Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame

Todd Nace
- Induction:
- 2004
In the wonderful history of baseball at Southern Miss, there have been many special players. Players in there own way, help to lift the program on their shoulders. Players that even if they didn’t realize it at the time helped move the program to another plateau.Â
Todd Nace was that type of player during his career at Southern Miss, setting record upon record that Golden Eagle players will strive to break. Some may be obtainable, while some will seem simply quite out of reach.
Todd Nace had been a standout baseball player at Hattiesburg High School, where he earned every honor imaginable. Following his high school, career, he elected to sign a scholarship with Mississippi State and a successful with the Bulldogs, Nace decided to transfer and returned to his hometown to play for the Golden Eagles.
During his first season with Southern Miss in 1989 he played in 60 games, hitting .332 with one home run and 32 Runs batted in. That was good enough to earn second team all-Metro Conference honors and his abilities at the plate that year helped the team to a 36-26 record and they fought their way into the championship game of the Metro Conference tournament losing to Florida State 6-5 in 12 innings.
In 1990 he teamed with future Pittsburgh Pirate star Kevin Young to give the Golden Eagles one of the most potent one-two hitting combinations in school history. In 61 games that season, Nace would hit .372 with two home runs and 21 runs batted in. That team advance to the semi-finals of the Metro Conference Tournament at Pete Taylor Park before losing to Florida State. But they also became the first in school history to advance to the NCAA regional when they earned a berth in the South Central Regional in Baton Rouge.
In 1991, Nace had one of the greatest years in Southern Miss history. He led the team in hitting with a .392 batting average, the third highest in school history among players with 250 or more at-bats, banged out 105 hits, the second best mark in school history, had 22 doubles and hit six home runs, while driving in 42. That team would share the Metro Conference Tournament championship with Florida State and advance for the second straight year to the NCAA Regional, playing in the Central regional in Austin, Texas.Â
 It was during that season that Nace recorded one of the most amazing records in golden Eagle and NCAA history. Being in a March 24 game at Florida State and ending with final game of the season on May 25 in Austin against the Texas Longhorns. Nace has at least one baseball hit in every game. A streak of 41 straight games. The longest streak in Southern Miss history and still one of the longest in the long history of NCAA baseball. He hit safely in 58 of 66 games that year and had 30 games that year when he had 2 or more base hits in a game, including six hits in a game against Southeastern Louisiana and five hits in a game against South Carolina. He would earn first team all-Metro Conference honors for his play that season and was named to the All-America team picked by Louisville Slugger and Collegiate Baseball.Â
Nace would finish his career at Southern Miss with a .368 career batting average, the best in school history among players with over 500 at-bats. He had 270 hits in his career, the best mark by a player over a three-year period. He also ranks seventh in career runs scored, second in career doubles, 10th in career triples and ninth in career bases on balls.
After finishing his career at Southern Miss, Nace signed as a free agent with the Cincinnati Reds organization and remained with them for a short period of time in their minor league farm system.
Tonight we honor not only one of the greatest left-handed hitters that the history of Southern Miss has ever seen, but one of the greatest hitters, period that the school has ever seen. The crack of the bat, the sizzling line drives, the shots in the gaps, still reverberate at Pete Taylor Park, but those that watch Todd Nace over that three year period, have rarely seen any better.
Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, it’s my pleasure to present to you for induction into the M-Club Alumni Association Sports Hall of Fame, one of the finest hitters to have ever worn the Black and Gold, Todd Nace.
Â
Todd Nace was that type of player during his career at Southern Miss, setting record upon record that Golden Eagle players will strive to break. Some may be obtainable, while some will seem simply quite out of reach.
Todd Nace had been a standout baseball player at Hattiesburg High School, where he earned every honor imaginable. Following his high school, career, he elected to sign a scholarship with Mississippi State and a successful with the Bulldogs, Nace decided to transfer and returned to his hometown to play for the Golden Eagles.
During his first season with Southern Miss in 1989 he played in 60 games, hitting .332 with one home run and 32 Runs batted in. That was good enough to earn second team all-Metro Conference honors and his abilities at the plate that year helped the team to a 36-26 record and they fought their way into the championship game of the Metro Conference tournament losing to Florida State 6-5 in 12 innings.
In 1990 he teamed with future Pittsburgh Pirate star Kevin Young to give the Golden Eagles one of the most potent one-two hitting combinations in school history. In 61 games that season, Nace would hit .372 with two home runs and 21 runs batted in. That team advance to the semi-finals of the Metro Conference Tournament at Pete Taylor Park before losing to Florida State. But they also became the first in school history to advance to the NCAA regional when they earned a berth in the South Central Regional in Baton Rouge.
In 1991, Nace had one of the greatest years in Southern Miss history. He led the team in hitting with a .392 batting average, the third highest in school history among players with 250 or more at-bats, banged out 105 hits, the second best mark in school history, had 22 doubles and hit six home runs, while driving in 42. That team would share the Metro Conference Tournament championship with Florida State and advance for the second straight year to the NCAA Regional, playing in the Central regional in Austin, Texas.Â
 It was during that season that Nace recorded one of the most amazing records in golden Eagle and NCAA history. Being in a March 24 game at Florida State and ending with final game of the season on May 25 in Austin against the Texas Longhorns. Nace has at least one baseball hit in every game. A streak of 41 straight games. The longest streak in Southern Miss history and still one of the longest in the long history of NCAA baseball. He hit safely in 58 of 66 games that year and had 30 games that year when he had 2 or more base hits in a game, including six hits in a game against Southeastern Louisiana and five hits in a game against South Carolina. He would earn first team all-Metro Conference honors for his play that season and was named to the All-America team picked by Louisville Slugger and Collegiate Baseball.Â
Nace would finish his career at Southern Miss with a .368 career batting average, the best in school history among players with over 500 at-bats. He had 270 hits in his career, the best mark by a player over a three-year period. He also ranks seventh in career runs scored, second in career doubles, 10th in career triples and ninth in career bases on balls.
After finishing his career at Southern Miss, Nace signed as a free agent with the Cincinnati Reds organization and remained with them for a short period of time in their minor league farm system.
Tonight we honor not only one of the greatest left-handed hitters that the history of Southern Miss has ever seen, but one of the greatest hitters, period that the school has ever seen. The crack of the bat, the sizzling line drives, the shots in the gaps, still reverberate at Pete Taylor Park, but those that watch Todd Nace over that three year period, have rarely seen any better.
Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, it’s my pleasure to present to you for induction into the M-Club Alumni Association Sports Hall of Fame, one of the finest hitters to have ever worn the Black and Gold, Todd Nace.
Â
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