SIOUX FALLS -- Redshirt sophomore outfielder
Connor King of the University of Sioux Falls Baseball Team was named to the All-NSIC Defensive Team for the 2021 season as part of the end of the season baseball awards announcement by the league office.
King, a criminal justice major from Rapid City, S.D., native, helped lead USF to its best season at the DII level with a 21-21 overall record and a 16-19 conference record. The Cougars ended their season after a run in the first round of the NSIC Postseason Tournament, which was USF's second time making the tournament (2016). USF's 21 wins in the season tied the 2016 squad for most wins.
In 44 games in the 2021 season, King excelled in the outfield, fielding 1.000 percent, with 93 putouts, six assists, and no errors, along with numerous dazzling plays in the outfield. From the batter's box, King hit .293 on the season, with 41 runs on 43 hits in 147 at bats. He totaled five doubles, two triples, two home runs, 19 RBI, and 58 total bases. King had a .395 slugging percentage on the year and a .team-best 450 on-base percentage, with 14 steals in 20 attempts. King totaled 11 multi-hit games this season, (one four-hit game, five three-hit games, five two-hit games) and five multi-RBI games (five two-RBI games).
Over the last 61 games, King has not committed an error. In his career, he has made 230 putouts with 16 assists and just five errors in 102 games with 99 starts. At the plate, he has three home runs, 40 RBI, 125 total bases, 95 hits in 237 at bats for a .285 average. He has totaled 83 runs and 34 steals in 47 attempts.
King joined the Cougar family back in 2019, coming to USF from Rapid City Stevens High School in Rapid City, SD. In his first season with the Coo, he hit .243 with one home run, 11 RBI, and a .304 slugging percentage. He stole 14 bases and had a .402 on-base percentage, which were both second best on the team. On defense, King had a .959 fielding percentage with 107 putouts and nine assists in the outfield. Overall, he played in 48 games with 47 starts, had 36 hits in 148 at bats with 33 runs scored, five extra base hits (two doubles, two triples, one home run), and 45 total bases. King walked a team-high 35 times and was hit by a pitch five times, while he also had one sac fly and two sac bunts. King had eight multi-hit games, seven with two hits, and one with three hits and he also had two multi-RBI games. King's longest hit streak was five games, while his longest on-base streak was 19 games, the longest on the team by six games.
In his sophomore season with USF, King led the team with a .390 average with 10 RBI and a .537 slugging percentage, which was good for second highest on the team. On the season, King stole six bases in six attempts and also led the team with a .581 OBP. On defense, King tallied a 1.000 fielding percentage with 30 putouts and one assist, while he played and started in all 13 games. He had 16 hits in 41 at bats with nine runs scored, and he had two doubles and two triples with 22 total bases. King was walked a team-high 17 times and hit by a pitch three times. He had five multi-hit games (three two-hit games and two three-hit games) and three multi-RBI games (two two-RBI games and one three-RBI game), one of which came in the 6-5 win against #7 Ashland when he had a game-tying two-out three-run triple in the bottom of the 8th inning. King's longest hit streak was three games and his longest on-base streak was 11 games. He hit .688 with runners on-base and was three-for-four with the bases loaded. With RISP, he was 6-for-11 and accumulated a team high six two-out RBI and was named to the Academic All-NSIC Team.
