STARKVILLE — “I don’t coach Ace, but I wish I did,” former Mississippi State head coach Ron Polk said of current Mississippi State slugger Ace Reese.
Reese was recognized as a finalist for the Ferriss Trophy at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum on Monday.
Southern Miss pitcher J.B. Middleton came away with the Ferriss Trophy, which is awarded annually to the most outstanding college baseball player in Mississippi, beating out Reese, USM teammate Nick Monistere, Ole Miss third baseman Luke Hill and Delta State pitcher Drake Fontenot.
Though the spotlight was on the nominees, Polk, a College Baseball Hall of Famer, stole the show, filling in for interim head coach Justin Parker with a near stand-up comedy routine of a speech. He took the opportunity to remove himself from consideration to be the next Mississippi State head coach, and remarked to the Ole Miss contingent that he’ll be in the radio booth next year watching the Bulldogs beat them, and also highlighted Reese’s most recent performance in a sweep at Mizzou.
“Did you know he hit .402 in the SEC this year?” Polk said of Reese. “.402. We can thank the Missouri pitching staff for a little of that this past weekend. They were bad. Everybody from Missouri, I’m sorry, but they’re not very good.”
Reese hammered the Tigers with eight hits and six RBIs in the series sweep, but it’s only his latest offering in an impressive sophomore campaign.
Though he missed out on the main prize of the night, Reese was recognized for his performances with an All-SEC first team selection by conference coaches, the only Bulldog named to an all-conference team, and received the SEC Newcomer of the Year award.
“I like him because he doesn’t call me ‘Coach Polk,’ he calls me ‘The Legend,’” Polk continued. “It makes me feel so good every time he says that. He’s here because he’s an outstanding SEC baseball player at the college level. Not only is he a great player, he’s a quality young man.”
Parker and the rest of the Bulldogs were on their way to Hoover, Ala., for the SEC Tournament, but Reese’s family made the trip to be with him for the ceremony.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever met a better baseball family, and I’ve been in this business a long time, than the Reeses,” Polk said. “They come to every game, all the way from Canton, Texas… They’ve been everywhere for Ace, they love the boy, as we all do.”
Reese takes a career-best 21-game hitting streak into the SEC Tournament this week, boasting team highs at the plate with a .369 average, 76 hits, 21 home runs and 66 RBIs.
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