2021 Baseball Roster
Roster
Wilks, Slade
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Jersey Number 7
Slade Wilks
- Height:
- 6-2
- Weight:
- 218
- Class:
- Freshman
- Hometown:
- Columbia, Miss.
- High School:
- Columbia Academy
Bio
2024 (Sr.): Earned third-team All-America honors by both ABCA and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association…Named first-team Academic All-America by the CSC, earning a nod for the second-straight year (third team in 2023)…A first-team All-Sun Belt selection…Named to both the Sun Belt and NCAA Knoxville Regional all-tournament teams…Paced the Golden Eagles offense with a .336 average to go along with a team-high tying 20 doubles, a triple, as well as 14 home runs and 69 RBI…Both HR and RBI totals were team highs…Became first Golden Eagle to lead team in RBI in consecutive seasons since Matt Wallner did it in 2017 and 2018 and the 13th player overall since 1947…Finished career with a 36-game hitting streak, second-longest in school history (trailing only Todd Nace who hit safely in 41 games in 1991)…Extended his streak only three times during his final plate appearance of a game – all three coming over the final month of the season. The three times came at Arkansas State (5/10) with a single in the ninth, a go-ahead two-run double against Coastal Carolina (5/22) in the eighth in a scoreless game and a single up the middle in his final collegiate at bat in the eighth at Tennessee (6/2)…Hit safely in all 22 true road games during the year…Enjoyed 21 multi-hit games (15 2-hit, 4 3-hit and 2 4-hit) and a team-best 20 multi-RBI contests (11 2-RBI, 7 3-RBI and 2 4-RBI)…Finished the year with a 43-game reached base streak…Won his second Sun Belt tournament title and played in fourth NCAA Tournament, reaching at least the championship round of regional action all four years with a pair of victories that propelled them to two Super Regionals…Named to the Dean’s List for the 2023 Fall semester…Named a team captain for the 2024 season.
2023 (Jr.): Earned second-team ABCA/Rawlings All-Region honors…Played in 65 games with 63 starts, all coming at designated hitter…Batted .289 with 20 home runs and 58 RBI…Added 12 doubles, two triples and scored 50 times…Walked 30 times…Finished third in home runs in the Sun Belt, along with being tied for fourth in total bases (148), 10th in RBI and 14th in slugging percentage (.594)…Tied a school record with eight RBI against James Madison (4/16), that included his only two-homer game of the year…Collected six round-trippers over an eight-game span from 3/24-4/6…Named Sun Belt Conference Hitter of the Week following that JMU series, in which he hit three home runs and drove in 11 runs in the series…His longest hitting streak of the year was 10 games, in which he hit .381 (16x42) with 4 doubles, 6 home runs and 16 RBI, while scoring eight runs…Homered in every game of the Troy series (3/31-4/2)…Helped Golden Eagles start long winning streak in final game at Coastal Carolina (4/23) with a two-hit game that included a home run and four RBI…Drove in a pair of runs which included a home run against Louisiana (5/28) in Sun Belt Championship game…Collected a hit in all three Super Regional contests against Tennessee…Enjoyed 23 multi-hit games (19-2H, 4-3H) and lead the squad in multi-RBI performances with 16 (8-2RBI, 5-3RBI, 1-4RBI, 1-5RBI, 1-8RBI)…Named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America third team, becoming first baseball Golden Eagle to be honored with this award since Nick Sandlin in 2018…A member of the Dean’s List for the Spring 2023 semester and the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll for the Fall 2022 semester.
2022 (So.): Played and started in 60 games (54 at DH and six in right field)…Hit .288 with 17 doubles, a triple, 10 homers and 37 RBI…Added a .511 slugging percentage and a .394 on-base percentage…Stole four of five base attempts…Scored 41 times…Registered 19 multi-hit games (13 2-hit, 6 3-hit) and eight multi-RBI tilts (4 2-RBI, 3 3-RBI, 1 4-RBI)…Finished year with a four-game hitting streak with a career-best seven-game string during the year…Had a two homer game against WKU (3/26)…Hit back-to-back homers with teammate Christopher Sargent twice during the year, coming against WKU (3/26) and UTSA (5/15)…Drove in season-high four runs against North Alabama (2/20)…Knocked in 10 runs over a four-game span (3/23-27)…Hit .467 (7x15) over his final four games with a double and two RBI…Earned a spot on the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll for the Fall 2021 semester…A member of the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll and a league Academic Medalist.
2021 (Fr.): Played in 30 games, starting in 12 (11 in right field and one at DH)…Batted .158 with three doubles, a triple, two home runs and eight RBI…Proved to be best pinch hitter during the year by hitting .417 (5x12) with three runs and two homers with seven RBI…Both of his home runs came in late-inning situations either tying or giving the Golden Eagles the lead against Louisiana Tech (4/18 and 5/29) and each were three-run shots…Added a pinch-hit triple against UTSA (4/2, G2) off the top of the right field wall……Named to the President’s List for the Spring 2021 and Fall 2020 semesters…Earned the C-USA Academic Medal and was a member of the Commissioner’s Honor Roll…Named Preseason Conference USA Freshman of the Year by PerfectGame.org.
Prep: Prepped at Columbia Academy under Keith Stanley and Heath Smith…Ended his Columbia Academy career with a .418 batting average (154-for-368), 33 doubles, seven triples, 50 home runs, 150 RBI, 171 runs scored, and a .592 on-base percentage over the course of 140 games played…Was ranked the 23rd-best overall high school baseball player in the nation and the eighth-best outfielder in the nation (high school baseball) by Perfect Game in 2020…Was ranked the second-best overall high school baseball player in the state of Mississippi and the top outfielder in the state of Mississippi (high school baseball) by Perfect Game in 2020…Tabbed a 2020 Clarion Ledger Dandy Dozen selection (baseball)…Earned a spot on the American League roster for the 2019 Under Armour All-American Game played at Wrigley Field…Was selected to play in the 2019 Perfect Game All-American Classic at Petco Park…Named to the 2019 Clarion Ledger First Team All-State baseball team as a junior and the 2018 Clarion Ledger Second Team All-State baseball team as a sophomore…Named the Columbian-Progress’s 2018 Marion County Offensive Player of the Year…Helped the Columbia Academy baseball team capture the 2017 MAIS AAA State Championship as a freshman.
Personal: Son of Porter and Sissy Wilks…Father played basketball at Pearl River Community College…Has one sister, Anna, who played basketball at Jones College…Majoring in Business Administration…Born on May 18.
2023 (Jr.): Earned second-team ABCA/Rawlings All-Region honors…Played in 65 games with 63 starts, all coming at designated hitter…Batted .289 with 20 home runs and 58 RBI…Added 12 doubles, two triples and scored 50 times…Walked 30 times…Finished third in home runs in the Sun Belt, along with being tied for fourth in total bases (148), 10th in RBI and 14th in slugging percentage (.594)…Tied a school record with eight RBI against James Madison (4/16), that included his only two-homer game of the year…Collected six round-trippers over an eight-game span from 3/24-4/6…Named Sun Belt Conference Hitter of the Week following that JMU series, in which he hit three home runs and drove in 11 runs in the series…His longest hitting streak of the year was 10 games, in which he hit .381 (16x42) with 4 doubles, 6 home runs and 16 RBI, while scoring eight runs…Homered in every game of the Troy series (3/31-4/2)…Helped Golden Eagles start long winning streak in final game at Coastal Carolina (4/23) with a two-hit game that included a home run and four RBI…Drove in a pair of runs which included a home run against Louisiana (5/28) in Sun Belt Championship game…Collected a hit in all three Super Regional contests against Tennessee…Enjoyed 23 multi-hit games (19-2H, 4-3H) and lead the squad in multi-RBI performances with 16 (8-2RBI, 5-3RBI, 1-4RBI, 1-5RBI, 1-8RBI)…Named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-America third team, becoming first baseball Golden Eagle to be honored with this award since Nick Sandlin in 2018…A member of the Dean’s List for the Spring 2023 semester and the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll for the Fall 2022 semester.
2022 (So.): Played and started in 60 games (54 at DH and six in right field)…Hit .288 with 17 doubles, a triple, 10 homers and 37 RBI…Added a .511 slugging percentage and a .394 on-base percentage…Stole four of five base attempts…Scored 41 times…Registered 19 multi-hit games (13 2-hit, 6 3-hit) and eight multi-RBI tilts (4 2-RBI, 3 3-RBI, 1 4-RBI)…Finished year with a four-game hitting streak with a career-best seven-game string during the year…Had a two homer game against WKU (3/26)…Hit back-to-back homers with teammate Christopher Sargent twice during the year, coming against WKU (3/26) and UTSA (5/15)…Drove in season-high four runs against North Alabama (2/20)…Knocked in 10 runs over a four-game span (3/23-27)…Hit .467 (7x15) over his final four games with a double and two RBI…Earned a spot on the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll for the Fall 2021 semester…A member of the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll and a league Academic Medalist.
2021 (Fr.): Played in 30 games, starting in 12 (11 in right field and one at DH)…Batted .158 with three doubles, a triple, two home runs and eight RBI…Proved to be best pinch hitter during the year by hitting .417 (5x12) with three runs and two homers with seven RBI…Both of his home runs came in late-inning situations either tying or giving the Golden Eagles the lead against Louisiana Tech (4/18 and 5/29) and each were three-run shots…Added a pinch-hit triple against UTSA (4/2, G2) off the top of the right field wall……Named to the President’s List for the Spring 2021 and Fall 2020 semesters…Earned the C-USA Academic Medal and was a member of the Commissioner’s Honor Roll…Named Preseason Conference USA Freshman of the Year by PerfectGame.org.
Prep: Prepped at Columbia Academy under Keith Stanley and Heath Smith…Ended his Columbia Academy career with a .418 batting average (154-for-368), 33 doubles, seven triples, 50 home runs, 150 RBI, 171 runs scored, and a .592 on-base percentage over the course of 140 games played…Was ranked the 23rd-best overall high school baseball player in the nation and the eighth-best outfielder in the nation (high school baseball) by Perfect Game in 2020…Was ranked the second-best overall high school baseball player in the state of Mississippi and the top outfielder in the state of Mississippi (high school baseball) by Perfect Game in 2020…Tabbed a 2020 Clarion Ledger Dandy Dozen selection (baseball)…Earned a spot on the American League roster for the 2019 Under Armour All-American Game played at Wrigley Field…Was selected to play in the 2019 Perfect Game All-American Classic at Petco Park…Named to the 2019 Clarion Ledger First Team All-State baseball team as a junior and the 2018 Clarion Ledger Second Team All-State baseball team as a sophomore…Named the Columbian-Progress’s 2018 Marion County Offensive Player of the Year…Helped the Columbia Academy baseball team capture the 2017 MAIS AAA State Championship as a freshman.
Personal: Son of Porter and Sissy Wilks…Father played basketball at Pearl River Community College…Has one sister, Anna, who played basketball at Jones College…Majoring in Business Administration…Born on May 18.
True Grit: Final Episode
Friday, October 20
Episode 1: War Damn Golden Eagle
Tuesday, August 22
Episode 5: Battle for the Belt
Thursday, August 17
Episode 4: Battle for the Belt
Saturday, August 12
