Brent Rooker Wins 2017 SEC Triple Crown, Second Ever to Win the Crown

(Photo Courtesy: MSU Athletics)

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI/MSU Athletics) – The first Southeastern Conference player to ever surpass 20 home runs, 30 doubles and 75 RBIs in a single season, Brent Rooker has claimed the SEC triple crown by leading the league in batting average (.387), home runs (23) and RBIs (82).

Rooker is the second person ever to claim the SEC triple crown, joined by fellow Diamond Dawg Rafael Palmeiro who accomplished the feat in 1984. Rooker’s league-best batting average also gives Mississippi State back-to-back SEC batting champions as Jake Mangum hit .408 in 2016.

A native of Germantown, Tennessee, Rooker also finished his stellar season with a school-record 30 doubles. His 96 hits was eighth in program history for hits in a single season, while his 23 home runs was fifth in the MSU record books. Rooker was also the first Division I player to record 20 home runs, 30 doubles and 75 RBIs in a single season since Clemson’s Khali Green in 2002.

The redshirt junior has had a busy award season as he has been named National Player of the Year by Collegiate Baseball and MSU’s first-ever Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, in addition to First Team All-America honors from five publications. Rooker was also named First Team All-SEC and First Team All-South Region by the American Baseball Coaches Association.

Rooker was a first round selection by the Minnesota Twins in the 2017 MLB Draft on May 12 after having been a 38th round pick in the 2016 draft.

A finalist for the prestigious Golden Spikes Award, honoring the top amateur baseball player in the country, Rooker will look to add to his decorated season when the award is presented on Thursday, June 29 at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.