Mississippi State’s Reese and Valincius Named Dick Howser Trophy Semifinalists

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Mississippi State has two players among 48 semifinalists for the Dick Howser Trophy, which honors college baseball’s top player, the school announced Tuesday. Ace Reese and Tomas Valincius are the Bulldogs’ representatives, marking the second consecutive year the team has had two semifinalists.

Reese, a junior third baseman from Canton, Texas, is batting .335 this season. He leads the Southeastern Conference with 21 doubles and ranks among the top in several categories nationally, including third in total bases (143), fourth in RBIs (63), and fifth in runs scored (61). Reese was also a semifinalist last year, along with teammate Noah Sullivan.

Valincius, a sophomore left-hander from Lockport, Illinois, owns an 8-2 record with a 2.52 ERA over 75 innings. He has 105 strikeouts and just 16 walks. Opponents are batting .209 against him. Valincius ranks second in the SEC in strikeouts and wins, and third in innings pitched.

Both players are among 15 SEC athletes named semifinalists. Mississippi State is one of 12 teams with multiple semifinalists this year. The finalists will be announced June 4, with the winner revealed June 12 on MLB Network.

Reese is the first Mississippi State player to be a semifinalist in multiple years. The school previously had two semifinalists in 2019, Jake Mangum and Ethan Small. Brent Rooker was the only Bulldog to reach the final round, doing so in 2017.

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