Honors
• MVC Commissioner's Academic Excellence Award (2014)
• MVC Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll (2014, 2016)
2017: Ruff turned in a breakthrough junior campaign in which he registered career bests for batting (.280), slugging (.440), runs scored (17), hits (14), doubles (3), triples (1), homers (1), RBIs (10) and steals (2) ... Made 12 starts in the Bears' outfield and saw action in 40 games overall ... Hit .310 (9-for-29) against right-handers ... Logged first hit of the season at Middle Tennessee (Feb. 26) and made his first start as a Bear at Arkansas State (March 1), both resulting in Missouri State shutout victories ... Scored a run in three straight outings, March 1-12; recorded first triple as a Bear March 12 at Minnesota to help MSU earn a road series win over the defending Big Ten champions ... Recorded a career-best three-game hit streak, March 24-26, going 5-for-10 over the Bears' three-game series at Central Michigan, including the first two multi-hit games of his career; went 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored in MSU's 12-1 series-opening win, then closed the weekend with a 2-for-4 effort in which he scored two more runs ... Scored four times and drove home two more runs over the final two games of the Bears' three-game MVC series sweep of Bradley (April 1-2); doubled, scored twice and drove in two runs in game two of the series, then drew a pair of walks and scored twice in the finale ... Clubbed his first collegiate homer—a pinch-hit, three-run shot—to seal the Bears' 5-1 win over Missouri (April 28) ... Registered another pinch hit at Kansas (May 2), then went 1-for-3 with two RBIs at Southern Illinois (May 7) ... Tallied his third two-hit effort of the season May 14 vs. Indiana State ... Saw action with a pinch hit appearance in the Bears' Super Regional opener at TCU (June 10).
2016: Saw action in a career-best 20 games as a sophomore, hitting .222 with a double and eight runs scored ... Recorded his first hit as a Bear with a pinch-hit double vs. Western Illinois (March 16) ... Scored as part of the Bears’ four-run seventh inning after coming off the bench as a pinch runner vs. Southern Illinois (May 8) ... Singled and scored during MSU’s four-run, ninth-inning rally vs. Bradley at the MVC Championship (May 28) ... Earned MVC Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll recognition for the second time in his career.
2015: Played in 19 games off the Missouri State bench as a pinch runner and defensive replacement ... Made his first plate appearance as a Bear May 16 in the regular-season finale vs. Bradley ... Scored four runs on the season, including a late tally in the Bears’ 5-2 win over Bradley in the championship game of the MVC Tournament (May 24) ... Hit a team-leading .442 (19-for-43) with three homers, 11 RBIs and two steals in just 16 games over the summer with the Branson Nationals of the MINK League.
Background: Joined the Bears’ roster after completing a standout prep career as an outfielder for the Springfield Parkview High School ... A two-sport athlete and National Honor Student, Ruff was a
Springfield News-Leader All-Ozarks pick as a senior, batting .381 with 30 runs scored, five home runs, 19 runs batted-in ... Was an All-Ozark Conference choice as a junior in 2012 after helping PHS to its first conference title in baseball since 1969 with a .324 batting mark, four homers, 18 RBIs and 10 steals ... Also quarterbacked Parkview’s varsity football squad to an 8-3 season, earning all-conference and all-district recognition, as well as MFCA Academic All-State honors for the second-straight year.
Personal: Landan Robert Ruff is the son of Robert and Terry Ruff ... Born Oct. 22, 1994, in Springfield, Mo. ... Pursuing a pre-med course of study in cell and molecular biology.
