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Big Matt Wallner still slugging, still leading Southern Miss into NCAA regional

Southern Miss sophomore Matt Wallner has hit 16 home runs this season. Jason Munz/Hattiesburg American

Matt Wallner took college baseball by storm in 2017.

A consensus All-American and named the national freshman of the year by multiple media outlets, the Southern Miss slugger’s first season in a Golden Eagle uniform was unlike any other’s.

Naturally, expectations for Year 2 were sky-high for the 6-foot-5, 220-pound specimen who hit for average (.336), power (19 home runs) and covered as much or more ground in center field as some of the best outfielders in program history.