AUBURN | Outfielder Joshua Palacios, one of the top junior college prospects in the 2015 class, took an official visit over the weekend to Auburn. It was the first time he'd ever been to the Plains, and he apparently liked what he saw.

Palacios, a sophomore at San Jacinto College near Houston, Texas, liked Auburn enough that he decided to make it his future home.

"After I got home from my visit, I talked it over with my parents and decided that I'm going to Auburn," Palacios said. "I just loved it there. I loved everything about it. It was an amazing trip."

Palacios called Monday and informed the Auburn coaches of his commitment.

"When I left Auburn, I had a really, really good feeling about it," he said. "Their goals and what they are setting up to do is exactly what I'm used to. They showed me their plan on rebuilding the program, and it's a solid plan, which really drew my interest."

So did Auburn's campus and coaches.

"That was my first time in the state of Alabama, my first time at Auburn, and I really loved it," Palacios, who is originally from Brooklyn, N.Y., said. "Auburn is beautiful. The campus is beautiful. It literally looks like a campus out of the movies.

"And the people there, man, they are amazing. They were very, very welcoming. Everybody shook my hand and introduced themselves. It was great."

Palacios spent a lot of time during his visit talking with the Auburn coaches, including head coach Sunny Golloway, hitting coach Greg Norton and pitching coach Tom Holliday.

"I met with all of the coaches, and they are very, very, very good people," Palacios said. "Coach Golloway, Coach Holliday, Coach Norton, they are all great guys, stand-up guys. Coach Holliday's nephew, (former Oklahoma State catcher) Heath Holliday, was there and he is very, very good people, too.

"They made me feel very comfortable. It's very family-oriented. Coach Holliday went out of his way to make it the best weekend for me, and also Coach Norton, which I really appreciated."

Palacios, 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds, narrowed his list to Auburn, Oregon and Miami before choosing the Tigers. He will sign Wednesday and have two years of eligibility at Auburn beginning in 2016.

As a freshman last year at San Jacinto, Palacios had a team-high .372 batting average and an on-base percentage of .468. He also had a team-high 67 hits in 180 at-bats, including eight doubles, two triples, 25 RBI and 18 runs scored. In 218 plate appearances, Palacios struck out just 17 times. He was named All-Conference and All-Region. In June, Palacios was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the 31st round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

Octavio Rodriguez committed to Auburn last Wednesday. Palacios also is the second player from San Jacinto to commit to the Tigers, joining left-handed pitcher Aaron Ford. Palacios is the second junior college prospect from Texas to commit to the Tigers in the last week. Navarro College (Corsicana, Texas) left-handed pitchercommitted. Palacios also is the second player from San Jacinto to commit to the Tigers, joining left-handed pitcher

Palacios is the 10 commitment in the Tigers' 2015 class. He joins Rodriguez, Ford, Shelton State Community College (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) right-handed pitcher Grayson Jones, White Hall (Ark.) right-handed pitcher Daniel Sprinkle, Parkview (Lilburn) shortstop Daino Deas, Springville (Ala.) right-handed pitcher Casey Mize, Mountain Brook (Ala.) catcher Jack McPherson and shortstop Andrew Autrey, Troup County (LaGrange, Ga.) catcher John Foster and Lambert (Suwanee, Ga.) outfielder Jeremy Johnson.

Baseball's early signing period begins Wednesday and ends Nov. 19.

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