After hearing of his national honor on Wednesday, former Gainesville High catcher Michael Curry said he had a different response than he normally would in receiving any other kind of award.

“Usually, if I receive an accolade, it’s like, ‘Cool,’” Curry said. “When I got this, it was like, ‘Holy crap!’

“I don’t want to say shocked, but it felt good.”

Curry, now behind the plate for the University of Georgia, was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper.

Curry led the Bulldogs and ranked third in the Southeastern Conference with 11 home runs. His home run total was fifth in the nation among freshmen, and was the most by a rookie Bulldog since 2004.

He hit .262 and was second for the Bulldogs with 34 RBIs. Last month, he was named to the Freshman All-SEC team by league coaches.

Even though the proof was there that he earned the honor, Curry still questioned it. But, admittedly, that’s just because he’s hard on himself.

“I felt like I earned it. But did I really earn it? That’s just me,” he said.

Regardless of trying to convince himself he deserved it, Curry said he and his family were both happy.

Curry is no stranger to national acclaim as he was named National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball this season. He also earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors twice.

Since he’s been honored with the best of the best newcomers in college baseball, Curry first thought about “what I did bad, where I failed.” Then, he “stepped back and tried to draw out all the good things and the accomplishments.”

Now, he feels an obligation to prove why he was listed with the others, such as Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year and Freshman Co-Player of the Year Seth Beer, who is from Cumming.

“Now I need to live up to this hype,” Curry said. “I don’t know what it is about me, but there’s a burning fire in me. I have that award, but now I feel like I need to go out and take more cuts. I want more, more and more.”

As for how he’s going to top this season, Curry said he’s not setting any numbers as his goals for the 2017 season. But he does have one goal.

“As far as next year, and I’ve talked to coach (Scott) Stricklin about next year a lot, this is going to be my team,” Curry said. “I don’t want to worry about myself, but I want to worry about the team. I want to carry the team. I want to be the leader of this team and I plan to be the leader of this team.”

The Bulldogs fell to Ole Miss in the first round of the 2016 SEC Tournament, ending the team’s season. In order for the Bulldogs to get back into the NCAA Tournament, Curry said the team needs a bunch of overachievers.

“All the players need to have that determination and the overachieving attitude,” Curry said. “There’s never enough. You’re never working hard enough. Dedicate yourself and keep working. We have the talent, we just need to come together as a team. That’s what I want to be responsible for.”

Before Curry can get started on next year, he’ll have to deal with being named an All-American, something he’s definitely settling into.

“How awesome is it to have ‘All-American’ before my name? I try not to get too into it, but when I lay my head down on the pillow tonight, I know it’s a blessing for sure.”