Casey McElroy finished up summer school Monday, boarded a plane to Peoria, Ariz., on Tuesday morning, passed a physical, signed a sheet of paper, and now he’s a professional baseball player.

The former Auburn shortstop, who was drafted by the San Diego Padres with the 353th pick in the 11th round of the MLB Draft in June, said he found out the Padres agreed to a deal about two weeks ago.

So it was off to Peoria and the Padres’ Arizona League rookie-ball affiliate.

After his final, of course.

“I knew either the deal was going to get done, or I’d be heading back to Auburn,” McElroy said. “I had two pretty good choices and couldn’t really go wrong with either one. I found out and was pretty excited, obviously.

“Now here I am.”

McElroy, a three-year starter for the Tigers, closed out his Auburn career with his finest year.

The junior from Orlando, Fla., hit .370 with nine home runs and 53 RBIs last season, placing in the top 10 in the SEC in eight offensive categories and earning first-team All-SEC honor.

He finished his Auburn career with a .330 average, 25 home runs and 131 RBIs.

McElroy said the Padres came pretty close to his asking price and threw in the added incentive of paying for the rest of his schooling whenever the mass communications major decides he wants to go back and finish his degree.

“I knew if I got that, I would definitely sign,” McElroy said. “It was just difficult the whole summer not knowing where I’d be the following year, if the deal was going to get made. When they actually made the deal, it wasn’t a hard decision.”

Of course, there was also the matter of letting coach John Pawlowski know he’d have to do without the services of one of the team’s best hitters next season.

McElroy said Pawlowski, a sixth-round pick in the 1985 draft out of Clemson, was very understanding.

“I just said how much I enjoyed playing at Auburn the past three years, playing for him, and that I had the utmost respect for him and the program,” McElroy said. “He was very nice and very encouraging, telling me he really enjoyed everything I had given to the program and wishing me luck with everything. It was definitely a good conversation.”

The whirlwind’s just beginning for McElroy.

His days for the near future involve waking up in his hotel room at around 6 a.m., grabbing breakfast, walking across the street to the Padres’ training complex, taking batting practice, warming up, playing an 11 a.m. game – because it’s too hot in Arizona to start games any later – and walking back across the street to the hotel.

McElroy said this stop is temporary. The Padres said they wanted to get him some at-bats against live pitching to shake off any rust from not playing summer league baseball, then he’s ticketed for their short-season Class A affiliate in Oregon, the Eugene Emeralds.

One step closer to the majors.

“It’s obviously a dream come true to realize I’m getting that kind of respect and everything now,” McElroy said. “At the same time, it’s just another step towards my ultimate dream: to make it to the big leagues. I’m really excited to be here.

“It makes me hungry to move even further.”