Mississippi State Baseball Second Baseman RJ Yeager Named a Ferriss Trophy Finalist
Mississippi State baseball standout RJ Yeager was named a Ferriss Trophy finalist on Monday morning.
The second baseman was one of five nominees listed as finalists for the award, which is presented to the Most Outstanding College Player in the state of Mississippi. The award has been given for 17 years and is named in memory of Dave "Bo" Ferriss, a former MLB star and coach at Delta State University.
Yeager has proven himself as one of the top baseball players in Mississippi throughout the season. The senior transfer from Mercer quickly adjusted to SEC play and leads the league with 41 hits and 13 home runs in conference play alone.
Overall, Yeager has played in 51 games for the Diamond Dawgs. He leads the team with a .317 batting average and 17 home runs on the season. He has totaled 52 RBI on 59 hits while also accounting for 37 runs. Yeager has also had 14 doubles and one triple on the season.
From a defensive standpoint, Yeager's .988 fielding percentage at second base is nearly perfect. He has totaled 72 putouts on the season with 94 assists while picking up just two errors. The infielder has also turned 19 double plays.
Mississippi State has a great history regarding the Ferriss Trophy: seven individuals have won the award eight times, which is the most by any school in Mississippi. The most recent winner of the award was outfielder Tanner Allen in 2021. Jake Mangum was selected as the recipient of the Ferriss Trophy in both 2016 and 2019, becoming the only student-athlete to win the award multiple times. Yeager looks to add his name to the record books when the trophy is presented on May 23 in Jackson.
The other finalists for the award are Ole Miss first baseman Tim Elko and a slew of pitchers: Tanner Hall of Southern Miss, Delta State's Harrison Haley and Brett Sanchez from Belhaven.