Captain's Honors For Hancock
February 01, 2023 | Baseball
STARKVILLE – Being named a captain is one of the most prestigious honors that can be bestowed upon a player in sports.
Luke Hancock, a graduate student and multi-year starter for Mississippi State, will be sporting the eye-catching "C" on his jersey this season. As he prepares for his fifth year with the Diamond Dawgs, it signifies his proven ability to serve as the young team's leader both on and off the field. The new title is a distinction that could mean more to Hancock than nearly any other accolade during his past few seasons in the Maroon and White.
"It's one of the biggest accomplishments of my life, and I feel very honored to be able to wear the 'C' around here every day," Hancock said. "I don't know how many captains there have been in Mississippi State history, but I'm glad I'm one of them."
Hancock's eventual journey back to Starkville was still up in the air after the team closed the scorebook on a tough 2022 season and fell short of reaching the postseason for the first time since 2015. The catcher and first baseman expected to have the opportunity to take his talents to the pros, but he didn't hear his name called in the 2022 MLB Draft. The future was suddenly uncertain, but the opportunity to play another collegiate season was still on the table.
"I always knew in the back of my mind, I wanted to come back and play one more year here," Hancock said. "I didn't like the way that last year ended. I had a sour taste in my mouth at the end of the year, and so after the draft, after everything kind of settled down for a couple of weeks, me and (head coach Chris Lemonis) got on the phone and talked."
On the other end of the line, Lemonis had special plans in place for Hancock if he were to return. The coach was confident in his veteran's ability to help the team rebound and knew that the 2022 season was not the final legacy that Hancock wanted to leave.
"Luke is a Bulldog," Lemonis said. "Leaving the way he'd have to leave last year, I don't think that sat well with him."
Days later, Hancock officially shared his intention to stay with Mississippi State for one more year. Now, he's hoping that the ghosts of last year don't linger around as the group prepares to take the field in the coming weeks.
"It can be a fresh start, we just have to move past it," Hancock said. "It's a new year."
Since joining the Diamond Dawgs in 2019, Hancock has appeared in 158 games with 144 starts. He boasts a career .272 batting average with 141 hits, 112 RBIs, 94 runs scored and 17 home runs. One of the most notable aspects of Hancock's game is his ability to battle at the plate, making opposing pitchers run up their pitch counts and avoiding strikeouts more often than not. In fact, he averaged just one strikeout in every 10.8 at-bats last season to lead the SEC and rank 43rd nationally.
Although the first pitch of the season hasn't been thrown yet, the new captain has already issued his first orders to his crew.
"We know that we have a target on our back being Mississippi State, so we've got to go out there and hunt people down."
