Baseball America All-Americans
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois second baseman Michael Massey continued to compile preseason accolades Monday as Baseball America named the junior to their All-America third team. It is Massey's third third-team selection of the preseason after appearing on Collegiate Baseball's and D1Baseball.com's lists.
Massey is the No. 189 MLB Draft prospect according to Baseball America, which equates to a sixth-round pick. He is also the No. 76 MLB Draft prospect in college baseball according to D1Baseball.com and the No. 38 hitting prospect.
Massey's Preseason Accolades
• Baseball America Preseason All-America Third Team
• D1Baseball.com Preseason All-America Third Team
• Collegiate Baseball Preseason All-America Third Team
• Ranked No. 76 MLB Draft prospect in college baseball by D1Baseball.com (No. 1 in Big Ten)
• Ranked No. 189 MLB Draft prospect by Baseball America
• Ranked No. 38 hitting prospect in college baseball by D1Baseball.com (No. 1 in Big Ten)
• Ranked No. 81 junior in the nation by Perfect Game
Massey was the nation's top defensive second baseman last year, earning the ABCA/Rawlings Gold Glove Award, and is one of the top returning hitters in the Big Ten. As a sophomore in 2018, he hit .326 with 17 doubles, three triples, six homers and 46 RBIs on his way to All-Region first team honors.
Massey led the Big Ten in hits during conference games in 2018 (37) and ranked second in RBIs (25), third in total bases (62), fourth in doubles (9) and eighth in batting average (.356) and slugging (.596) against conference opponents. He was in the Illini's top two in nearly every offensive category, leading the team in doubles, triples, hits, two-hit games and three-hit games and ranking second in nearly every other category behind 2018 Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Year Bren Spillane.
The Brother Rice product and Palos Park, Illinois, native went on a 60-game errorless streak between his freshman and sophomore seasons and made only one error in 53 games in 2018. Massey has started all 104 games for the Illini since arriving in Champaign for the 2017 season.
