Just hours before the start of the 2023 Major League Baseball draft, Shane Lewis announced he’ll return for another college season with Troy.

Lewis, a Vicksburg native who won the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year award this season, made the announcement on Twitter on Sunday.

“Troy, thank you for welcoming me in with open arms and blessing me with a year I will never ever forget. With that being said, I have decided forgo this years MLB draft. LETS RUN IT BACK,” Lewis wrote.

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Troy, thank you for welcoming me in with open arms and blessing me with a year I will never ever forget. With that being said, I have decided forgo this years MLB draft. LETS RUN IT BACK🫡 @TroyTrojansBSB pic.twitter.com/av0iJntbKN

— Shane Lewis (@SugaShane601) July 9, 2023

Lewis had a breakout season for Troy, after taking a long and winding road to get there.

Lewis originally signed with Mississippi State after a standout high school career at Warren Central. He redshirted during the Bulldogs’ 2021 national championship season, then transferred to Florida’s Chipola Junior College and then to Troy.

During the 2023 season, Lewis hit 27 home runs to break Troy’s single-season school record and finished with 77 RBIs to rank second on its list. He ranked fourth among all NCAA Division I players in home runs and tied for 13th in RBIs.

Troy finished with a 40-22 record and qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018. The Trojans won their first game at the Tuscaloosa Regional and then lost the next two.

In addition to his Sun Belt Player of the Year award, he was named the league’s Newcomer of the Year and was an All-America selection by ABCA/Rawlings, the American Baseball Coaches Association, and Collegiate Baseball.

Lewis finished the regular season ranked among the top 10 in the Sun Belt in seven offensive categories, including leading the league in slugging, OPS, RBIs, runs scored, walks, home runs and total bases.