5 things to know about Kansas City Royals MLB Draft pick Spencer Nivens

Missouri State outfielder Spencer Nivens was selected by the Kansas City Royals with the 142nd overall pick during the fifth round of the 2023 MLB Draft.

Nivens is coming off a Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year season with the Bears. He has been regarded as an MLB Draft prospect since earning his way onto the Bears and breaking out with a Freshman All-American season.

The 142nd overall pick carries an approximate signing bonus value of $446,700, according to MLB.com.

Here's what you need to know about the outfielder.

Nivens was nearly cut by Missouri State baseball

Heading into the fall of his redshirt freshman year, there was only one spot open and four players competing for it — with Nivens being among them.

Instead of complaining or deciding to hit the transfer portal as so many would in this day of college baseball, Nivens chose to take the challenge on and prove why he belonged.

More: How Missouri State OF Spencer Nivens almost got cut and then turned into an MLB prospect

"He never blinked," Bears head coach Keith Guttin said in a previous interview. "He could have very, very easily said 'screw you, I'll go somewhere else' and that wouldn't have been a good thing for Missouri State. He just said 'OK, I'll compete' and he clearly won it. The rest is history.

"While watching him in the fall, I said that it was no longer about winning a spot and that it was about where we were going to hit him in the order. He came in and just hit in the exhibition game, he hit in the inter-squad games and he made the transition from high school infielder to outfielder and he became a very good defensive outfielder."

Nivens developed himself into a pro prospect quickly. After making the team, Nivens broke out as a redshirt freshman and was named to the Collegiate Baseball Freshman team. He led the NCAA Tournament-bound Bears with a .346 batting average to go with 11 home runs and 52 RBI.

Nivens became the MVC Player of the Year in 2023

There was no question as to Nivens' position on the team heading into 2023. He maintained his level of play and was named the league's best player by the end of it.

Nivens was named the Missouri Valley Conference's top player when he batted .341 with 14 homers and 45 RBI this past season. He had 36 extra-base hits giving him the most since fellow Missouri State draft picks Jake Burger and Jeremy Eierman each reached the same number in 2017. He hit for the eighth cycle in the school's history and the first since 1998 this past season.

Nivens is the sixth Bear to be named the MVC Player of the Year — joining Bille Mueller, Steve Hacker, Matt Cepicky, Brayden Drake and Burger.

Nivens would own all of Rock Bridge's offensive records if COVID didn't cancel his senior year

Nivens was a special talent out of Rock Bridge High in Columbia but his career was impacted by his senior season being canceled by the pandemic.

He was the state's No. 3 shortstop in the Class of 2020 and was named an all-state performer as a junior. He hit .381 with 45 hits and 38 runs scored. During his sophomore year, he batted a ridiculous .454 with 44 hits and a program-record 29 walks for honorable mention all-state recognition.

Nivens owns two of the top five single-season hit totals in the school's history. If his senior season was played, he would have owned most of the school's career offensive records.

Missouri State has sent outfielders to the MLB Draft in recent years

Missouri State has had over 115 players drafted over the years and Nivens extends the list.

He becomes the first outfielder to be selected since Hunter Steinmetz was picked in the 11th round with the 326th overall choice in 2018. The Bears saw Dakota Kotowski sign with the Philadelphia Phillies as an undrafted free agent a year ago.

Other recent outfielders to be selected include Spencer Johnson (16th round, 2016) and Tate Matheny (4th round, 2015).

Missouri State had one player selected in 2022 when catcher Drake Baldwin was selected in the third round by the Atlanta Braves.

What others have said about Nivens

Keith Law of The Athletic: "Nivens makes surprisingly hard contact for a smaller guy with a simple swing and he's an excellent fastball hitter. He hasn't faced much real velocity, hitting what he's seen at least and he will have to work to stay in center, as his arm would otherwise push him to left field. There's a decent upside here with the hit/power potential if he does stay up the middle."

David Seifert, D1Baseball — "The lefthanded leadoff hitter is an above-average runner and average defender in the outfield. His fringe arm may best suit him to left field in pro ball. Currently, he slots into the mid-Day 2 draft bucket of potential prospects."

Keith Guttin, Missouri State head coach — "I'd say we're glad we kept him. It was a bad decision to put him in that situation but he earned his way. In baseball, he's got what we call 'makeup.' He's got all the intangibles."

Wyatt D. Wheeler is a reporter and columnist with the Springfield News-Leader. You can contact him at 417-371-6987, by email at wwheeler@news-leader.com or Twitter at @WyattWheeler_NL.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Royals pick Missouri State outfielder Spencer Nivens in MLB Draft