STARKVILLE — Mississippi State junior right-handed closer Jonathan Holder received his third 2014 preseason All-America honor Monday when he was named a second-team pick to the Perfect Game All-America Team.
MSU’s career and single-season saves record holder also has earned first-team praise from the NCBWA and Louisville Slugger.
Holder, the incumbent closer on the preseason No. 2 team in the country, was a 2013 consensus All-American. He also earned 2012 consensus Freshman All-America honors. The Gulfport native enters this season 23 saves shy of tying UC Irvine’s Blair Erickson (2004-07) for the all-time NCAA saves record (53). He also is 13 saves short of tying South Carolina’s Matt Price (2009-12) for the all-time SEC saves record (43). The Bulldogs are 80-0 when leading after the eighth inning with Holder on the team. The 6-foot-2, 229-pounder is a Perfect Game Top 250 prospect for the 2014 Major League Baseball First-Year Player draft.
A two-time member of the SEC Academic Honor Roll, Holder also holds the school record for consecutive scoreless innings (27 1/3) as a freshman in 2012. In 58 career relief appearances, he has a 1.19 ERA and has struck out 37 percent of batters he has faced (120 of 324). In conference play, he boasts a 0.23 ERA in 25 games, and is holding opponents to a .159 average with 52 strikeouts in 38 2/3 innings.
Holder and MSU will participate in the first public team practice of the season at 4 p.m. Friday. Fans are encouraged to watch the practice at Dudy Noble Field.
Junior left-handed pitcher Ross Mitchell also has been named a second-team preseason All-American by NCBWA and a third-team preseason All-American by Louisville Slugger.
MSU will begin its 124th season at 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14, against Hofstra at Dudy Noble Field.
For more information on the program, follow the team on social media by searching for “HailStateBB” on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. All-Access coverage of the program can also be found on FanCred.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.