Photo by: Trevor Birchett/MSU Athletics
Baseball Adds Four More All-America Honors
June 13, 2019 | Baseball
Small, Mangum and Foscue each earn fourth All-America honors, Ginn tabbed Freshman All-American for second time
STARKVILLE – The Mississippi State baseball trio of sophomore Justin Foscue, senior Jake Mangum and redshirt-junior Ethan Small each garnered All-America honors from D1Baseball, while freshman JT Ginn grabbed his second Freshman All-America honor from Perfect Game.
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Small earned his fourth first-team All-America honor from D1Baseball, while Mangum and Foscue were each tabbed second-team All-Americans by the publication. Mangum has earned second-team laurels from Baseball American and Perfect Game, while also grabbing a third-team selection from Collegiate Baseball. Foscue has grabbed second-team All-American honors from Collegiate Baseball, as well, and third-team accolades from Perfect Game and Baseball America.
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Ginn added his second Freshman All-America distinction from Perfect Game, just a two days after earning the publications National Freshman of the Year award. He is the first MSU baseball student-athlete to earn a national freshman of the year honor in program history.
The Collegiate Baseball Foundation's National Pitcher of the Year, Small became just the second Diamond Dawg pitcher to earn Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year in program history and was a first-team All-SEC selection. Small is the first Diamond Dawg to garner first-team All-America accolades since Jacob Lindgren did so from Baseball America and Perfect Game in 2014.
The 15th Diamond Dawg in program history to hear his name called in the first round, Small was the fifth MSU student-athlete drafted in the first round in the last eight years, joining Brent Rooker (2017), Hudson (2016), Hunter Renfroe (2013) and Stratton (2012).
Small has been up to the challenge each week as the No. 1 starter for the Bulldogs, posting a 10-2 record – including a 7-1 mark in SEC play – and a 1.76 ERA. The southpaw has now allowed more than three runs in a start all season long. Overall, he has limited the opposition to two-or-fewer runs in 16 of 17 starts. He is the first MSU pitcher since Ross Mitchell (13; 2013) reached double-digits in the win column.
Against ranked opponents, Small posted a 6-2 record and 1.48 ERA in 10 starts, with Mississippi State owning a 7-3 record in those games. Two of those three losses came in one-run games, while the other loss was a two-run loss at Arkansas. In 61 innings of work versus the nation's best teams, Small has allowed just 12 runs on 27 hits. He struck out 98 and walked just 18, limiting the opposition to a .131 batting average against.
On the career charts, Small owns 310 strikeouts and is just the third Diamond Dawg in program history to reach the 300-strikeout mark for a career, joining Eric Dubose (428; 1995-07) and Jeff Brantley (364; 1982-85). His 168 strikeouts this season are No. 2 on the MSU single-season list and sit No. 6 on. The SEC's single-season charts, trailing DuBose (174; 1996) on both lists.
Enjoying one of the storied careers in Southeastern Conference history, Mangum capped his final trek through the regular season with his third first-team All-SEC selection. He is the first Diamond Dawg to ever earn three, first-team All-SEC honors and is the only MSU baseball student-athlete to ever garner four selections to the All-SEC team, grabbing second-team honors as a sophomore.
Even more impressive, Mangum is just the 16 SEC baseball student-athlete to every earn three first-team all-conference selections since the conference was founded in 1933. The All-America honors in 2019 also make him one of seven Diamond Dawgs in program history to multiple All-America honors from the major reporting publications of college baseball.
During the regular season, Mangum moved his name atop the Mississippi State and Southeastern Conference all-time hits charts. He passed Jeffrey Rea (335; 2004-07) for the MSU record and LSU's Eddy Furniss (352; 1995-97) for the SEC career record. The switch-hitting center fielder has 378 hits to rank No. 5 all-time in NCAA history.
Mangum has 100-plus hits on the season for the second-straight year and is the first Diamond Dawg in program history to reach the 100-hits mark multiple times in a career. He piled up 101 in 2018, before totaling 103 in 2019. He is one of just four SEC baseball student-athletes to post back-to-back 100-hit seasons, joining Tennessee's Chris Burke and the LSU duo of Todd Walker and Wes Grisham.
Foscue had a breakout sophomore year, playing two positions on the infield during the 2019 campaign. He is the first Diamond Dawg to earn All-America honors at second base since 1998 when Brad Freeman garnered second-team honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
In starts at third base and second base, the right-handed hitter boosted his batting average nearly 100 points during his second season and his 14 home runs are the most in a single season since Brent Rooker hit 23 in 2017. A first-team All-SEC pick, he already owns career highs in average (.338), runs scored (65), doubles (22), home runs (14), hits (89), RBIs (59) and total bases (153). His 22 doubles also rank tied for No. 8 on the single-season charts.
After earning Co-National Freshman Pitcher of the Year from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper last week to become the first Diamond Dawg to earn any type of national freshman of the year honor, Ginn is now the first Diamond Dawg to earn the highest rookie honor from a national publication.
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The 36th Freshman All-American in Mississippi State history, Ginn was also named to the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper team last week. Just the second Diamond Dawg in program history to earn SEC Freshman of the Year, Ginn posted an 8-4 record during the regular season. He joined Mangum as the only two MSU baseball student-athletes to win the award, which was first handed out in 2000.
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An SEC All-Freshman Team selection, as well, Ginn has tied the Mississippi State freshman record for pitching victories during the 2019 campaign, as he his eight victories entering the College World Series equal the total by Paul Maholm (2001).
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Ginn became just the second MSU freshman to eclipse the 100-stikeout mark in his start versus LSU at the SEC Tournament, joining Eric DuBose (109; 1995) as the only two rookies to reach the century mark. His 103 strikeouts rank No. 18 overall on the single-season charts at Mississippi State and are the second-highest total by a freshman in the NCAA in 2019.
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In the 80 1/3 innings of work on the mound, he has walked just 18 batters and of his 69 hits allowed, only 12 have gone for extra bases. He has also limited the opponent to just 35 runs – 30 earned – and a .223 batting average against.
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Small earned his fourth first-team All-America honor from D1Baseball, while Mangum and Foscue were each tabbed second-team All-Americans by the publication. Mangum has earned second-team laurels from Baseball American and Perfect Game, while also grabbing a third-team selection from Collegiate Baseball. Foscue has grabbed second-team All-American honors from Collegiate Baseball, as well, and third-team accolades from Perfect Game and Baseball America.
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Ginn added his second Freshman All-America distinction from Perfect Game, just a two days after earning the publications National Freshman of the Year award. He is the first MSU baseball student-athlete to earn a national freshman of the year honor in program history.
The Collegiate Baseball Foundation's National Pitcher of the Year, Small became just the second Diamond Dawg pitcher to earn Southeastern Conference Pitcher of the Year in program history and was a first-team All-SEC selection. Small is the first Diamond Dawg to garner first-team All-America accolades since Jacob Lindgren did so from Baseball America and Perfect Game in 2014.
The 15th Diamond Dawg in program history to hear his name called in the first round, Small was the fifth MSU student-athlete drafted in the first round in the last eight years, joining Brent Rooker (2017), Hudson (2016), Hunter Renfroe (2013) and Stratton (2012).
Small has been up to the challenge each week as the No. 1 starter for the Bulldogs, posting a 10-2 record – including a 7-1 mark in SEC play – and a 1.76 ERA. The southpaw has now allowed more than three runs in a start all season long. Overall, he has limited the opposition to two-or-fewer runs in 16 of 17 starts. He is the first MSU pitcher since Ross Mitchell (13; 2013) reached double-digits in the win column.
Against ranked opponents, Small posted a 6-2 record and 1.48 ERA in 10 starts, with Mississippi State owning a 7-3 record in those games. Two of those three losses came in one-run games, while the other loss was a two-run loss at Arkansas. In 61 innings of work versus the nation's best teams, Small has allowed just 12 runs on 27 hits. He struck out 98 and walked just 18, limiting the opposition to a .131 batting average against.
On the career charts, Small owns 310 strikeouts and is just the third Diamond Dawg in program history to reach the 300-strikeout mark for a career, joining Eric Dubose (428; 1995-07) and Jeff Brantley (364; 1982-85). His 168 strikeouts this season are No. 2 on the MSU single-season list and sit No. 6 on. The SEC's single-season charts, trailing DuBose (174; 1996) on both lists.
Enjoying one of the storied careers in Southeastern Conference history, Mangum capped his final trek through the regular season with his third first-team All-SEC selection. He is the first Diamond Dawg to ever earn three, first-team All-SEC honors and is the only MSU baseball student-athlete to ever garner four selections to the All-SEC team, grabbing second-team honors as a sophomore.
Even more impressive, Mangum is just the 16 SEC baseball student-athlete to every earn three first-team all-conference selections since the conference was founded in 1933. The All-America honors in 2019 also make him one of seven Diamond Dawgs in program history to multiple All-America honors from the major reporting publications of college baseball.
During the regular season, Mangum moved his name atop the Mississippi State and Southeastern Conference all-time hits charts. He passed Jeffrey Rea (335; 2004-07) for the MSU record and LSU's Eddy Furniss (352; 1995-97) for the SEC career record. The switch-hitting center fielder has 378 hits to rank No. 5 all-time in NCAA history.
Mangum has 100-plus hits on the season for the second-straight year and is the first Diamond Dawg in program history to reach the 100-hits mark multiple times in a career. He piled up 101 in 2018, before totaling 103 in 2019. He is one of just four SEC baseball student-athletes to post back-to-back 100-hit seasons, joining Tennessee's Chris Burke and the LSU duo of Todd Walker and Wes Grisham.
Foscue had a breakout sophomore year, playing two positions on the infield during the 2019 campaign. He is the first Diamond Dawg to earn All-America honors at second base since 1998 when Brad Freeman garnered second-team honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
In starts at third base and second base, the right-handed hitter boosted his batting average nearly 100 points during his second season and his 14 home runs are the most in a single season since Brent Rooker hit 23 in 2017. A first-team All-SEC pick, he already owns career highs in average (.338), runs scored (65), doubles (22), home runs (14), hits (89), RBIs (59) and total bases (153). His 22 doubles also rank tied for No. 8 on the single-season charts.
After earning Co-National Freshman Pitcher of the Year from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper last week to become the first Diamond Dawg to earn any type of national freshman of the year honor, Ginn is now the first Diamond Dawg to earn the highest rookie honor from a national publication.
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The 36th Freshman All-American in Mississippi State history, Ginn was also named to the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper team last week. Just the second Diamond Dawg in program history to earn SEC Freshman of the Year, Ginn posted an 8-4 record during the regular season. He joined Mangum as the only two MSU baseball student-athletes to win the award, which was first handed out in 2000.
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An SEC All-Freshman Team selection, as well, Ginn has tied the Mississippi State freshman record for pitching victories during the 2019 campaign, as he his eight victories entering the College World Series equal the total by Paul Maholm (2001).
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Ginn became just the second MSU freshman to eclipse the 100-stikeout mark in his start versus LSU at the SEC Tournament, joining Eric DuBose (109; 1995) as the only two rookies to reach the century mark. His 103 strikeouts rank No. 18 overall on the single-season charts at Mississippi State and are the second-highest total by a freshman in the NCAA in 2019.
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In the 80 1/3 innings of work on the mound, he has walked just 18 batters and of his 69 hits allowed, only 12 have gone for extra bases. He has also limited the opponent to just 35 runs – 30 earned – and a .223 batting average against.
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Players Mentioned
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