Two Southern Miss stars and a past winner are among the finalists for the C Spire Ferriss Trophy, given annually to the top college baseball player in Mississippi.

Southern Miss pitcher Nick Sandlin and third baseman Luke Reynolds were both picked Monday, giving the Golden Eagles multiple finalists for the second year in a row.

Mississippi State center fielder Jake Mangum, the 2016 winner, joined Delta State first baseman Zack Shannon and Ole Miss outfielder Ryan Olenek as finalists.

The Ferriss Trophy will be presented in a luncheon banquet May 21 at 11:30 a.m. at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in Jackson. Tickets are available online at msfame.com.
Online fan voting for the award is also open at csopavoting.com until noon on Saturday.

“This year may be the toughest choices in the history of the event,” Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame executive director Bill Blackwell said in a release. “With so many schools ranked nationally at all levels you know there must be great players throughout the state.”

Mangum is looking to become the first two-time winner in the award’s 15-year history, as well as the third straight winner from Mississippi State.

Mangum currently leads Mississippi State in batting average (.342), runs (45), hits (76), doubles (19) and on-base percentage (.421). He also leads the Southeastern Conference in hits and doubles.

“Having grown up in Mississippi, I know how much Mr. Ferriss truly means to the sport of baseball and to our state,” Mangum, a former Jackson Prep star, said in a school release. “Being associated with this award, along with being named a finalist for the second time is truly an honor.”

Shannon, a two-time Gulf South Conference Player of the Year and a 2017 Ferriss finalist, would be the first Delta State player — and only the second from outside of the state’s “Big Three” Division I colleges — to win the award. Belhaven’s Craig Westcott was the other, in 2009.

Shannon leads the GSC and NCAA Division II in home runs (29), RBIs (86), runs (71) and slugging percentage.

Olenek leads Ole Miss and the SEC with a .396 batting average, and has a team-high 17 doubles. Olenek recently concluded a 23-game hitting streak, the second-longest in the SEC this year and tied for third-longest in school history.

Olenek would be the sixth Ferriss Trophy winner from Ole Miss, and first since Auston Bousfield in 2014.
Southern Miss, meanwhile, will be the only team with two finalists in the pool, after having three last season.

Sandlin has emerged as the best pitcher in Conference USA this season, as well as one of the best in the country. The right-hander leads C-USA and is third in Division I with a 1.15 ERA, and is in the top 10 nationally in strikeouts with 114.

Reynolds, a former Hinds Community College star, leads Conference USA in batting average (.384), runs (59), total bases (126), walks (50), slugging percentage (.712) and on-base percentage (.538).
Reynolds also ranks in the top three in the league in RBIs (52), doubles (17) and home runs (13).