With the completion of the 2017-18 school year, the Department of Athletics will be conducting a series of Alumni Spotlight's to highlight the professional accomplishments of our former student-athletes. If you have a success story you would like to share, please contact Assistant AD for External Relations Tim Lutz at tlutz1@aum.edu or at 334-244-3832. He can also be reached on Facebook or Twitter (@timlutz). We would love to hear from you and share your accomplishments.
 
Today's Alumni Spotlight features Tyler Dent, a member of the baseball team during 2011 and 2012 seasons. The Waverly Hall, Ga., native appeared in 41 games, posting a 5-2 record, four saves and a 3.84 earned run average. He helped the team to a pair of NAIA Opening Round Tournament appearances and 80 victories during his two seasons.
 

Dent recently led the Andalusia High School baseball team to the Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 4A State Baseball Championship. The Bulldogs dropped the first of a best-of-3 series to Hokes Bluff High School, 6-3, and rallied to force a deciding game with a 2-1 victory in game two. In the championship game, the Dent and the Bulldogs earned a 10-6 win for the first baseball state title in school history. Andalusia finished the 2018 campaign with a 30-5 record.
 
For more information on what Tyler is doing and how AUM played a role in his professional success, please check out the Q&A below.
 

1. Where are you living now and what are you doing? 
- I am currently living in Andalusia, Alabama where I am a teacher and coach. In the classroom, I teach 10th grade U.S. History. I coach the defensive line for the football team and I am the head baseball coach.
 

2. Congratulations on guiding your team to the State Championship. How did your time as a student and student-athlete at AUM prepare you for this accomplishment, your career and life after college?
- Thank you. While I was at AUM, I was able to grow up a lot, both on and off the baseball field. Each year that I was at AUM, we ended up in the losers bracket in the regional tournament, but both years, we fought our way through and made it to the championship game. Our first loss this playoff season (and the end to a 19-game winning streak) came when Hokes Bluff beat us in the first game of the state championship series on Tuesday night. I told some of my players on Wednesday morning that I felt like I was now in the loser's bracket of a regional tournament, but that I had always made it the championship game. I knew that if we could just get to game three, we had a real chance!
 
3. What are your goals for the near future in regards to your career?  Do you have a plan for the next 2-3 years?

- From a teaching standpoint, I will be graduating with my master's degree from AUM in December. From a coaching standpoint, I plan to remain at Andalusia High School and plan to continue to win games! 
 
4. When is the last time you've been to campus. How has the campus changed?
- Like I mentioned before, I am currently getting my master's degree from AUM, so I do have to go to campus for class and meetings occasionally, but the last time I was there was actually when we played Trinity in the second round of the playoffs earlier this year. There is so much that has changed on campus since I left. It has always been a beautiful campus, but it is amazing how much has changed with the addition of the Wellness Center.
 
5. What originally attracted you to AUM as a student-athlete?
- Out of high school, I came to Andalusia to play baseball at LBW for Steve Helms. While I was there, I met my wife, Hillary, so when I left LBW, I didn't want to move back home to Georgia. She was in Troy, so Montgomery was still close to her, but I was also able to get back closer to home. As a baseball player, I honestly was looking forward to playing under the legendary Q.V. Lowe and playing for the program that he had created at AUM.
 
6. What are some of your most memorable moments from your time as a student-athlete at AUM?
- My most memorable moment at AUM was getting Coach Lowe's 1000th win. As a pitcher, I was truly honored to pick up that milestone win for him. I also have many memories of traveling to Daytona and New Orleans for games because it was always a great time with my teammates!
 

7. How often do you keep in touch with your former teammates?
- I talk to several of my former teammates on a daily or weekly basis. Some of my best friends, to this day, are some of my former teammates. Several of my groomsmen in my wedding were my AUM teammates, and I have been a groomsman in several of their weddings. The memories that the players are making and the bonds that they are forming will be some of the best in their lives.
 
8. How would you summarize your time at AUM?
- My time at AUM was great. I learned so much about myself as a person, and I learned things that carry over into my teaching and coaching careers.
 
9. What advice would you have for the current student-athletes at AUM?
- Enjoy this time and don't take it for granted. For most, after college, it is to the real world. These are the last few years that you don't have to pay your own bills, you get to stay up with your roommates playing Mario Kart until the early hours of the morning, and you have little to no responsibility. Enjoy it! With that being said, also make it a priority to get up and go to class... it really makes a difference when teachers are putting final grades in at the end of the semester.
 
10. Anything else you would like to share with the AUM community?
- To my former AUM coaches, thank you for the time that you invested in me. To my former AUM teammates, thank you for all of the memories and for your continued support. To my wife, Hillary, thank you for being the best coach's wife that a coach could ever ask for. Thank you, Tim, for taking the time to talk to me. Go Warhawks and Go Bulldogs!