STARKVILLE — Three and a half weeks out from Opening Day, Mississippi State head coach Chris Lemonis appears to have his starting lineup mostly in place.
The 2024 season is pivotal for Lemonis and the Bulldogs, who have failed to reach even the Southeastern Conference Tournament in each of the last two years after winning the 2021 NCAA title. The pitching staff struggled mightily a year ago, finishing last in the SEC with a 7.01 team ERA and issuing 321 walks, more than any other team in the conference.
With new pitching coach Justin Parker on board, Lemonis is hopeful things will turn around quickly on the mound. At South Carolina last year, Parker helped the Gamecocks’ pitching staff rank second in the SEC and 12th nationally with a 4.19 ERA. With a combination of newcomers, holdovers and players returning from injury, the Bulldogs return roughly 60 percent of their innings pitched from 2023.
“We all know the last two seasons, we haven’t pitched to where we need to be,” Lemonis said Tuesday, speaking at a Kiwanis Club of Starkville meeting at the Hilton Garden Inn. “We have some other issues in some other spots, but pitching has really been the part where we have to get better.”
Lemonis said his players returned to campus around a week before the start of the spring semester and have been working out on their own before preseason practice officially begins on Friday. MSU’s starting pitchers will throw 35 or so pitches during the first weekend of practice, with the goal of working them up to 80 pitches by the start of the season. Once fully stretched out a couple of weeks into the season, they should be able to top out around 100 pitches.
Right-handers Nate Dohm and Colby Holcombe, left-hander Bradley Loftin and the ambidextrous Jurrangelo Cijntje are all candidates for the starting rotation. The Bulldogs also added Khal Stephen, who worked 76 innings last year at Purdue, as well as Karson Ligon, who finished 6-6 with a 4.90 ERA as a freshman last season at Miami.
“Last year we didn’t have success on the mound, we didn’t throw enough strikes, but our stuff index… was through the roof,” Lemonis said. “We throw hard, we have good analytics, but not enough success. Coach Parker has done a great job with those guys in that world.”
Position players close to locked in
MSU’s lineup was not the problem last year — the Bulldogs slugged better than .500 as a team and hit 91 home runs in 53 games. Starting catcher Ross Highfill, who had a three-homer game last season against Lipscomb, is back, but Lemonis also added two transfer backstops in Pittsburgh’s Johnny Long (.250 batting average in 92 at-bats in 2023) and Cincinnati’s Joe Powell, who did not play last year but slashed .326/.422/.574 in 2022.
Hunter Hines, coming off a season in which he hit 22 home runs and slugged .683, will play first base, with Memphis transfer Logan Kohler taking over at third. Kohler, a left-handed bat, hit .330 for the Tigers last year with 25 extra-base hits and played strong defense at the hot corner.
Amani Larry returns for his senior season as MSU’s second baseman, after turning down a contract offer from the Atlanta Braves. Larry got on base better than 45 percent of the time and stole 19 bases on 21 attempts last year. Switch-hitter David Mershon made 17 starts at shortstop last season as a freshman and figures to have the inside track to start there.
Dakota Jordan, who primarily played left field as a freshman last year and made the SEC All-Freshman Team, will move to right field this spring, which Lemonis said is his natural position. Connor Hujsak is slated to take over for Colton Ledbetter, who was drafted in the second round by the Tampa Bay Rays, in center field, and Bryce Chance, after excelling in a part-time role in 2023, tops the depth chart in left.
“Luckily, we have the nicest facilities around and they’ve been able to work,” Lemonis said. “The hardest part for me right now, you have to get them ready and you have to push them and you need them to stay healthy.”
Bulldogs to play across the Magnolia State
MSU will play 42 of its 56 regular-season games within the state of Mississippi, including four neutral-site contests. Lemonis’ team takes on Southern Miss at Trustmark Park in Pearl, home of the Double-A Mississippi Braves, on Mar. 5, and will play rival Ole Miss in a non-conference game at the same site on May 1.
The Bulldogs also will play two games on the coast in Biloxi at MGM Park, home to the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers, during spring break on Mar. 12 and 13 against South Alabama and New Orleans.
“Every high school team is down there, so during the day, us coaches, we go out and watch kids play, we’re able to see kids from all over the state play,” Lemonis said. “And at night, all their games are over and they come see us. We’ve sold that ballpark out every time. The first year, the guy told me, ‘Coach, we sold every seat, we sold every suite, we sold every parking spot, and we sold every beer by the third inning.’”
MSU plays midweek road games against Samford and Memphis, but all of the Bulldogs’ non-conference weekends will be played in Starkville. With the SEC schedule as tough as it is, MSU may need to rack up the wins early in the season to give itself the best chance for an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
“Nobody with a park like (Dudy Noble Field) is playing that much away from it,” Lemonis said. “This team needs to stay at home. We need to have some success early, and we have a tough schedule.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 30 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
