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Brent Rooker Becomes first SEC Player of the Year in Mississippi State History

By Cooper Ashcraft

Jul 1, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Detailed view of the baseball bat of San Francisco Giants outfielder Gregor Blanco against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 1, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Detailed view of the baseball bat of San Francisco Giants outfielder Gregor Blanco against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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Minutes after winning the Boo Ferriss Trophy, Brent Rooker is officially announced as the 2017 SEC Player of the Year. Rooker becomes the first Bulldog in Mississippi State history to ever win the prestigious honor.

A year in which the SEC saw Brent Rooker lead the league in eight offensive categories, saw him voted player of the year of the league.

Rooker had not only one of the best seasons in Mississippi State history, but also had one of the best years in the history of the SEC.

Rooker led the league with a .415 batting average, 73 RBIs, 20 home runs, and was even tied for first in stolen bases with 18. It is not often a guy leads the league in batting average and home runs and batting average, and even more rare a guy leads the league in home runs and stolen bases.

Rooker currently leads the league in the three triple crown categories, which hasn’t been done since some guy named Rafael Palmeiro did it for the Bulldogs in 1984. Although the triple crown isn’t decided until after the College World Series, Rooker seems to be a shoe in to win that as well.

Related Story: Rooker wins Ferriss Trophy

To put Rooker’s numbers into perspective: second place in batting average is Evan White at .385, second in RBIs is Braden Shewmake with 64, and second in home runs is Greg Deichman with 17.

Even more impressive is his slugging percentage. Rooker currently sits at .873, while Evan White comes in a distant second with .661. That is over 200 points higher than second best. Pure ridiculousness.

In addition to winning player of the year today, Rooker was selected for first team All-SEC along with teammate Ryan Gridley.

Jake Mangum, the 2016 SEC Batting Champion, was also selected as part of the second team All-SEC and SEC All-Defensive team.

Former Mississippi State assistant Nick Mingione earned Coach of the Year honors for his efforts at Kentucky this season.

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