JACKRABBIT ALL-AMERICANS ED MARAS
WINDOM, MINN.
1966 • COLLEGE BASEBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION • 1ST-TEAM The 6-foot-2, 225 pound righty was described in his All-American candidacy as “strong as the proverbial bull.” The proof? Before he graduated from SDSU, the Windom, Minn., native was drafted by the NFL’s Green Bay Packers and the American League’s Baltimore Orioles Maras earned his baseball recognition with a tremendous senior season, which led to the first all-American from the Jackrabbit baseball program. Before 1966, no SDSU pitcher had ever won more than five games. Maras topped that, going 7-2 with a 2.61 earned run average. He led the Jacks to their second straight North Central Conference title, striking out a teambest 58 batters in 69 innings of work. Of his two losses, one came at the hands of Minnesota, runners up in the Big Ten that season, and the Gophers only managed six hits and one earned run off him. He was more than just a pitcher, however, as Maras also stood out as an all-conference first baseman that season. Maras hit .357 with 12 extra-base hits (four doubles, four triples and four home runs), ending the year with a .602 slugging percentage. The Jackrabbits, led by Maras, finished that year 15-12, but 10-2 inside the NCC. Maras was responsible for nearly half of the squad’s wins on the mound, and led the team in nearly every offensive category.
JIM LANGER
ROYALTON, MINN.
1969 • COLLEGE BASEBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION • 2ND-TEAM Everyone recognizes Jim Langer as a Pro Football Hall of Famer and the starting center on the 1972 World Champion and undefeated Miami Dolphins. Jackrabbit historians, however, remember him just as much for his prowess on the diamond as the gridiron. Langer’s junior season earned him second-team All-America honors in the college division, which would later be known as Division II. Selected as an outfielder, Langer won SDSU’s proverbial “triple crown,” as he led the Jackrabbits in hitting, pitching and fielding. Listed at 6-foot-2 and 240 pounds, Langer hit .399 while setting then-single season records with 37 hits and 25 runs batted in. he hit five doubles, two triples and three homers, slugging .505 As a starting pitcher, he compiled a 5-3 mark with a 3.19 earned run average. As you can imagine, Langer was much more power than finesse, striking out 50 batters in 53.1 innings. On top of it all, Langer did not commit an error while patrolling the outfield, leading the Jacks to a share of the North Central Conference crown, SDSU’s third in five seasons.
DEAN KROGMAN
LISMORE, MINN.
1971 • COLLEGE BASEBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION • 2ND-TEAM The 1971 South Dakota State University baseball squad finished one game shy of a North Central Conference championship - but don’t blame Dean Krogman. All that the Minnesotan did was set a record for slugging percentage that still stands today, set four more records that have since been broken, and led the NCC in six different offensive categories. Krogman hit for the highest average, at that time, in SDSU history, ending the season with a .417 average (42-for-101). He hit 10 homers, drove in 34 runs, and tallied 42 hits, all of which were also records that have since been eclipsed. The most amazing stat about Krogman’s season was his ability to hit for power. Of his 42 hits, 24 went for extra bases, leading to a school record .881 slugging percentage. That mark still stands, after 36 years. He hit 11 doubles and three triples, striking out only 14 times in 30 starts. As previously mentioned, he was an even bigger factor against conference foes. He hit at a .418 clip in the NCC, tops in the conference. He also held top honors in the league for hits (28), home runs (9), total bases (66), triples (3) and runs scored (23). South Dakota State started the year with a seven-game losing streak, but with the help of Krogman the Jacks won 14 of their last 23 games, posting a 13-7 mark in the NCC.
2009 JACKRABBIT BASEBALL MEDIA GUIDE
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