Junior Graham Mastros has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week after a standout performance during Illinois State Redbirds’ opening baseball series against Southeast Missouri State (SEMO). The announcement was made by the conference office on Tuesday.
Mastros earned his first career weekly honor following a weekend in which he recorded five extra-base hits, including three home runs. All three home runs came on opening day, where Mastros went 3-for-4 at the plate. This marked his first multi-home run game and set a new personal best with five runs batted in (RBIs) in a single contest. He became the first Redbird since Daniel Pacella to achieve five RBIs in one game.
He joins teammate Brayden Bakes as the only current Illinois State players to have scored three or more runs in a game. In addition to his home runs, Mastros added doubles in each of the remaining two games of the series. His two-RBI double helped secure a 7-6 win for Illinois State over SEMO on Friday.
At the conclusion of opening weekend, Mastros leads the Missouri Valley Conference in home runs (3), RBIs (7), and slugging percentage (1.333).
Illinois State Redbirds is affiliated with Illinois State University and competes in NCAA Division I events across different regions, according to its official website. The athletics program utilizes facilities such as the OSF HealthCare Athletics Training Center for athlete preparation and benefits from initiatives like the Redbird Athletics Excellence Fund aimed at enhancing competitiveness and recruitment (source). Fans can find news, schedules, rosters, and additional resources on GoRedbirds.com.
For updates on Illinois State Baseball, information is available via GoRedbirds.com as well as social media platforms including X (@RedbirdBaseball) and Instagram (isuredbirdbaseball).
