Cannon Lester to be inducted into Hall of Fame.

MAGNOLIA - For some, the call to the Hall of Fame is one that can years to receive.

But in the case of Cannon Lester, his call came just five years after he completed his career at Southern Arkansas.

Lester will be one of 10 inductees, as well as an entire team that will be recognized during a ceremony at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, October 20 in the Grand Hall of the Donald W. Reynolds Campus and Community Center.

This is the 15th class elected by SAU's Hall of Fame induction committee.

"It's a pretty cool thing," Lester said. "Coach (Steve) Browning called and told me that I was going in with Hayden Simpson, and we played against each other quite a bit as kids."

Lester played baseball at Southern Arkansas from 2007-2010. By the end of his time as a Mulerider, Lester was a two-time All-America First-Team performer who had put together one of the best all-around offensive careers in the storied history of the program with 10 career records to his name. Currently, Lester still holds eight of those records with his marks in home runs (41) and at-bats (765) recently being eclipsed, and just by one in each category.

Of the remaining eight career record categories, Lester’s name is still at the top of games played (220), games started (215), hits (290), runs scored (247), doubles (75), runs batted in (219), total bases (498), and hit by pitch (68).

In addition to his career records, Lester also set single-season records in runs scored (89 in 2010) and total bases (167 in 2009) as well as staking claim to the single-game record for doubles (4 in 2009 vs. Henderson State) and tying the game mark for home runs (3 in 2009 vs. St. Edward’s).

Lester’s career got off to a relatively humble beginning in 2007. As a freshman, Lester played in 52 games and made 47 starts.

He hit .309 with 11 doubles, two home

runs and 30 RBIs.

His sophomore year, however, Lester broke out in a major way offensively, as he hit an even .400 with 19 doubles, a triple, five home runs, 51 runs scored and 41 RBIs en route to being named All-Gulf South Conference West Division Second-Team.

The upward trend continued for Lester in his junior season as he helped lead the Muleriders to a GSC West Division title, the most wins in school history (52), a No.1 national ranking, and hosting rights for that year’s NCAA South Region Tournament.

Individually, Lester hit .393 with 20 doubles, two triples, 19 home runs, 69 runs scored and 72 RBIs.

Those eye-popping stats resulted in Lester racking up the hardware, as he was an All-GSC West Division First-Team selection at second base, a consensus All-South Region First-Team pick and was named to three All-America teams, earning first-team honors from Daktronics and the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA).

Lester switched positions on the infield as a senior, moving over to third base, but his bat did not slow down, as he hit .396 with 25 doubles, two triples, 15 home runs, 89 runs scored (to lead all of DII) and drove in 76 runs.

The consistency in his numbers from his junior year to his senior year resulted in consistent awards and accolades as Lester repeated all of his junior accomplishments while bolstering himself to a unanimous All-South Region FirstTeam player as well a consensus All-America First-Team pick.

Lester’s powerful bat and accolades helped SAU to another great year, as they won the second-most games in a season, going 47-10 while repeating as GSC West Division regular season champions.

They also spent time as the No. 1 ranked team in DII and played in the South Regional final as the top-seed in that year’s tournament.

Furthermore, Lester’s senior season saw him be a semifinalist for the inaugural Tino Martinez DII National Player of the Year Award, as well as capture SAU’s Auburn Smith Award as the University’s Outstanding Male Senior Athlete that year.

Not long after the conclusion of Lester’s fabled career, he added one more prestigious honor as he was named a unanimous selection to the GSC’s West Division All-Decade Team for the 2000s.

Later, Lester initially signed with San Francisco Giants to play professionally, but ultimately played three productive years with the Southern Illinois Miners of the independent Frontier League.

"I went there as a walkon, and I want people to know that you can walk on and make it if you put in the work," Lester said.