Photo by: Trevor Birchett/MSU Athletics
Duo Named to Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watchlist, Mangum Tabbed Senior CLASS Award Finalist
April 10, 2019 | Baseball
Mangum and Small among 40 student-athletes named to midseason watchlist for amateur baseball’s top award
by: Greg Campbell, Assistant Director/Communications
STARKVILLE – Off to one of the best starts in school history, the Mississippi State baseball program saw two student-athletes named to the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watchlist and senior Jake Mangum was named a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award.
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Mangum and redshirt-junior Ethan Small are both among the 40 midseason candidate for the Golden Spikes Awards, which is given to the top amateur baseball player in the country by USA Baseball in partnership with the Rod Dedeaux Foundation.
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Mangum is also a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award, which is bestowed upon an NCAA Division I senior that has made notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. Fans can vote for Mangum to win the award by clicking here.
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Mangum currently leads the NCAA with 64 hits on the season, while ranking among the top-25 nationally in seven total offensive categories. The Pearl, Mississippi native paces the SEC in batting average (.416), hits, runs scored (38), doubles (16), total bases (89) and is the toughest hitter in the conference to strike out, fanning just once every 19.3 at-bats.
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Mississippi State's career hits leader, Mangum moved into the top spot on State's career hits chart with his third hit in the series opener at Tennessee on April 5. His 336th hit pushed him past Jeffery Rea (335; 2004-07) and into No. 4 on the Southeastern Conference's all-time list. Mangum needs just 14 hits to eclipse LSU's Eddy Furniss' mark of 352 from 1995-98.
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Small is enjoying a solid third season in the maroon and white, leading the SEC in strikeouts and ranking among the top-35 nationally in six categories. The Lexington, Tennessee native sits No. 4 nationally with a conference-best 79 strikeouts, while his 14.81 strikeouts per nine innings ranks No. 2 nationally. He is also among the best in the nation at limiting the base on balls, ranking No. 23 in the NCAA with a 0.85 WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched).
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The No. 1 starter in the Diamond Dawgs weekend rotation, Small owns a 3-0 record and a 2.06 ERA through eight starts. He has six double-digit strikeout games and has posted six quality starts in eight tries. For his career, Small owns 221 strikeouts and is looking to become just the sixth MSU pitcher to amass 100 strikeouts in multiple seasons.
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The Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watchlist features 40 of the nation's top amateur players from the high school and college ranks, and includes 21 athletes whom have played their way onto the watch list since the preseason list was announced on February 5. The Golden Spikes Award Advisory Board will continue to maintain a rolling list of athletes, allowing players to play themselves into consideration for the award before announcing the semifinalists on May 15.
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An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
STARKVILLE – Off to one of the best starts in school history, the Mississippi State baseball program saw two student-athletes named to the Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watchlist and senior Jake Mangum was named a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award.
Â
Mangum and redshirt-junior Ethan Small are both among the 40 midseason candidate for the Golden Spikes Awards, which is given to the top amateur baseball player in the country by USA Baseball in partnership with the Rod Dedeaux Foundation.
Â
Mangum is also a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award, which is bestowed upon an NCAA Division I senior that has made notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. Fans can vote for Mangum to win the award by clicking here.
Â
Mangum currently leads the NCAA with 64 hits on the season, while ranking among the top-25 nationally in seven total offensive categories. The Pearl, Mississippi native paces the SEC in batting average (.416), hits, runs scored (38), doubles (16), total bases (89) and is the toughest hitter in the conference to strike out, fanning just once every 19.3 at-bats.
Â
Mississippi State's career hits leader, Mangum moved into the top spot on State's career hits chart with his third hit in the series opener at Tennessee on April 5. His 336th hit pushed him past Jeffery Rea (335; 2004-07) and into No. 4 on the Southeastern Conference's all-time list. Mangum needs just 14 hits to eclipse LSU's Eddy Furniss' mark of 352 from 1995-98.
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Small is enjoying a solid third season in the maroon and white, leading the SEC in strikeouts and ranking among the top-35 nationally in six categories. The Lexington, Tennessee native sits No. 4 nationally with a conference-best 79 strikeouts, while his 14.81 strikeouts per nine innings ranks No. 2 nationally. He is also among the best in the nation at limiting the base on balls, ranking No. 23 in the NCAA with a 0.85 WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched).
Â
The No. 1 starter in the Diamond Dawgs weekend rotation, Small owns a 3-0 record and a 2.06 ERA through eight starts. He has six double-digit strikeout games and has posted six quality starts in eight tries. For his career, Small owns 221 strikeouts and is looking to become just the sixth MSU pitcher to amass 100 strikeouts in multiple seasons.
Â
The Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watchlist features 40 of the nation's top amateur players from the high school and college ranks, and includes 21 athletes whom have played their way onto the watch list since the preseason list was announced on February 5. The Golden Spikes Award Advisory Board will continue to maintain a rolling list of athletes, allowing players to play themselves into consideration for the award before announcing the semifinalists on May 15.
Â
An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Players Mentioned
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