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A transfer from LSU-Eunice, John Long played two seasons for Mulerider Baseball and in that time the Smackover, Arkansas native cemented himself as one of the top hitters in program history.
In his first season of 2007, Long saw action in 39 games with 30 starts and finished the campaign with a .333 average and 31 hits (8 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR), 26 RBI and 17 runs scored. While those numbers are certainly respectable and played a big part in Southern Arkansas winning 41 games that year, they wouldn't hold a candle to his performance the following season.
In what is statistically one of the greatest single-season hitting displays the storied program has ever seen, the leftfielder produced the nation's 11th-best slugging percentage (.800) and 12th-most total bases (164); both of which led the highly-talented Gulf South Conference (GSC). Additionally, he ranked in the GSC's top five of seven offensive categories (batting average, hits, RBI, doubles, home runs and sac flies).
His slugging percentage from that season ranks as the fifth-highest all-time in program history and is the standard among players with at least 200 at bats in a single season, while his total bases (164) have only been surpassed twice since that 2008 campaign.
In 58 games, the senior posted a .415 average with 85 hits of which nearly half went for extra bases as he tallied 21 doubles, tripled twice and cranked 18 home runs which at the time were the second-most in a single season and currently rank tied for the fifth-most by a Mulerider. His totals in average, doubles, triples, home runs and RBI led Southern Arkansas and helped the Muleriders match the program record for wins in a single season with 46 and earn the program's third NCAA regional tournament appearance.
Long earned All-America honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and Daktronics (DAK) with first team honors awarded from the latter in addition to being named Natural State Baseball's Player of the Year. An All-GSC selection, Long was a consensus first team all-region honoree out of the always tough and uber-competitive South-Central Region.
Long's 74 RBI in 2008 were the fourth-most in a single season by a Mulerider and his 21 doubles were tied for the sixth-most in a single season. Both remain in the top ten all-time to this day. That season, Long also recorded two notable single game records scoring six runs against Christian Brothers which remain tied for the most all-time, while his 13 total bases in the same game are tied for the second-most all-time.
For his career, Long saw action in 97 games with 88 starts. He totaled 116 hits with 54 going for extra bases including 29 doubles and 22 home runs in addition to producing 100 RBI and scoring 77 times. His career slugging percentage of .728 ranks third all-time and is the second-highest in the program's NCAA Era, while his career batting average of .389 (116-298) ranks ninth.
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