Jackson Free Press

In a state where college baseball is king, Mississippi State's Hunter Renfroe is top-of-the-heap. Renfroe, the state's top college baseball player, received the Ferriss Trophy Monday morning at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum.

"I never imagined I'd be standing here," Renfroe told reporters shortly after accepting the award. "I am so thankful to have been given the opportunity to play at Mississippi State, and I've worked my butt off playing for coach (John) Cohen since I got to Starkville."

The Crystal Springs, Miss., native hit for a .362 average and slugged an impressive 15 home runs, leading the Bulldogs to a 40-16 regular season record headed into this week's SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala.

The right fielder tied for fifth nationally in home runs, finished fourth in slugging percentage, and led his team in runs-batted-in, on-base percentage and stolen bases.

Renfroe beat out four other finalists for the award: Delta State pitcher Josh Branstetter, Southern Miss pitcher Andrew Pierce, Ole Miss catcher Stuart Turner and Ole Miss pitcher Bobby Wahl.

"We have a solid team of quality young men," Mississippi State coach John Cohen said when introducing Renfroe Monday. "Hunter is the anchor of that group. What I'm most proud of is the fact that he's carried a 3.3 GPA for six straight semesters."

The junior from Copiah Academy could come back next season, but will have a tough decision to make after the Major League Baseball draft on June 6, 2013. Most projections have him going in the first round of the draft, and bleacherreport.com in April ranked him as one of the 10 fastest-rising draft prospects in the country.

Renfroe and the fifth-seeded Bulldogs will face the twelfth seeded Missouri Tigers in the night game Tuesday.