BY STEVE KRAH
If it seems like every time Indiana University Southeast baseball followers look up they see Mason White on the bases, it’s because he is there very often.
The lefty-swinging outfielder for a squad that’s 25-15 overall and 17-4 in the NAIA-affiliated River States Conference so far in 2024 has played in 41 games (all starts) and is hitting .430 (65-of-151) with 14 home runs, one triple, 16 doubles, 56 runs batted in, 45 runs scored and a 1.328 OPS (.500 on-base percentage plus .828 slugging average). He has been hitless in just four games and has 20 multi-hit contests. He gathered four hits March 13 against Campbellsville.
The lefty thrower was the everyday right fielder for IUS then moved to center field a few weeks into the season.
White, who is 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, was recognized as RSC Player of the Week on March 18, 2024.
He also received that honor March 28, 2023. The ’23 season — his first with the New Albany-based Grenadiers — White appeared in 53 games (all starts) and hit .320 (65-of-203) with 13 homers, two triples, 25 doubles, 57 RBIs, 48 runs and 1.037 OPS (.382/.655).
Brett Neffendorf is in his first season as IU Southeast head coach. Previous head coach Ben Reel stepped down at the end of 2023 and joined the Grenadiers as an assistant in recent weeks.
“My first impression when I came is that (Coach Neffendorf) really cared,” says White. “He is very organized.
“(Coach) Reel has been a big influence in my life. He’s done a lot of things for me personally. He’s a good guy to talk to one-on-one and you can talk about anything. He knows the game of the baseball and I’ve learned a lot from him.”
IUS assistants Joe Nattermann and Gregg Oppel oversee the team’s hitters.
“They have a very simple approach to hitting,” says White. “They don’t try to do too much. They only (make adjustments with) with guys if they need it or see something.”
His approach in the batter’s box?
“I envision myself doing my job,” says White. “I don’t try to do to much at the plate.
“I hit the ball back to where it came from. That’s my mental cue.”
While White has driven a few balls over the fence, including in the first inning Tuesday, April 16 against Georgetown (Ky.), he does not consider himself a classic power hitter.
“I’m a gap-to-gap guy,” says White. “Every once in awhile a pitcher will give me something I like and I’ll take advantage of that.”
On defense, White and the other outfielders meet with Nattermann to talk about the tendencies of opposing hitters and what the Grenadier flyhawks are going to do in certain situations.
White likes what the Grenadiers have going on.
“This group is special,” says White. “We’re an older team.
“The connection is strong. We get along very well.”
White played with three IUS mates — Ryan Kassel, Colin Long and Kody Putnam — at Southeastern Illinois College, a National Junior College Athletic Association member in Harrisburg, Ill. Putnam (Evansville Central Class of 2019) shared the field with White in high school while Kassel (Evansville Reitz Class of 2019) and Long (Evansville Reitz Class of 2020) were opponents.
The 24-year-old is scheduled to graduate from IUS this spring as a General Studies major. He is uncertain about additional college eligibility.
“My goal is the play the next level,” says White. “If I want to do that I can’t be too old.”
White redshirted for the 2022 season after transferring from SIC.
In three seasons for the Jeremy Irlbeck-coached Falcons (2019-21), White played in 108 games as an outfielder, first baseman and left-handed pitcher and hit .313 (108-of-344) with six homers and 61 RBIs.
Says White, “I grew into my body, got a little more athletic and moved to the outfield.”
White did not play college summer ball in 2019. He was with the Ohio Valley League’s Henderson (Ky.) Flash in 2020, OVL champion Dubois County (Ind.) Bombers in 2021, Prospect League’s Terre Haute (Ind.) Rex in 2022 and New York Collegiate Baseball League-winning Rochester (N.Y.) Ridgemen in 2023.
Born and raised in Evansville, Ind., White got his diamond start at the Stringtown fields, Highland Baseball and Garvin Park. He played travel ball for the Southern Indiana Spikes and was with Eugene Pate American Legion Post 265 as a high schooler.
White played baseball and basketball at Evansville Central High School, graduating in 2018. His coach on the diamond was Mike Goedde. Scott Hudson guided him on the hardwood.
“Coach Goedde was more of a quiet-minded individual,” says White. “He really knows the game. He coached the University of Southern Indiana and the University of Evansville. He had a good idea on what he was doing.
“Coach Hudson (who went on to steer Wapahani girls) was a firecracker. He was a guy was couldn’t stop moving. He was all over the plate all the time, but that’s what made him such a good coach. He’s a genius at the game.”
Mason is the son of Jason White and the late Tara Mattox. He has three sisters (Kendra, McKenzie and McKenna) and a half-brother (Maddox).
Jason White coached Mason until college.
“My dad has always been the reason I’m as good as I am,” says Mason. “He texts or calls me after every game and supports me mentally.”
Former Evansville Central cheerleader and basketball player Kendra White the oldest and is married with a child. McKenzie White (Evansville Central Class of 2024) played volleyball and basketball and is preparing for college. Seventh grader McKenna White plays in the school band. Maddox Ferrari, 8, attends Stringtown Elementary and plays basketball.
Mason White has been around folks with an affinity for the MLB team in St. Louis.
“Our family favors the Cardinals,” says White. “I just like watching good players play.
“I like Bryce Harper and Paul Goldschmidt. Those are my top two players right now. I like how Goldschmidt keeps it simple (while hitting). Even though he’s a righty, I reflect it in the lefty batter’s box.”
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