The Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball team representing Mississippi State University in

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

. The program is a member of the West Division of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

(SEC). The current head coach is Chris Lemonis. They have appeared in the

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...

12 times, winning their first national championship in their most recent appearance in

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

History

Mississippi State has won 11 SEC Championships in 1948, 1949, 1965, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1979, 1985, 1987, 1989, and 2016. The first six were won in a playoff series (with the first two being best-of-five while the rest were a best-of-three series). Since the formation of the SEC Tournament in 1977, the Bulldogs have won it seven times, in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

, 1990, 2001, 2005, and

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

. The seven tournament championships and six playoff championships are a total of 13 SEC postseason championships, the most of any school. Prior to the formation of the SEC, the program won the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship in 1909, 1911, 1918, 1921, and 1922 as well as the

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly k ...

title in 1924. The program has also appeared in 34 NCAA Regionals and 12

. Out of its 12 College World Series trips, the program has appeared in two national championship series (2013 and 2021). Eight years after finishing as runner-up to the UCLA Bruins in 2013, the Mississippi State Bulldogs returned to the national championship series when on June 30, 2021, the club defeated the Vanderbilt Commodores with a score of 9–0 to finally secure its first National Championship title, which serves as the first national championship in a team-sport in school history. This 2021 National Championship was earned in a third consecutive trip to the College World Series (2018, 2019, 2021). A Bulldogs pitcher was selected in the first round of the MLB draft 6 times.Mississippi State University 2013 Baseball Media Guide
* *2020 College World Series did not take place due to the cancellation of the 2020 college baseball season in the presence of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The team had achieved a 12–4 record to start the 2020 season before it was discontinued during March 2020.

Venue

The Bulldogs play their home games at Dudy Noble Field, Polk-DeMent Stadium. Dubbed the "Carnegie Hall of College Baseball" by Nelle Cohen, wife of former MSU skipper and current Athletic Director John Cohen, it was the host site of the first SEC tournament and holds the NCAA baseball on-campus attendance record of 15,586 spectators, set in a game against the University of Mississippi in 2014. The stadium has hosted 23 of the top 25 largest crowds to attend an on-campus college baseball game, which the top 10 belong solely to Mississippi State. In 2013, Paul Swaney of Stadium Journey ranked it as the number one collegiate ballpark. One of the venue's most prominent features is the Left Field Lounge, an outfield area where spectators can gather and enjoy the games in a tailgate setting, including stands built on top of old pick-up trucks and trailers. MSUDudyNoblePano 2007-06-09

In 2005, the Palmeiro Center, a indoor practice facility, was built next to Dudy Noble. The facility, made possible by a gift from program alumnus Rafael Palmeiro and his wife Lynne, features an infield practice area, additional training area, and three batting cages. A baseball coaches' office complex located between the Palmeiro Center and Dudy Noble Field was also built in 2005. The complex, which includes a baseball heritage room, was made possible by contributions from former Bulldog players

Jeff Brantley Jeffrey Hoke Brantley (born September 5, 1963) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 14 seasons, from to . Brantley currently is a broadcaster for the Cincinnati Reds. Early care ...

, Will Clark, Eric DuBose, Paul Maholm, Jay Powell and

Bobby Thigpen Robert Thomas "Bobby" Thigpen (born July 17, 1963) is a former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. He is noted for setting the major league record of 57 saves during the season, which has since been broken by former Los Angeles Angels of An ...

, along with sports agent and former Bulldog manager Bo McKinnis.

Attendance

The program has set many attendance records at Dudy Noble Field. SEC and Super Regional weekend games usually draw the largest crowds to Dudy Noble Field. Mississippi State currently holds the NCAA record for the largest single game on-campus baseball attendance at 15,586 and the largest regular season crowd for a 3-game weekend series at 39,181. In 2021, in a Super Regional against Notre Dame, Mississippi State set NCAA attendance records for Super Regional games with 14,385 and 13,971 fans and a record total for a 3-game series of 40,140. More than 5 million spectators have attended games at the venue since the university started tracking attendance numbers in 1976. Mississippi State holds all of the top 10 and 23 of the top 25 on-campus crowds in college baseball history, including 14 crowds of over 12,000 and 42 crowds of over 10,000. Shown below are the 10 largest home crowds in Mississippi State history. Note that nine of these crowds are among the NCAA's 10 largest ever on-campus crowds.

MLB First Round Draft Picks

* 1st round of the 2007 MLB Supplemental Draft ** Taken in the Competitive Balance 1st round of the 2017 MLB Draft *** Taken in the Competitive Balance 1st round in the 2022 MLB Draft

Mississippi State's 1st Team All-Americans

Ron Polk Ring of Honor

2019 Class *

* Will Clark *

Dave Ferriss David Meadow Ferriss (December 5, 1921 – November 24, 2016) was an American Major League Baseball player who pitched for the Boston Red Sox from 1945 through 1950. Ferriss was given the nickname 'Boo' as the result of a childhood inability to p ...

* Dudy Noble * Rafael Palmeiro 2020 Class * Eric Dubose * Paul Gregory *

2021 Class * Paul Maholm * Jonathan Papelbon * Jay Powell *

Del Unser Delbert Bernard Unser (born December 9, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder and utility player from to , most prominently with the Philadelphia Phillies, where he was ...

2022 Class *Richard Lee * Pete Young *Frank Montgomery

Individual awards

National awards

Baseball America Freshman of the Year Award Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

: Rafael Palmeiro (1983) *

Golden Spikes Award The Golden Spikes Award is bestowed annually to the best amateur baseball player in the United States. The award, created by USA Baseball and sponsored by the Major League Baseball Players Association, was first presented in 1978. It is given to ...

: Will Clark (1985) *

Baseball America College Coach of the Year The Baseball America College Coach of the Year Award is an award given by ''Baseball America'' to the best college baseball coach of the year. The award has been given annually since 1981. Winners See also *List of college baseball awards * B ...

Ron Polk Ronald George Polk (born January 12, 1944) is an American professional coach in NCAA Division I college baseball. He was a long-time head baseball coach at Mississippi State and is considered to be the "Father of Southeastern Conference Basebal ...

(1985) * Johnny Bench Award : Ed Easley (2007) * Collegiate Baseball Player of the Year Award : Brent Rooker (2017) * NCBWA National Coach of the Year : Gary Henderson (2018) *Rawlings Coach of the Year : Gary Henderson (2018) *

: Chris Lemonis (2021)

Notable players

* Will Clark * John Cohen *

Hughie Critz Hugh Melville Critz (September 17, 1900 – January 10, 1980) was an American second baseman in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds in the 1920s and the New York Giants in the 1930s. Career overview Critz was born in Starkville, Missis ...

* Ed Easley * Dave "Boo" Ferriss * Adam Frazier *

Alex Grammas Alexander Peter Grammas (April 3, 1926 – September 13, 2019) was an American professional baseball infielder, manager and coach. A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Grammas played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Cinci ...

* Kendall Graveman * Jonathan Holder * Dakota Hudson * Morley Jennings * Jon Knott * Jack Lazorko * Nate Lowe * Paul Maholm * Tyler Moore *

Mitch Moreland Mitchell Austin Moreland (born September 6, 1985), nicknamed "2-Bags", is an American professional baseball first baseman who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, San Diego Padres ...

* Buddy Myer * Bob Myrick * Dudy Noble * Rafael Palmeiro * Jonathan Papelbon * Jay Powell * Hunter Renfroe * Buck Showalter *

Chris Stratton Christopher Lee Stratton (born August 22, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Angels, and Pittsbu ...

* Craig Tatum *

* Brandon Woodruff * Chris Young

Coaches

Only those who coached 3 or more seasons and 30 or more games. † There was no SEC Baseball Tournament before 1977. Records are for the two team playoff that determined the SEC champion.

Year-by-year results

†NCAA canceled all postseason activities for all college sports due to the COVID-19 virus.

50 Win Seasons

† Does not include SEC Tourney Record
†† Division Champ

All-time record vs. SEC teams

Rivalries

In baseball, MSU has two main rivals, LSU and Ole Miss. Against LSU, the Bulldogs hold a 216–185 all-time series lead over LSU in a series that got its start in 1907. Against Ole Miss, Mississippi State leads the series 259–208–5. Retired Mississippi State head baseball coach, Ron Polk, was 85–49 against Ole Miss. John Cohen, MSU's former coach, was 8–11 in SEC Conference games and 11–17 overall against Ole Miss. Andy Cannizaro was 4–0 against Ole Miss in 2017. Gary Henderson was 3–1 against Mississippi in 2018, while MSU's current coach Chris Lemonis has a 6–1 mark. The two teams play a 3-game series each year that counts in the SEC standings and one non-conference game in Jackson, MS. The game in Jackson was called the Mayor's Trophy from 1980 to 2006, and from 2007 to present the game has been called the Governor's Cup. The Mayor's Trophy series ended 14–13 in favor of the Rebels. With the 2007 season, the non-conference meeting between the two teams moved to Trustmark Park in

Pearl, Mississippi Pearl is a city in Rankin County, Mississippi, United States, located on the east side of the Pearl River across from the state capital Jackson. The population was 25,092 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area ...

– which is the home to the

Mississippi Braves The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they are referred to locally, are a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson. The team is the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and plays in the Southern League. ...

. Mississippi State holds the lead in the Governor's Cup 9–4.

References

External links

SECSports.com All-Time SEC Baseball Tournament ResultsMississippi State Baseball MediBoyd's World DataRon Polk Bio2013 Mississippi State Universality baseball Media GuideLeft Field Lounge News

External links

* {{SECBaseball Baseball teams established in 1885 1885 establishments in Mississippi