Honors
• First-Team All-MVC (2018)
• MVC Championship All-Tournament Team (2018)
• MVC Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll (2016)
2019: Privitera started all 56 games on the Bears’ infield as a junior, turning in career-best totals for hits (53), doubles (11), triples (3), home runs (1) and RBIs (25) ... Led MSU with 17 multi-hit games, with the Bears going 12-5 in those contests ... Ranked fifth in the MVC with his three triples, while his 28 double plays turned rated seventh in the league ... Hit .291 vs. right-handed pitching and .287 with runners on base ... Went 4-for-9 with the bases loaded ... Started the season on a hot streak, recording hits in five of his first six at-bats while reaching base safely in eight of his first nine plate appearances (Feb. 15-16) at the Texas State Tournament ... Matched a career high with three hits in MSU’s first win of the year against Utah (Feb. 16), scoring three runs while reaching safely in all five trips to the plate ... Registered back-to-back three-hit performances in a two-game sweep of Central Arkansas (Feb. 26-27) ... Delivered matching 2-for-5 games in road wins at Oral Roberts (March 12) and Oklahoma (March 15), doubling and scoring two runs in each contest ... Gashed Indiana State for two hits and two runs in the Bears’ MVC opening win over the Sycamores (March 29) ... Went 8-for-20 (.400) during the Bears’ four-game win streak, April 2-6; had two hits and three RBIs in an 8-2 victory at SEMO (April 2), then tallied three hits and two RBIs the following day at Murray State in a 15-10 decision ... Also had hits in all three games of MSU’s Valley series win at Southern Illinois (April 5-6), includng another two-hit, two-RBI outing in the series-clinching victory ... Notched his third three-hit outing of the season April 16 vs. Missouri, matching a Hammons Field record with two triples ... Drove in three runs vs. Bradley (April 26) after batting .500 (9-for-18) during his second five-game hit streak of the season (April 13-20) ... Helped the Bears secure a key Valley series win over DBU with a 2-for-4 day in the rubber match of the series, driving in two runs in the 6-0 MSU victory ... Registered hits in all three MSU wins over Valparaiso (May 16-18) to close out the regular season.
2018: Started 56 of 57 games on the Bears’ infield as a sophomore, pacing the club with 45 walks to rank fourth among all Missouri Valley Conference hitters and 51st nationally ... Turned in career-best season figures in nearly every offensive category, including runs scored (38), hits (45), RBIs (20) and stolen bases (11), while fielding at a .978 clip ... Selected as a first-team All-MVC choice at second base after hitting .292 during league play ... Proved to be one of MSU’s most productive offensive players down the stretch, batting .318 (14-for-44) with a .456 on-base percentage to help the Bears log a 12-2 record in May ... Logged hits in each of the Bears’ first four games of the season at the Lamar Classic (Feb. 16-18), going 6-for-14 (.429) with four RBIs to help MSU go 3-1 on opening weekend; registered a 2-for-4 day with a season-high three RBIs to key a 6-5 come-from-behind win over Texas Southern ... Scored a career-best three runs and drove in another in MSU’s win over Lamar (Feb. 15) ... Reached base safely in nine of first 10 games of the season ... Scored multiple runs in three of four games, March 17-21 ... Finished with hits in four-straight games to help spark the Bears’ season-best eight-game win streak (March 20-30), over which he registered a .500 on-base percentage and scored 10 times ... Produced the first of two three-hit games March 31 at Indiana State ... Followed that effort with a three-RBI performance in the opening game of a series sweep of Evansville (April 6) ... Fashioned two more four-game hit streaks, April 20-24 and May 4-11 to help spur MSU’s strong stretch drive ... Recorded four steals in the Bears’ three-game sweep of Illinois State (April 20-21) ... Logged a 3-for-5 day to help finish off another MVC series sweep of Valparaiso (May 6) ... Turned in a pair of two-hit games against DBU, going 4-for-13 in MSU’s final regular-season series; also came up big in the Valley’s postseason tourney, earning MVC All-Tournament Team laurels after hitting .400 in four games, including driving in the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning of the title game vs. DBU (May 27) ... Came through with a two-hit effort in MSU’s NCAA Oxford Regional win over Saint Louis (June 3) ... Hit .349 with 14 steals in 25 games for the Lima Locos of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League over the summer.
2017: Played in 37 games as a redshirt freshman, including 24 starts at second base after All-MVC first-teamer Aaron Meyer was sidelined for the season with an injury ... Handled 90 of his 92 fielding chances cleanly to post a .978 fielding percentage for the season; also finished the year with a .364 on-base percentage ... Batted .313 with a .452 OBP and two steals in Missouri Valley Conference play, accounting for seven of his eight total RBIs during league action ... Hit .381 vs. right-handed pitchers in league play ... Reached base in each of his final seven MVC contests, (May 6-19) and in nine straight overall (May 6-25) ... Turned in a season-best four-game hit streak (May 6-13), hitting .462 (6-for-13) ... Registered his first multi-hit game as a Bear to start the streak at Southern Illinois, driving in a career-best four runs while reaching safely in four of his five trips to the plate ... Reached safely four times against Indiana State (May 12), drawing three walks, scoring twice and recording his first steal as a Bear ... Produced two more hits the following day to help the Bears clinch the MVC title, then closed out the regular season with a 2-for-4 day at Illinois State (May 19) ... Recorded hits in eight of nine games from May 6-25 ... Notched a hit in four of the Bears' five games in the MVC Championship (May 24-28) ...Went 3-for-8 in the final two games of the NCAA Fayetteville Regional to help the Bears advance to the Super Regional round for the second time in three seasons, including a 2-for-5 effort against Arkansas (June 4) in which he score two runs ... Hit .297 over the summer for the Springfield Sliders of the Prospect League.
2016: Sat out the 2016 season as a redshirt ... Earned MVC Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll recognition ... Played over the summer with the Sedalia Bombers of the MINK League, hitting .270 with 13 RBIs and eight steals in his 40 games.
Background: One of two Lee’s Summit West High School products in the Bears’ 2015 recruiting class, Privitera gives the Bears another versatile infield option ... Hit .334 with 21 steals in 31 games as a senior to earn All-Suburban Big 6 Conference and all-district honors ... Helped West to a Class 5 state quarterfinal appearance ... Rated as the No. 30 overall prospect in Missouri’s class of 2015 according to Prep Baseball Report ... Was a three-year starter on the Titans’ infield, swiping 21 bases in 21 attempts as a junior in helping his club capture a district title with a 27-4 season ... Named the Titans’ defensive player of the year in 2013 after posting a perfect fielding percentage ... Played for the KC Elite Athletics showcase team, which logged a 36-4 overall record in 2015.
Personal
John Joseph Privitera is the son of Joe and Lori Privitera ... Born Aug. 13, 1996, in Kansas City, Mo. ... Older sister, Nina, competed on the Missouri State women’s swimming and diving team ... Majoring in finance.
