Katz named to Baseball Community Service Team

LSU senior first baseman Mason Katz was named to the 2013 SEC Baseball Community Service Team by the conference office.

The SEC sponsors Community Service Teams for all 20 league-sponsored sports. The Community Service Team looks to highlight an athlete from each school who gives back to his community in superior service activities.

Katz, a native of Harahan, who received his LSU bachelor's degree in sports administration last, has been the leader of the baseball program's outstanding community service effort for the past season.

He participates in children's hospital visits in the Baton Rouge area, meeting with patients and their families while signing autographs, posing for pictures and lifting their spirits. Katz visited Baton Rouge schools for "Read Across America" Day, encouraging students to expand their education through reading.

Katz participated in the Buddy Walk in Baton Rouge – the event is conducted to promote awareness and inclusion of people with Down Syndrome – and he attended the Blue Ribbon Soiree to raise funds in the fight against prostate cancer.

He annually takes part in the Halloween "Boozar" at LSU, as he and his teammates distribute candy to children in the local community. Katz served food to the homeless at Thanksgiving, and he volunteered at the Baton Rouge Food Bank.

Katz has also helped to conduct youth baseball clinics throughout south Louisiana, and he has worked as a volunteer with the Miracle League, a non-competitive baseball offering for children with physical or mental disabilities.