TERRE
HAUTE, Ind. - Junior starting pitcher Sean Manaea
earned his second selection to a preseason All-American list this week, as
Perfect Game tabbed the Indiana State southpaw to their First Team Preseason
College All-American list and as the National Pitcher To Watch.
Manaea is one of two selections from the Missouri Valley Conference, as
Missouri State's Nick Petree was named to the second team. PG's Kendall Rogers
named Manaea as the National Pitcher To Watch, providing this breakdown of the
junior left-handed heading into the season.
"Of all names to remember this spring, this might just be the one. Manaea has
increased his stock more than anyone over the past year. He put together a
solid spring for the Sycamores, where he went 5-3 with a 3.34 ERA in 105
innings. He also struck out 115 and walked 37, while teams hit him at a .249
clip. But he took his biggest step forward during his summer at the Cape Cod
League. Manaea was simply fantastic, earning Perfect Game Summer Player of the
Year honors for his performances throughout the summer. There, the imposing 6-foot-5,
235-pounder, was consistently 93-96 (98) with a deceptive baseball, while he
had a nasty, hard slider, at 80-83 and a developing 79-81 changeup. Though it's
still very early in the process, there's a good chance Manaea is the No. 1 pick
in June."
The Wanatah, Ind., native and Andrean High School product broke onto the
national scene this past summer with the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the Cape Cod
Baseball League, totaling a 5-1 record and a 1.22 ERA with a record-setting 85
strikeouts in 57.1 innings on the mound. The Indiana State junior was even
better over his final five starts, going 5-0 with a 0.26 ERA and 56 strikeouts
in 34 innings while allowing just 13 hits and one walk. Manaea was named the
league's B.F.C Whitehouse Top Pitcher and the Robert A. McNeese Outstanding Pro
Prospect following his outstanding summer.
Manaea's 85 strikeouts over the summer with Hyannis broke the league's modern
record of 82, set during the 2005 summer season by Daniel Bard.
Following his sophomore season on the mound for the Sycamores, Manaea was a
Second Team All-MVC selection after posting a 5-3 record and a 3.34 ERA over 17
starts. The ISU southpaw struck out 115 batters in 105 innings, ranking 13th in
the NCAA in strikeouts and in a tie for third on ISU's single-season strikeout
list.
The Indiana State baseball team begins their 2013 season on Feb. 15-17, playing
four games in Huntsville, Ala. The defending MVC Regular Season champions, the
Sycamores have four home series in league play, hosting Southern Illinois
(March 22-24), Creighton (April 12-14), Evansville (May 3-5) and Bradley (May
16-18) on Bob Warn Field at Sycamore Stadium this upcoming season.
