The Brian O’Connor era at Mississippi State began with a bang.
Athletic Director Zac Selmon moved quickly to secure the coach’s services, and O’Connor moved about as quickly to secure some top recruits through the transfer portal.
The Bulldogs have the top-rated transfer class by 64 Analytics, a comprehensive database site for college baseball statistics, rankings and data. The class features five of the Top 50 players who entered the portal, and five notable players from O’Connor’s previous school, Virginia.
The players returning for the Bulldogs were an important factor as well, and O’Connor spent much of his first week evaluating the players with eligibility remaining. Among the returning players are All-SEC third baseman Ace Reese, veterans Bryce Chance and Reed Stallman, and pitchers Ben Davis, Charlie Foster, Dane Burns and Ryan McPherson.
Rumors of a late exit for Reese were quickly put to rest as the end of the portal came and went earlier in the week, and the slugger will headline a 2026 squad that will carry lofty expectations for O’Connor’s debut season in Starkville.
Here’s a look at the 15 transfer portal arrivals this summer.
Portal additions
Tomas Valincius, sophomore LHP (Virginia): 2025 stats – 5-1 record, 64.2 IP, 4.59 ERA, ACC All-Freshman.
A product of Baylor High School in Tennessee, Valincius was the 2024 Gatorade Tennessee Baseball Player of the Year as a senior and a two-time Mr. Baseball in his division. He recorded an 8-0 record in his senior year with a 1.14 ERA.
He committed to play for Brian O’Connor at Virginia and was an ACC All-Freshman selection after ranking second on the team in strikeouts and tied the team-best for quality starts and innings pitched. He started 12 games in 2025, striking out at least five batters in seven of those starts.
Vytas Valincius, senior OF (Illinois): 2025 stats – BA .348, 71 hits, 58 RBI, All-Big Ten Second Team.
The older brother of Tomas, Vytas was a similarly high-rated prospect out of Baylor. He was the top first baseman in Tennessee and fourth overall in the country as a recruit and originally committed to South Carolina. He transferred to John A. Logan Community College after his freshman year, and then moved to Illinois for his junior and senior seasons.
He started 107 games for the Illini and became a standout at the plate and in the outfield, earning All-Big Ten Second Team honors in 2025.
Chone James, sophomore INF (Virginia): 2025 stats – BA .373, 25 hits, 11 RBI.
James was the second-ranked catcher out of South Carolina in high school, but started primarily as a designated hitter in his freshman year at Virginia. He also played games in the outfield and at second base.
James made just 15 starts in 26 appearances as a freshman, but posted prolific numbers at the plate and earned a role as a designated hitter.
James Nunnallee, sophomore OF (Virginia): 2025 stats – BA .296, 42 hits, 26 RBI.
In high school, Nunnallee was rated as the No. 2 outfield recruit in the state of Virginia for his class, was a 2024 All-Met team selection by the Washington Post and was named the Class 5 Region D Player of the Year.
He made 48 appearances as a freshman with the Cavaliers, starting 40 games in multiple outfield roles with three starts as a designated hitter.
Aidan Teel, sophomore OF (Virginia): 2025 stats – BA .317, 59 hits, 40 RBI, All-ACC Third Team.
Teel arrived at Virginia in 2023, but only appeared in 12 games in the field as a freshman and saw no action in 2024.
In 2025, Teel started all 50 games in center field for the Cavaliers, picking up All-ACC Third Team honors for his performance. He became a strong leadoff option in the batting order and recorded 18 multi-hit games with 10 multi-RBI performances. His 51 runs ranked second on the team.
Ryder Woodson, freshman (NC State): 2025 stats – BA .361, 13 hits, 3 home runs, 15 RBI.
Woods made 23 appearances for NC State as a freshman in 2025. He made some noise in the postseason with a three-hit, five-RBI game against Stetson at the Auburn regional, a performance that featured a home run and a go-ahead grand slam to see the Wolfpack to a 17-12 win.
Woods was the Player of the Year in his district at St. John Neumann High School in Florida, and though he was listed as a shortstop in recruiting databases, he can fill multiple roles in the field.
Jackson Logar, junior RHP (James Madison): 2025 stats – 4-5 record, 74 IP, 3.53 ERA.
Logar made 14 starts at JMU in 2025 after spending his freshman year as a regular member of the bullpen, making him a seasoned player in multiple roles for Justin Parker to work with.
He tossed two one-hitters and had eight outings with five or more strikeouts.
Logar’s best performance came in a start against Troy. He posted nine strikeouts with just three walks and two hits in seven innings of work to earn a win against the Trojans.
Blake Bevis, senior OF (Ball State): 2025 stats – BA .301, 68 hits, 18 home runs, 52 RBI, All-MAC First Team.
Bevis arrives as one of the most experienced players on the new-look MSU roster. He started at least 50 games in three seasons at Ball State and is a two-time All-MAC honoree.
Bevis has 146 RBI and 41 home runs in his time at Ball State, and really turned up the power as a junior with a career-best 18 deep shots. His versatility to play outfield and first base makes him another utility threat for the Bulldogs.
Tyler Pitzer, junior RHP (South Carolina): 2025 stats – 4-0 record, 28.1 IP, 5.63 ERA.
Pitzer arrives in Starkville after two years of work in the South Carolina bullpen. He holds an 8-1 career record from 72 innings pitched, making 19 appearances in 2025. His ERA ballooned to 6.99 in his sophomore season, but he finished the year with no losses to his name while recording 32 strikeouts in 28 innings of work.
Kevin Milewski, junior C (Seton Hall): 2025 stats – BA .303, 57 hits, 16 home runs, 58 RBI, All-Big East.
Addressing a big position of need for the Bulldogs, Milewski arrives after starting 47 games for Seton Hall as a sophomore behind the plate. He hit 16 home runs, the fourth-most in a single season for the program, and ranked fourth in the conference with 58 RBI.
He had two notable power swings in a big spot, a ninth-inning grand slam against Xavier and a three-run walk-off shot against Georgetown, all within a week of each other.
Defensively, Milewski boasts a fielding percentage of .979 with just five errors committed.
William Kirk, sophomore LHP (Virginia): 2025 stats – N/A
Kirk didn’t see any action for the Cavaliers in 2025, but was a highly touted prospect out of high school. He was the 2024 Gatorade New Jersey Baseball Player of the Year as a senior at Ramsey High School, going 5-0 with a 0.22 ERA in 26 appearances. He has a high ceiling as a closer, with 62 strikeouts in 32 innings of work in his high school career.
Brendan Sweeney, senior RHP (South Carolina): 2025 stats – 1-3 record, 25.1 IP, 8.53 ERA.
Sweeney established himself as one of the stronger arms in the South Carolina bullpen last season, recording a team-best six saves with 34 strikeouts in 23 appearances. He began the year hot with three saves in his first three appearances.
Davion Hickson, junior RHP (Rice): 2025 stats – 2-7 record, 73 IP, 3.82 ERA, All-AAC.
A graduate of the famed IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., Hickson began his career close to home at Florida State before transferring to Rice. He made himself at home in Houston, earning Second Team All-AAC honors in 2025 along with a conference and national pitcher of the week award for a complete game one-hitter against Charlotte in May.
Hickson brings a veteran presence to a Bulldog rotation that is likely to be fairly young.
Drew Wyers, senior SS (Bryant): 2025 stats – BA .407, 59 hits, 11 home runs, 50 RBI, All-ECAC.
Mississippi State is the fourth stop in four years for Wyers, who played at Stetson and Manhattan before heading to Bryant for the 2025 season.
As a junior, Wyers was named the Len Harlow America East Player of the Year along with All-Conference and All-Region honors, and was a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award given to the best shortstop in college baseball.
Along with Wyers’ impressive statistics at the plate, he posted a .959 fielding percentage and made just seven errors from 172 chances in 2025. His addition next to Ace Reese in both the batting order and the infield setup could be a big game changer for the Bulldogs.
MLB Draft looms
The biggest remaining question for the Bulldogs this summer is how many players will have a shot at reaching The Show in the upcoming Major League Baseball Draft.
Four transfers are draft eligible, as are seven returning players and the entirety of the high school and junior college recruiting class.
Of the returning players, Gehrig Frei, Jacob Pruitt, Gatlin Sanders, J.T. Schnoor, Evan Siary, Noah Sullivan and Nate Williams are all draft eligible. Transfers Bevis, Hickson, Sweeney and Teel are also draft eligible.
2025 commits Jojo Parker and Jack Bauer are the most likely to hear their name called on July 13 when the first round begins. Both are considered top prospects, and their decision whether or not to sign professionally will likely depend on how far, if at all, they fall below their projections.
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