Jordan Muir's freshman year at Brigham Young University couldn't have gone any better.
The 19-year-old Cimarron-Memorial High School graduate, who attended the Mountain West Conference college on a partial scholarship, had a phenomenal year pitching for the Cougars, amassing a perfect 6-0 record with a 3.97 earned-run average and 57 strikeouts as BYU went 33-28 on the season.
The right-handed throwing Muir, who starred for Mike Hubel's CMHS Spartans as a four-year letterman, was recognized for his stellar season and named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American squad, the only player from the MWC to receive the honor.
Muir's parents Eric and Ali called him with the good news while he was playing for the Little Falls Diamond Miners in Little Falls, N.Y., in the New York Collegiate Baseball League earlier this summer.
"I was in New York so I didn't even know until my dad called me," Muir said of the prestigious award. "So it was just amazing. I didn't even think I was going to even come close to be in the running for that. I was humbled. I was just excited to be honored like that. I mean, I never imagined I'd be a freshman All-American."
Muir, who was recruited by Cal-Irvine, New Mexico, Pepperdine, Gonzaga, San Diego State, Navy and UNLV, said he just loves BYU.
"It was fun. It was a different experience for me going to a different culture and stuff," said Muir, who is not a member of the Mormon church. "But I got used to it real quick."
The 5-foot-10-inch, 185-pounder started in the Cougars' bullpen but eventually earned a spot in the starting rotation alongside another Las Vegas product, Basic High School graduate Jesse Craig (7-7, 4.70 ERA, 80 strikeouts, second team All-MWC).
"I started out as middle relief and then toward the end of the year I ended up starting the Thursday games," he said. "I loved starting. The relief was OK. I wasn't used to it but the starting was fun."
Muir's first trip back to Las Vegas was a memorable one as he helped spoil UNLV's home opener on April 6. He threw in relief in the first inning and pitched eight scoreless innings as BYU rallied to defeat the Rebels, 9-5. Muir allowed just four hits and was named the Sirius Satellite Radio Player of Game for his efforts, and was then named the MWC Pitcher of Week days later.
Muir, who graduated with honors from Cimarron-Memorial, said playing for former major leaguer Vance Law and his staff at BYU is a great experience.
"Coach Law is an amazing guy. He just loves his players and treats them as good as he can," Muir said. "He's just awesome. The whole coaching staff is pretty awesome."
And Law, who played Major League Baseball from 1980 to 1991, was pretty happy to have a freshman like Muir make such a big impact.
"Jordan worked very hard to earn the innings he got and ended up being one of our starters and earning Freshman All-American honors," Law said. "He had an outstanding year and summer and we expect great things from him again this year. He continues to impress and represent himself, his family and our program in a very positive way. We are fortunate to have him as a Cougar."
Despite having one of the most potent bats in Southern Nevada during his prep career, Muir thinks his success on the mound and his size make him better suited as a hurler for the Cougars.
"We had an amazing infield this year and next year we're going to have good guys too, so I'll probably stick to pitching. But hitting would be fun, too," he said. "It doesn't bother me that much. Pitching is really fun for me. I love it more than hitting."
To stay sharp this summer, Muir headed to upstate New York and Little Falls, a town about 30 minutes north of Cooperstown and the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Muir went 5-2 with a 2.68 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 57 innings pitched for the Diamond Miners.
Muir, who is majoring in Biology at BYU and was an All-MWC Academic pick, said he had an absolute blast in New York over the summer.
"It was fun up there. We played like 44 games in two months," he said. "The second week we were there, the whole town flooded and we got stranded there."
Muir said he worked on his repertoire of pitches with the Diamond Miners, where he was a second team All-Star selection.
"My pitching coach told me to work on my change-up and some of my off-speed stuff," he said. "I felt really good this summer."
Despite being back in his hometown and getting to see his family and friends for a couple of weeks, Muir was excited to get back to Provo to continue his growth as a student and athlete.
"I'm pretty pumped up," he said. "I'm ready to see everyone again and see my coaches and stuff and get to working again. It will be a really fun year I think."
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