Jake Scudder is a confident baseball player.
Ask the Kansas State junior infielder how he led the Big 12 with a .407 batting average in conference games this season, and he will give you a simple answer.
“I have a batter’s mentality,” Scudder said. “I put in the work, then I go out there and compete harder than the other guy.”
That approach was a big reason why Scudder was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year on Tuesday, a day before the start of the conference tournament in Oklahoma City.
Still, he wasn’t always so sure life as a K-State baseball player would go this well.