Mikie Mahtook Embraces the LSU Tradition of Excellence
Blessed with supreme athletic genes from a lineage rooted in LSU tradition, junior outfielder Mikie Mahtook was destined to one day don the purple and gold.
While one of Mahtook’s uncles, Ronnie, played football at what was then the University of Southwestern Louisiana, both his father, Mike, and his other uncle, Robbie, suited up for the LSU football team in the early 1980s and late ’70s, respectively.
Growing up, however, the Tigers’ junior didn’t have the opportunity to play ball with his dad as the elder Mike passed away when Mikie was only four years old.
Even though his father’s death came when he was very young, Mahtook still has fond memories of his dad.
“I just remember that he always liked to come home and play with me,” Mahtook said. “He was having fun and doing little things whether it was playing with Army men before dinner or doing something.”
Despite his dad’s passing, Mahtook’s uncles and mother, Mary Ann, made it a point to get him involved in athletic competition at an early age, but it was one of his father’s old friends who piqued his interest in baseball.
“Mike Saab, one of my dad’s friends who played baseball here really got me started in baseball at seven or eight,” Mahtook explained. “He was an outfielder, so that’s probably where I fell in love with the outfield.”
Like his father and uncles, however, Mahtook would also step on to the gridiron, and it wasn’t long before he would excel at both sports.
A star quarterback and centerfielder at St. Thomas More High School in Lafayette, La., Mahtook earned all-state honors in both sports. His “dual love” led him to initially consider playing both at the collegiate level, but ultimately he settled on baseball.
“I really thought about it, talked with my mom about it, prayed about it and really just decided that I never fully concentrated on baseball,” Mahtook said. “I had the title that I was a ‘raw’ player. I’m a good athlete but I’m raw, and I saw Jared (Mitchell) who was doing both, and it was tough for him, so I decided that maybe I should just concentrate on baseball and see where that takes me.”
He doesn’t regret his decision one bit.
In his first season with the Tigers in 2009, Mahtook was one of several dynamic freshmen thrust into head coach Paul Mainieri‘s lineup who was instrumental in helping the program win its sixth national championship.
The outfielder’s signature moment came in Game 1 of the championship series against Texas when he delivered a two-out RBI single in the top of the 11th inning to break a 6-6 tie and propel the Tigers to victory.
Last season Mahtook brought his game to another level as he showcased his “five-tool” attributes at the plate, on the base paths and in the outfield. A member of the 2010 SEC All-Tournament Team, Mahtook led the squad among active players in several categories, including on-base percentage, slugging percentage, extra base hits and stolen bases.
His stellar sophomore campaign earned him a spot on the United States Collegiate National Team for the 2010 World University Championships in Tokyo, where he helped lead the squad to a silver-medal finish.
“It was an awesome experience,” he said. “I got to play with a bunch of great players this summer that if I wasn’t with Team USA, I probably wouldn’t have been able to play with them. Tokyo was a different place. It was fun, but I came back a little light.”
Mahtook had plenty of time to bulk back up for the upcoming collegiate season when the preseason all-American is not only expected to lead the Tigers at the plate but also adopt a leadership role in the clubhouse as one of the team’s elder statesmen.
“It’s a new role for me, and I’m embracing it,” Mahtook said. “During my freshman year I came into a team full of veterans with the aspirations of winning a national championship, and they kind of took all the guys under their wings.
“Last year I kind of went into a different role, still not one of the older guys, but now I’m one of those veterans on the team, so I’m trying to use the lessons learned from freshman and sophomore years to take as many guys under my wing.”
But even with all the youth on the roster, Mahtook remains optimistic about the Tigers’ prospects in 2011 and he made his expectations clear.
“When you’re at LSU, the only thing you think about is Omaha or bust,” he said. “I think we have enough talent to win it. There are a lot of young guys, but they’ve stepped in and really meshed, so I think it’s going to be a really exciting year, a different year — maybe not 120 homers like we usually do — but a fun year at that.”