Mississippi State Baseball Stars Sims, Tanner Pick Up More Preseason Accolades

Two of Mississippi State's standout baseball players, Landon Sims and Logan Tanner, each picked up another preseason honor on Monday morning.

Each of the players was named Baseball America Preseason All-Americans. Right-handed pitcher Sims was named to the first team, while the organization named catcher Tanner to the third team. Both players have already received preseason all-American honors from Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game.

Out of all of the Diamond Dawgs returning for the 2022 season, Sims has been the most watched. Last season, the junior was one of the driving forces that led the team to the CWS National Championship victory. As a closer, Sims was often brought in during stressful situations to keep opposing teams at bay. In 25 appearances, he boasted a 5-0 record with 13 saves while allowing an earned run average of only 1.44. Sims' 100 strikeouts were among the best in the SEC, and he only walked 15 of 213 batters faced.

Tanner sits 60 feet away from Sims, and although his role on the team is completely different, he is just as talented. Defensively, Tanner is one of the top catchers in the nation. In 2021, he had a .995 fielding percentage with 700 putouts. He also caught 11 opposing runners attempting to steal. Tanner was also one of the Bulldogs' heavy hitters and played a huge role on the team offensively. He maintained a steady .287 batting average and drove in 53 runs while scoring 45 of his own on 70 hits. His 15 home runs were the best on the team.

Less than three weeks remain before these two stars-- along with the rest of the team-- take the field as the defending national champions. The expectations that have been placed on Sims and Tanner are high, but they will undoubtedly live up to them throughout the season.

Mississippi State's first game of the season will be against Long Beach State on Friday, Feb. 18 at Dudy Noble Field in Starkville.

Preseason honors keep rolling in for @landoosims and @19LoTan‼️#HailState ✖️ #18Days pic.twitter.com/CbnQfmP2nw
— Mississippi State Baseball (@HailStateBB) January 31, 2022

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