OVERLAND Park, Kan. – Missouri State's Max Knight is one of five finalists for the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award, the College Baseball Foundation announced Wednesday.
 
Knight, the Missouri Valley Conference co-Newcomer of the Year and a First Team all-league selection this season, batted .275 with 13 home runs, 46 RBIs and a .551 slugging percentag, adding 10 stolen bases.
 
The Bixby, Okla., native pitched in a team-high 24 games with two starts, going 5-2 with three saves, a 4.34 ERA, 58 strikeouts and .209 opponent average in 47.2 innings on the mound. He was voted by his teammates as the squad's Dave Dickensheet MSU Pitcher of the Year.
 
Knight is only player nationally with 45 innings pitched, 45 RBIs and 55 pitching strikeouts. He had a hit and a pitching appearance in the same game 15 times this season, including seven times with a home run, and was honored as the MVC Pitcher of the Week on March 31.
 
The award is named for former Washington State University standout John Olerud, who achieved success both as a first baseman and left-handed pitcher during the late 1980s. He was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.
 
2025 John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award Finalists
Name, Positions, Class, School, Player Hometown
• Bryce Calloway, RHP/OF, Senior, New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana
• Evan Dempsey, OF/RHP, Sophomore, Florida Gulf Coast, Tampa, Florida
• Ethan Hedges, IF/RHP, Junior, USC, Fountain Valley, California
• Max Knight, LHP/1B, Sophomore, Missouri State, Bixby, Oklahoma
• Justin Lehman, RHP/1B, Senior, Army West Point, Fort Mill, South Carolina