Brent Rooker watched and learned his first year at Mississippi State.
The young slugger scouted pitchers from the dugout and listened as his teammates discussed their hitting strategies during his redshirt season in 2014.
When Rooker finally got his chance to be in the lineup this past season, he felt prepared for the opportunity.
“The redshirt year was huge for me, just getting to be in the dugout watching pitchers and seeing what SEC baseball is all about,” Rooker said. “The SEC is a different level obviously from the rest of the Division I level.