Southern Arkansas University Athletics

A junior college transfer from Pima College (AZ), Aharon Eggleston packed more success into two years as a Mulerider than arguably any other transfer player in the program's storied history. Among the most feared hitters the program has ever seen, Eggleston grades as arguably the purest of them all.
 
A native of Las Vegas, Nevada, Eggleston's presence in the lineup was a highly welcomed one in his first season of 2004. Over a 60-game slate, Eggleston produced a .431 average, a mark that ranked inside the top 30 nationally, with single-season program records in at bats (239), hits (103) and runs scored (87); a mark that also led the Gulf South Conference. As much of a threat as he was in the batter's box, Eggleston was just as dangerous on the base paths. He nabbed a GSC-leading 37 bags and ranked inside the top 20 in NCAA Division II in steals per game which helped position him to an eighth-place ranking nationally in runs per game at nearly 1.5.
 
For his efforts, Eggleston was named a Rawlings/ABCA Third Team All-America outfielder which followed All-South Central Region first team, South Central Region All-Tournament team and All-GSC first team honors.
 
The following season, Eggleston added his second All-GSC first team selection to his accolade list as he led the Muleriders in average (.375), hits (84), triples (5), total bases (120), fewest strikeouts (6) and stolen bases (29), while registering his second-straight season fielding north of 97% in the outfield.
 
In 463 career at bats across 117 games, Eggleston hit .404 with 187 hits, 45 of which resulted in extra bases including 31 doubles, nine triples and five home runs. Twenty years after breaking the single-season hit record with 103, no Mulerider has crossed over the century mark since. He scored 147 runs, tallied 95 RBI and stole 66 bases. In 538 career plate appearances, Eggleston struck out two dozen times; just four percent of the time when he stepped into the box, which included a mere six strikeouts in 258 trips to the plate as a senior.
 
His .431 average as a junior is the eighth-best single season effort all-time and the third-best average among all Muleriders since the start of the 2000 season. Eggleston scored 87 runs in 2004 which set a new program record and it remains the second-most in a single season. He ranks fourth all-time in single season at bats with his 239 in 2004 which stood as a program record five years after his graduation. Eggleston's career average of .404 ranks seventh all-time and is the fourth-best average since the start of the 2000 season, while his 66 career stolen bases are the ninth-most all-time.
 
Eggleston's two-year stint in Magnolia foreshadowed what was to come on the diamond as he followed up an All-American collegiate career with a 13-year professional career in independent baseball that spanned from 2005 through 2017 and included stints with multiple clubs. He began his career with the Edmonton Cracker-Cats (2005-06) which preceded stints with five other teams from 2007 through 2012, while also seeing action with a pair of teams in the Venezuelan Winter League from 2013 through 2016. In 2013, Eggleston joined the Somerset Patriots where in 518 games across five seasons he would record 538 hits with 26 home runs and 223 RBI, while being named a four-time Atlantic League All-Star, the 2016 Atlantic League Outfielder of the Year and becoming a member of the Patriots All-Decade Team (2010-2019).
 
In all, Eggleston hit .298 with 1,367 hits with 813 runs scored and 587 RBI to go with 189 stolen bases in more than 1,200 professional games played. Eggleston was honored as a midseason independent league all-star seven times, while receiving multiple end-of-year honors as well. Currently, Eggleston serves as the hitting coach for the Frederick Atlantic League Professional Baseball Club after a 2022 season, his first as a coach, with the Washington Wild Things of the Frontier League.