Reese, Valincius Named Ferriss Trophy Finalists
May 12, 2026 | Baseball
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State's Ace Reese and Tomas Valincius have both been selected as finalists for the Ferriss Trophy, which is presented annually to the top collegiate baseball player in the state.
Reese, who was also a finalist for the award last year, is batting .335 this season. The junior third baseman from Canton, Texas is leading the Southeastern Conference with 21 doubles and is third in total bases (143), fourth in RBIs (63), fifth in runs (61), sixth in home runs (18) and slugging (.704), eighth in OPS (1.134) and ninth in hits (68).
In 13 starts, Valincius owns an 8-2 record and a 2.52 earned run average with 105 strikeouts and just 16 walks across 75 innings. Opposing hitters are batting just .209 against him. The sophomore left-hander from Lockport, Illinois ranks second in the SEC in strikeouts and wins, third in innings and WHIP (0.99) and fourth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.56).
The Ferriss Trophy winner will be announced on May 18 at 11:30 a.m. at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in Jackson.
An MSU player has won the Ferriss Trophy nine times during its 21 years of existence, the most of any program. Former Diamond Dawgs to claim the Ferriss Trophy are Thomas Berkery (2006), Ed Easley (2007), Chris Stratton (2012), Hunter Renfroe (2013), Jake Mangum (2016, 2019), Brent Rooker (2017), Tanner Allen (2021) and Dakota Jordan (2024).
Mangum is the only two-time winner of the Ferriss Trophy.
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