Louisville Slugger All-America Teams

TUCSON, Ariz. - Bears sophomore Jake Burger became just the third player in Missouri State history to garner All-America recognition in back-to-back seasons Thursday, when Collegiate Baseball tabbed the third baseman for Second-Team Louisville Slugger All-America honors.

Burger, who picked up a third-team All-America citation from Collegiate Baseball as a freshman in 2015, joins Ken Watkins (1969-70) and Nick Petree (2012-13) as the only Bears to garner postseason All-America honors in consecutive seasons. He is just the fourth MSU player overall (along with Mark Bailey in 1980 and 1982) to garner All-America team selections in multiple years.

A semifinalist for both the Dick Howser Trophy and USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award this spring, Burger turned in one of the top all-around seasons in the country this spring en route to picking up All-America recognition for the second-consecutive year. MSU's third baseman clubbed 21 homers this season and currently shares the No. 2 spot on the Division I home run chart. The sophomore also leads the MVC and ranks among the national leaders in hits (82), runs scored (59), RBIs (72) and total bases (162). Additionally, he batted .349 overall and logged a team-high 24 multi-hit games and 19 multi-RBI performances, including 16 in which he drove in at least three runs.

The Chesterfield, Mo., product was tabbed MVC Defensive Player of the Year and was a first-team all-conference pick of the league's coaches for the second season in a row. Burger became the second Bear in as many years to be named the league's top defensive player after committing just two errors in 138 total chances this spring, good for a .986 fielding percentage, including a string of 34 consecutive error-free games to wrap up the season. He was cited for Valley Player of the Week honors three times this spring and was selected to compete for the nation's premier summer collegiate squad in USA Baseball's 2016 Collegiate National Team.

Missouri State concluded its 2016 season last weekend as the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament runner-up with an overall record of 38-21, marking the 28th time in 34 seasons under head coach Keith Guttin the Bears have reached the 30-win mark.