Murray State University Athletics
Runnin' With The Racers Podcast - Wes Cunningham
11/12/2020 10:05:00 AM | Baseball, Hall of Fame
Former Murray State baseball student-athlete and 2016 MSU Hall of Fame selection, Wes Cunningham, is this week's guest on the Runnin' with the Racers Podcast, episode 115.
The Runnin' with the Racers Podcast posts each week to GoRacers.com, iTunes and Soundcloud.
This article on GoRacers.com is brought to you by McConnel Insurance.
Out of Louisville's Eastern High School, Cunningham was recruited by Coach Rob McDonald.
Wearing jersey number 38, Cunningham's collegiate career really took off in his final three seasons in which he became the 2010 Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year, the most recent in program history.
His 2010 season is still the best for any hitter in Murray State history.
In 57 games, Cunningham hit .408 and set the MSU single season record with 22 home runs and 86 RBI. He slugged to an incredible percentage of .824 on
95 hits including 19 doubles, six triples and the 22 long balls. His RBI average of 1.51 per game was second in NCAA D-I as was his slugging percentage (.824). His home run average (0.39) was 11th nationally and helped push him to being named Third Team All-America by Louisville Slugger.
Cunningham's career totals of hits (236), triples (14), RBI (167), batting average (.399) and total bases (404) are all current first or second in MSU program history and he did it in only three seasons of play.
From his freshman season forward, Cunningham's desire to play drove him to get better between his first and second seasons.
"I think a lot of it wasn't what happened in between my freshman and sophomore year, I worked hard yes," Cunningham said. "I took that first year and really tried to figure out how to hit that this level. Really, what led to me getting in the lineup and staying was a lot of hustle and using my speed. I was scraping and doing anything I could to stay in the lineup. My teammates would joke about it, that I got hits, but they weren't the prettiest of hits."
Once Cunningham was through his junior season in 2009 (Named to the All-OVC Team) with eye-opening stats that included a .411/.698 batting average and slugging percentage, he also cracked 11 home runs and drove in 52 runs. His 28 extra base hits that season was first in the OVC.
Drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 17th round (514 overall) of the 2010 First-Year Major League Baseball Player Draft, Cunningham had two solid seasons in Class-A. He first played for the Eugene Emeralds and then the Fort Wayne TinCaps, before being released.
"In knew what was coming, because a bunch of guys were getting released over the period of a couple of days," Cunningham said. "I remember that feeling of not being extremely upset. If you would've told me that six months before, I would've been brokenhearted. My agent called me and said there other teams interested, but I told him the fact that I wasn't upset was my cue to get out and I did."
Cunningham was a top student at Murray State and now has a career in his field of history and archeology and a growing family. He's certain he made the right choice many years ago to come to Murray State when the opportunity was presented by Coach Rob McDonald.
"It's late in the year and Coach Mac invited me down to Murray for a visit. He offered me sight unseen and I am forever grateful. Yes, playing professionally was a dream come true, but my experience of playing with the guys at Murray and the togetherness we had is worth more. I met so many good people at
Murray and made lifelong friends. Forever, the guys I played with at Murray, I consider family."
Wes Cunningham was inducted into Murray State Hall of Fame in 2016. He was joined in the class by Coach Ron Greene (men's basketball), Ashley Hayes (women's basketball), Kim Koehler (volleyball) and Terry Love (football).
About Runnin' With The Racers Podcast
Murray State Basketball great Jonathan Stark was the first guest when the pilot episode posted Aug. 29, 2018, The podcast is produced weekly and usually is available by Wednesday. The Runnin' with the Racers Podcast is mainly guest driven with news and notes of the week from the Racers. Dave Winder, MSU Athletics Associate AD for Media Relations is the host. The podcast is available on GoRacers.com, ITunes and Soundcloud.
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The Runnin' with the Racers Podcast posts each week to GoRacers.com, iTunes and Soundcloud.
This article on GoRacers.com is brought to you by McConnel Insurance.
Out of Louisville's Eastern High School, Cunningham was recruited by Coach Rob McDonald.
Wearing jersey number 38, Cunningham's collegiate career really took off in his final three seasons in which he became the 2010 Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year, the most recent in program history.
His 2010 season is still the best for any hitter in Murray State history.
In 57 games, Cunningham hit .408 and set the MSU single season record with 22 home runs and 86 RBI. He slugged to an incredible percentage of .824 on
95 hits including 19 doubles, six triples and the 22 long balls. His RBI average of 1.51 per game was second in NCAA D-I as was his slugging percentage (.824). His home run average (0.39) was 11th nationally and helped push him to being named Third Team All-America by Louisville Slugger.Cunningham's career totals of hits (236), triples (14), RBI (167), batting average (.399) and total bases (404) are all current first or second in MSU program history and he did it in only three seasons of play.
From his freshman season forward, Cunningham's desire to play drove him to get better between his first and second seasons.
"I think a lot of it wasn't what happened in between my freshman and sophomore year, I worked hard yes," Cunningham said. "I took that first year and really tried to figure out how to hit that this level. Really, what led to me getting in the lineup and staying was a lot of hustle and using my speed. I was scraping and doing anything I could to stay in the lineup. My teammates would joke about it, that I got hits, but they weren't the prettiest of hits."
Once Cunningham was through his junior season in 2009 (Named to the All-OVC Team) with eye-opening stats that included a .411/.698 batting average and slugging percentage, he also cracked 11 home runs and drove in 52 runs. His 28 extra base hits that season was first in the OVC.
Drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 17th round (514 overall) of the 2010 First-Year Major League Baseball Player Draft, Cunningham had two solid seasons in Class-A. He first played for the Eugene Emeralds and then the Fort Wayne TinCaps, before being released.
"In knew what was coming, because a bunch of guys were getting released over the period of a couple of days," Cunningham said. "I remember that feeling of not being extremely upset. If you would've told me that six months before, I would've been brokenhearted. My agent called me and said there other teams interested, but I told him the fact that I wasn't upset was my cue to get out and I did."
Cunningham was a top student at Murray State and now has a career in his field of history and archeology and a growing family. He's certain he made the right choice many years ago to come to Murray State when the opportunity was presented by Coach Rob McDonald.
"It's late in the year and Coach Mac invited me down to Murray for a visit. He offered me sight unseen and I am forever grateful. Yes, playing professionally was a dream come true, but my experience of playing with the guys at Murray and the togetherness we had is worth more. I met so many good people at
Murray and made lifelong friends. Forever, the guys I played with at Murray, I consider family."
Wes Cunningham was inducted into Murray State Hall of Fame in 2016. He was joined in the class by Coach Ron Greene (men's basketball), Ashley Hayes (women's basketball), Kim Koehler (volleyball) and Terry Love (football).
About Runnin' With The Racers Podcast
Murray State Basketball great Jonathan Stark was the first guest when the pilot episode posted Aug. 29, 2018, The podcast is produced weekly and usually is available by Wednesday. The Runnin' with the Racers Podcast is mainly guest driven with news and notes of the week from the Racers. Dave Winder, MSU Athletics Associate AD for Media Relations is the host. The podcast is available on GoRacers.com, ITunes and Soundcloud.
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