signed with us and we are very excited about his future potential," Slater said.

Mummey is a 5-11, 165 lbs. outfielder from Pinson Valley High School where he plays for Stalls. A 2006 East Coast Pro Showcase participant in Wilmington, N.C., he is ranked 848th by Perfect Game. The 2006 Most Valuable Defensive Player at Pinson, he was selected to the East-West Birmingham Metro All-Stars, the Top 100 Alabama Underclassmen Showcase at Troy and the North-South AHSAA All-Star Game in Huntsville.

As a junior he hit .316 and drove in 18 runs while scoring 36 runs and stole 22 bases. In the classroom, he has been selected a Who's Who Among American High School Students and a National Society of High School Scholar. He is the son of Earl and Patsy Mummey.

"Trent Mummey is another well-coached player by Shelton Stalls at Pinson Valley. Trent is a very gifted athlete. He runs extremely well and defends the field very well. He's a gamer," Slater said. "He plays hard every time you see him and really gives 100 percent. He has played on the national level and has just really impressed us as a coaching staff with his makeup and the way he goes about his business and the way he plays the game."

Patterson is a 6-4, 220 lbs. catcher/first baseman on Youngblood's team at Oak Mountain High School. Ranked 56th nationally by Perfect Game, he is a 2006 East Coast Pro Showcase and Perfect Game National Showcase participant. A 2007 Preseason All-American, he has been named to the Over The Mountain Team twice (2005 and 2006) and all-state as a designated hitter as a junior, when he hit .370 with 10 home runs and 40 RBIs.

A four-year member of the National Honor Society, he is ranked in the top 20 out of 450 in his class. He is the son of David Patterson and Ms. Laura Patterson.

"Kevin Patterson is another very good bat swinger who has played for Tommy Youngblood, so I know he's tough because he played for Tommy," Slater said. "Kevin is a really good-looking young prospect and an outstanding student. He is a young man that we are just thrilled to have. He has great character, high morals and is just an outstanding young player. I think he has the potential to hit for high average and some power in college."

This is the third class that Slater has signed since taking over the reigns at Auburn. His first two classes were both ranked in the top-20 classes in the country by Baseball America. His first signing class, which is this season's sophomore class, was ranked 10th by the magazine while this year's freshmen were ranked 18th.