Mississippi State Baseball Reels In Multiple SEC Awards

After a fantastic 45-11 2019 season, the Mississippi State baseball team had a pair of players selected for awards, as the Southeastern Conference announced its individual award recipients and all-conference teams for baseball on Monday.

Redshirt-junior pitcher Ethan Small is the 2019 SEC Pitcher of the Year and pitcher JT Ginn has been named 2019 SEC Freshman of the Year.

Small, a native of Lexington, Tennessee, posted an 8-1 record and a 1.84 ERA in 14 starts on the mound. He threw 83 innings and struck out 139 batters. His 139 strikeouts were the most in the SEC and ranked No. 2 nationally in the regular season, while his 1.84 ERA ranks third in the SEC.

Ginn, a native of Brandon, Mississippi, tied the Mississippi State freshman record for pitching victories during the 2019 season, as he earned an 8-3 record in 14 starts on the mound. He struck out 95 batters in 75 innings of work to rank No. 10 in the SEC. His 3.12 ERA, along with his .217 batting average allowed both ranked among the top-15 in the SEC.

The Diamond Dawgs had four players named All-SEC First Team. Small was joined on the All-SEC first team by senior centerfielder Jake Mangum, sophomore first baseman Tanner Allen and sophomore second baseman Justin Foscue. Mangum was also named to the SEC’s All-Defensive Team, while Ginn was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team.

Mangum, a native of Pearl, Mississippi, led the SEC in hits (95), ranked second in batting average (.375) and stolen bases (21), and third in runs scored (65) and doubles (20).

Allen, a native of Theodore, Alabama, hit .348 this year with 51 runs scored, 20 doubles, six home runs and 59 RBIs. He ranked among the top-five in the SEC in hits, RBIs and doubles, while his batting average was sixth highest in the conference.

Foscue, a native of Huntsville, Alabama, finished with career highs in batting average (.348), runs scored (58), doubles (21), home runs (14), hits (81), RBIs (56) and total bases (144). His batting average, runs scored, hits, RBIs, doubles, home runs and total bases all ranked in the top-10 of the SEC.

The Diamond Dawgs are now set for the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama this week. MSU earned the No. 4 seed and will play in the final game of the day on Wednesday, facing the winner of the LSU/South Carolina game on Tuesday.