After a tumultuous season that saw Mississippi State (34-21, 15-15 SEC) fire its head coach midway through, the Bulldogs are back in familiar territory; awaiting their NCAA Regional fate.
Interim head coach Justin Parker’s team has won nine of its last 11 games to re-emerge firmly in the mix for a postseason berth. A strong offense, led by standout sophomore transfer third baseman Ace Reese (.371/.471/.776) and seniors Gehrig Frei (.357/.417/.605) and Noah Sullivan (.336/.479/.633) has helped compensate for an inconsistent pitching staff led by senior Pico Kohn (5-3, 4.13 ERA) and juniors Ben Davis (3-2, 3.96) and Evan Siary (2-1, 4.12) as Mississippi State has righted the ship under Parker.
The Bulldogs appear to be a lock for their 41st NCAA Regional appearance, including last season under former head coach Chris Lemonis. MSU has earned regional berths in seven of the last 10 seasons, not counting the 2020 season where the Bulldogs were one of the best teams in the country before the season was canceled due to the pandemic.
And while the dream of an Oxford Regional featuring Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Southern Miss remains alive, here’s a look at the more likely postseason scenarios for the Bulldogs from prominent college baseball publications.
Baseball America
The first of several No. 3 seed projections for the Bulldogs, Baseball America has them heading to Los Angeles to face host UCLA, No. 2 seed Kansas and No. 4 seed Loyola Marymount.
College Sports Madness
College Sports Madness’ baseball bracketology tabs Mississippi State as a No. 2 seed in the Chapel Hill Regional, where they’re grouped with host North Carolina, No. 3 seed Connecticut and No. 4 seed Long Island.
D1 Baseball
D1 Baseball has Mississippi State as a No. 3 seed in the Tallahassee Regional, where they’ll be matched up with No.1 seed Florida State, No. 2 seed Northeastern and No. 4 seed Bethune-Cookman.
Just Baseball
Just Baseball used a data-driven approach for its projections, tabbing the Bulldogs as a No. 3 seed in the Eugene Regional where they’ll face host Oregon, No. 2 seed West Virginia and No. 4 seed Nevada.
On3
On3 also projects the Bulldogs to the Eugene Regional, this time as a No. 2 seed, joining host Oregon, No. 3 seed Cincinnati and No. 4 seed Nevada.
The Tennessean
The Bulldogs land another No. 2 seed, this time in Atlanta, according to The Tennessean. MSU would be placed with host Georgia Tech, No. 3 seed Xavier and No. 4 seed Miami-Ohio.
Philip Poe is sports editor.
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