STARKVILLE — Mississippi State pitcher Preston Johnson has a two-word answer when asked how to think about the Bulldogs’ 2021 College World Series title with a new season coming soon.

Forget it. 

“We’re national champions, but we’re also the 2022 Mississippi State baseball team,” Johnson said. “What we did last year was nice. We’ve got to build on that, but we’ve also got to forget it and move on to try to get back there.”

That’s not always so easy after the first team national title in school history. Off the field, Bulldogs players and coaches are bombarded by congratulatory fans. On the outfield wall at Polk-Dement Stadium, the words “national champions” are inscribed in maroon and white.

It’s one of many reminders of what Mississippi State accomplished not that long ago.

“It still doesn’t feel real to me,” outfielder Brad Cumbest said. “I look out at the sign out there in right center field, and I’m like, ‘Wow. We did that.’”

MSU certainly did. The Bulldogs pounded Vanderbilt in back-to-back games to claim the CWS crown, capping a two-week run to the national title. They received unforgettable performances from pitchers Will Bednar and Landon Sims, clutch hitting from Tanner Allen and Co. and error-free defense the whole way through.

“It’s kind of hard to play better baseball than we did in Omaha,” third baseman Kamren James said.

But James and the rest of the team know Mississippi State will have to approximate that production in 2022, even without key contributors like Allen and Bednar. Center fielder Rowdey Jordan, second baseman Scotty Dubrule and pitchers Christian MacLeod and Houston Harding are among those who also moved on after the Bulldogs went out on top.

And with 11 freshmen and six transfers in the fold, the Bulldogs’ 2022 squad won’t look all that much like last year’s club.

“This is a totally different team,” first baseman Luke Hancock said. “We’ve got new faces everywhere. We’ll just have to be prepared to just go out there and play baseball.”

The Bulldogs will hope those new faces help lead them to the same goal. Mississippi State coach Chris Lemonis said the team’s objective remains in place: Do something you haven’t done before.

In 2021, that goal was met when MSU lifted the trophy in Omaha. This year?

“Now it’s about winning the second one,” Lemonis said.

Mississippi State returns considerable talent in its quest for back-to-back championships. Logan Tanner is one of the nation’s best catchers. Last year’s lockdown closer Landon Sims could say the same, but he’ll be trying out as a starter in 2022. James is poised to make another leap as a redshirt sophomore, and Cumbest and Kellum Clark will provide some pop in the outfield.

Position battles remain — designated hitter, outfield and second base — but Mississippi State stands to field a strong offense once again

“I’m confident about the team we have and the lineup we have,” James said.

That’s a good thing in the Southeastern Conference, a league Lemonis described as more offense-heavy than ever. The conference’s tremendous pitching depth because of the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on eligibility has returned to normal, while hitters are back for more.

Lemonis talked up the bats of teams like LSU, Ole Miss and Arkansas, which swept Mississippi State last season at Dudy Noble Field. All three are on the schedule for the Bulldogs this spring.

“I could see some high-scoring games in our league sometimes because of the type of hitters we have in our league,” Lemonis said. “It’s totally the opposite of last year.”

For an MSU team with an “unproven” starting rotation, according to Tanner, that could pose a problem. MSU lost all three of its regular weekend starters from 2021: MacLeod, Bednar and Harding.

Lemonis said there are six players in contention for the rotation, including Sims.

Right-hander Parker Stinnett is another, and the former Northwest Mississippi Community College hurler said he’s excited by the close competition at the position. Stinnett said he felt like “we all did about the same” during the fall and early spring workouts.

“It’s as competitive as it ever has been,” he said. “I think it’s making our staff better having to compete to do that within the team.”

The Bulldogs will soon put their offseason improvements to the test against an outside opponent. Long Beach State comes to Starkville for a season-opening three-game series beginning Feb. 18.

Hancock said finally getting the season underway will help Mississippi State put last year’s title out of mind, if not out of sight.

“I try to just flush it,” he said. “It is hard to flush it, but you have to when you play this sport.”

Time will tell how well the Bulldogs can do just that as they chase success in 2022.

Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.