Over the past year, there are two athletes that seem to be the talk of the town in Starkville, Mississippi. One is the highly-praised Dak Prescott, but the other is redshirt junior baseball player, Brent Rooker.
Rooker has been on fire this season, but no one expected him to have the season he is having so far. Rooker is hitting .432 on the season and he is statistically one of the best players in the NCAA. He is second in the country in home runs with 16 and leads the country in RBIs with 57.
Rooker’s best asset is his ability to hit for extra bases. Rooker has 19 doubles on the season and his slugging percentage is at an astounding .957. Though most would think all this success would get to his head, Rooker remains humble and thankful for all the help he has received in his baseball career.
Rooker, who is from Germantown, Tennessee, grew up playing baseball in the small town of Cordova, Tennessee, at Evangelical Christian School. While at ECS he won a state championship in baseball and also led his team to a championship in football as the starting quarterback. He is a pure athlete with a high baseball IQ. When asked about managing all the fame and glory he’s been receiving this year, Rooker showed his humility.
“If I can show up and do whatever I can to put our team in a position to win then I’ve had a successful day that day,” Rooker said “Just take it one day at a time and not look at my season as a whole.”
Rooker had a monster of a game versus Kentucky over Super Bulldog Weekend when he hit three home runs, including a grand slam. A moment he could justifiably take all the glory for himself, Rooker praised his teammates instead.
“I’ve got a good supporting cast around me that’s allowing me to put up some numbers,” Rooker said. “I’ve got guys on base all the time I can drive in, and guys are hitting great behind me, and it makes people pitch to me a little bit. Give credit where credit is due. As a team we’re performing really well, which has allowed me to continue to see the ball really well.”
Before the season started, Rooker was not really on many fans radars, with sophomore Jake Mangum receiving most of the preseason attention. Now it is the Rooker and Mangum show. After one of Mississippi State’s games against Tennessee Mangum told the media just how important Rooker is to their team.
“He is one of the best hitters I have ever played with. He is a special player and he is a lot of fun to play with and I’m really glad he is on our team.” Magnum said “You see it at the plate, he has evolved as a hitter and he is the biggest threat in the SEC right now.”
Many people thought it would be hard for any player to have the success Rooker is having after a new coach stepped onto the scene.
Head coach Andy Cannizaro is in the midst of his first season at Mississippi State, and he realizes the talent and ability Rooker brings to the plate every game. Between talking to Rooker and Cannizaro it is easy to tell how much Rooker studies baseball and how high his baseball IQ is.
“What he is doing right now it so special, it is an honor to watch him hit every single day,” Cannizaro said after the Kentucky series. “We keep talking about how smart of a hitter he is, he processes information so well, he is not missing pitches, he is confident, he has a plan, he is executing his game plan right now to perfection. It really is one of the most special things I have seen a hitter do.”
The season is not even close to over, however.Rooker has the opportunity to build on what has already been an unbelievable year.
His name is mentioned amongst the nation’s best players to win the Golden Spikes Award. The Bulldogs just took two out of three games in Colombia, South Carolina, against the well-renown baseball program of Univeristy of South Carolina this past weekend. They will travel to Mobile, Alabama, to play South Alabama tonight. After that they will return to Dudy Noble Field where they will prepare for their weekend series versus the Univeristy of Alabama.
Rooker and the rest of the MSU basbeall team will look to build on the monumental season they have had so far.
