Biography
Honors:
• NCAA Springfield Regional All-Tournament Team (2015)
• MVC Player of the Week (March 2, 2015)
• Coors MSU Player of the Week (March 2, 2015)
• MVC Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll (2014)
2016: Graham turned in a career-best junior campaign, batting .300 with five homers and 37 RBIs while starting 52 games in the MSU outfield ... Also posted career-highs in steals (4), hits (61), runs scored (41), doubles (9) and triples (4) ... Ranked fourth in the Valley in triples and rated among the top 15 MVC players in hit by pitch (10), runs scored and RBIs as well ... Logged a team-best four pinch hits in five at-bats ... Batted .349 and slugged .538 in the Bears' 30 games at Hammons Field ... Totaled 15 multi-hit performances and 11 multi-RBI efforts ... Registered a career-long 14-game hit streak, Feb. 20-March 16, hitting .389 (21-for-54) with 14 RBIs during the stretch ... Started the season with four hits and five RBIs in the Bears' three-game sweep at Central Arkansas (Feb. 19-20), homering and driving in three runs in the finale ... Ended his hitting streak with back-to-back three-hit games against Western Illinois (March 15-16), going 6-for-10 in the two-game sweep for MSU ... Also matched his career high for hits with a 3-for-3 day against Illinois State (May 21), just one day after going 2-for-3 with a double, triple, two RBIs and three runs scored against the Redbirds ... Went 2-for-3 with a homer, tweo RBIs and two runs scored in MSU's 14-6 victory over Arkansas (May 3) ... Caught fire late in the MVC Championship, hitting .500 (5-for-10) in MSU's final three games, including a home run in the title game that handed the Bears an early lead over Dallas Baptist.
2015: Emerged as a legitimate two-way threat for the Bears as a sophomore, starting 42 games and hitting .273 with four home runs and 31 RBIs while playing lock-down defense in right field … Recorded 10 multi-hit games and seven multi-RBI performances … Logged hits in four straight games, Feb. 21-28, hitting .571 (8-for-14) … Came off the bench to reach safely in all three of his plate appearances vs. Little Rock (Feb. 21), going doubling and driving in a pair while walking twice in a 17-4 win ... Came within a double of hitting for the cycle against UCA (Feb. 28), finishing the day with career highs of four hits, four runs scored and three RBIs to earn MVC Player of the Week and Coors MSU Player of the Week honors (March 2) … Had three hits in four at-bats, including a home run, to help the Bears claim a 3-2, series-clinching win over Wright State (March 7) … Registered a pair of mutli-hit games the week of March 23-29, going 2-for-3 with a pair of walks vs. Kansas (March 24) and 3-for-6 with an RBI to kick off a three-game road sweep of Jacksonville (March 27) … Recorded at least one RBI in five straight games, March 24-31 … Scored three times in a 7-5 win at Evansville (April 11) as part of a three-game Valley road sweep … Belted a solo shot — his career-best fourth homer of the year — and turned in a diving catch that earned ESPN SportsCenter top play honors in a 13-8 win over Missouri (April 28) … Drew at least one walk in seven straight games, May 1-10, and reached base safely in nine consecutive games overall, April 28-May 14 … Named to the NCAA Springfield Regional’s All-Tournament team after batting .444 (4-for-9) with two RBIs and two runs scored to help the Bears sweep the field and advance to their second Division I Super Regional appearance … Drove in the tying runs with a two-out single in MSU’s 5-3 win over Iowa (May 30), following a 2-for-3 day against Canisius in the Bears’ NCAA opener the previous day … Had a hit in each of the Bears’ three Fayetteville Super Regional contests and drove in three of the clubs’ nine runs in the series against Arkansas (June 5-7).
2014: Saw action in 36 games, including 20 starts, as a freshman ... Logged a .330 on-base percentage ... Recorded his first career hit via a solo home run at Oral Roberts (April 2) to begin a three-game hit streak ... Registered a hit in seven of nine games, April 2-23 ... Singled and scored in the first inning at Missouri (April 8) in his first start in the leadoff slot ... Reached base safely in seven of 10 plate appearances over a two-game stretch vs. Kansas and Illinois State (April 20-23) ... Drew a pair of walks and stole his lone base of the season before doubling and scoring as part of a three-run rally in the ninth inning that lifted the Bears to a 6-5 come-from-behind win at Kansas (April 23) ... Delivered a season-best two hits in four at-bats May 2 at Dallas Baptist after scoring two runs at Little Rock (April 30) the previous game ... Walked and scored a first-inning run before singling home another in the sixth as part of MSU's 5-3 win over Kansas (May 7) ... Named to the Missouri Valley Conference Academic Honor Roll in recognition of his work in the classroom ... Hit .281 in 45 games for Morehead City (Coastal Plain League) this past summer, notching team highs for hits, doubles and runs scored.
Background: Batted .420 and swiped 31 bases as a senior at Edwardsville (Ill.) High School, picking up First-Team All-Southwestern Conference and all-area laurels in the process ... Named co-MVP of the PNC Bank High School Baseball Showcase at Busch Stadium in June ... Helped Edwardsville's Post 199 American Legion club to an Illinois state title and a second-place regional finish in 2013.
Personal: Blake Riley Graham is the son of Scott Graham and Debbie Herndon ... Born June 5, 1995 in Alton, Ill. ... Father played soccer at UMSL ... Majoring in psychology at MSU.
