Mann Honored as Second-Team All-SEC Selection

HOOVER, Ala. – After turning in one of the more memorable power displays in Missouri baseball history, graduate third baseman Luke Mann has been tabbed by the Southeastern Conference head coaches as a Second-Team All-SEC selection, the league announced on Monday.

The St. Louis product becomes the second Tiger infielder in as many years to earn all-conference honors from the SEC, joining 2022 second-team shortstop Josh Day. Mann also becomes just the second Mizzou pure position player to earn All-SEC laurels since the Tigers joined the league in 2013.

Mann currently leads the Tigers in hitting (.318), runs scored (54), hits (64), home runs (21) and total bases (140), posting a 1.134 OPS, while also registering a career-best seven steals this spring.

Most notably, Mann has climbed to the top of the Tigers’ career home run chart, while his season total of 21 round-trippers that is currently tied for the second-best in Mizzou history entering SEC Tournament play. Last Friday at Auburn, the St. Louis product belted the 49th homer of his MU career, matching Jacob Priday’s 15-year-old Mizzou record.

In all, Mann has recorded four multi-home run performances this spring, including a three-homer effort that was part of a four-hit night at No. 11 South Carolina on March 24. He drove in a career-high seven runs at Texas A&M on April 15, before homering in six consecutive games, May 2-13. That streak fell just one shy of Griffin Moore’s MU record of seven-straight games with a home run, but nevertheless helped Mann earn SEC Co-Player of the Week and Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week recognition.

Mann’s career-best 21 homers this spring is tied for second MU’s single-season list with Dave Silvestri’s 1988 total, trailing only Ryan Fry, who hit 27 long balls in 1998 to top the chart.

Mann, who also earned preseason All-SEC recognition from the conference’s coaches, logged a career-best 12-game hit streak (Feb. 24-March 15) and has 18 multi-hit games this season.

In addition to Mann’s honor from the conference, graduate first baseman Hank Zeisler earned a spot on the SEC’s  2023 Baseball Community Service Team, which was announced last Wednesday. The team honors student-athletes who give back to their community through superior service efforts.

During his first season with the Missouri program, Zeisler has made an immediate impact, both on and off the diamond. He has assisted as a volunteer with the Downtown Optimist Club during Christmas tree drive, as well as the Paxton Keely Comet Carnival as a game attendant.

The Kentfield, Calif., native also assisted Mizzou Athletics in a variety of roles, including participating in the department’s Mental Health Awareness program and Mizzou Baseball’s Alumni Golf Tournament.

UP NEXT

Mizzou will open play at the 2023 SEC Baseball Tournament on Tuesday (May 23), when it takes on fifth-seeded Auburn in the final game of the day at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. Single-session tickets for the SEC Tournament are available through Ticketmaster.

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