Bears sophomore Jake Burger was one of nine NCAA Division I baseball standouts to earn district player of the year recognition from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Friday. Burger was named NCBWA's 2016 District VI Player of the Year after posting one of the most dominant offensive seasons in MSU history, becoming the first Bear to claim the honor since Nick Petree in 2012.
A second-team All-America pick by Collegiate Baseball and a third-team honoree by Baseball America, Burger is just the fourth Missouri State player overall (along with Petree in 2011-13, Mark Bailey in 1980 and 1982 and Ken Watkins in 1969-70) to garner All-America recognition in multiple years. He was a semifinalist for both the Dick Howser Trophy and USA Baseball’s Golden Spikes Award this spring after clubbing 21 homers, good for the No. 2 spot on the Division I home run chart. The sophomore also leads the MVC and ranks among the national leaders in hits (82), runs scored (59), RBIs (72) and total bases (162). Additionally, he batted .349 overall and logged a team-high 24 multi-hit games and 19 multi-RBI performances, including 16 in which he drove in at least three runs.
The Chesterfield, Mo., product was tabbed MVC Defensive Player of the Year and was a first-team all-conference pick of the league’s coaches at third base for the second season in a row. Burger became the second Bear in as many years to be named the league’s top defensive player after committing just two errors in 138 total chances this spring, good for a .986 fielding percentage, including a string of 34 consecutive error-free games to wrap up the season. He was cited for Valley Player of the Week honors three times this spring and was selected to compete for the nation's premier summer collegiate squad in USA Baseball's 2016 Collegiate National Team.
Joining Burger as NCBWA District Players of the year are: District I: SS Charles LeBlanc (Pittsburgh); District II: C R.J. Devish (Rutgers); District III: SP/1B Brendan McKay (Louisville) and SP Logan Shore (Florida); District IV: OF Seth Beer (Clemson) and 3B Will Craig (Wake Forest); District V: SP Eric Lauer (Kent State); District VII: 3B Boomer White (Texas A&M); District VIII: C Chris Devito (New Mexico) and District IX: RP Troy Rallings (Washington).
NCBWA districts are divided as follows: District I: Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania; District II: Connecticut, West Virginia, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, District of Columbia; III: Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida; IV: Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland; V: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin; VI: Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota; VII: Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana; VIII: Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, Montana; District IX: California, Oregon, Washington, Hawai'i, Arizona, Alaska.
Missouri State concluded its 2016 season as the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament runner-up with an overall record of 38-21, marking the 28th time in 34 seasons under head coach Keith Guttin the Bears have reached the 30-win mark.
