STARKVILLE — Nathaniel Lowe is enjoying the transition.

Lowe transferred to Mississippi State from St. Johns River (Florida) State College and began the process of preparing for Southeastern Conference and Division I baseball in the fall.

Already having played Division I baseball at Mercer, Lowe knew what to expect when he arrived in Starkville, but he there was still some learning for him to do. Lowe and the No. 15 Bulldogs open the season Friday, Feb. 19, against Florida Atlantic at Dudy Noble Field.

“I think he’s a really smart young man and I think he’s really disciplined,” MSU coach John Cohen said. “He has a chance to make that adjustment fairly quickly.”

Cohen said for power hitters like Lowe coming from junior college to the Division I level, the quality of pitchers is one of the toughest transitions. He said Lowe faced some good pitchers while in Florida last season, but said the quantity will be much higher, especially in the SEC with some teams having elite pitchers throwing Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Lowe understands that and has learned from his teammates that discipline is needed. He said discipline was rarely seen in junior college because of the different agendas the players had or their inability to perform well in the classroom. Lowe said he is beginning to learn discipline.

He’ll need that discipline facing some of the toughest pitchers in the country.

“In JUCO a lot of times, I got really good pitches to hit in pitcher’s advantage accounts,” Lowe said. “Here we get a lot of guys who are able to execute those pitches and do their job which makes it tougher for me.

“I think it’s more so of making sure it doesn’t get to a pitcher’s count. Taking advantage of pitches early in an at bat, or when I’m ahead in the count, or when I get a pitch I know is coming to take care of that pitch when I get it. I’m only going to get maybe two, three pitches per game that I really should hammer and I’ve got to make sure when it’s game time, it’s time to take care of those pitches.”

Although he has already experienced Division I baseball, it wasn’t for a very long time. As a freshman at Mercer in 2014, he played in 25 games with only six starts. He had an average of .097, two doubles and five RBIs. He failed to hit a home run.

His time at Mercer shaped his thought process about playing college baseball and he feels like he is a better player because of that one year in Macon, Georgia.

“There were a lot of opportunities that I took for granted,” Lowe said. “Being a guy that wasn’t a consistent starter and a consistent player, taught me a lot about things that you can do when you’re not in the lineup every day, things that you can do when you’re in the dugout and how important it is to take advantage of practice time.”

After the one year at Mercer, Lowe transferred to St. Johns River State College and he found a lot of success. In his only year with the Vikings, he was named to a first team National Junior College Athletic Association All-American. He ranked second in the NJCAA in walks (54), 12th in home runs (17), 23rd in on-base percentage (.516) and 37th in slugging percentage (.696). He hit .372 with 59 runs scored and 53 RBIs in 56 games. Lowe said his performance last season was a relief because he knew he was capable of doing it.

MSU Coordinator of Camps Will Coggin was an assistant coach for the Vikings last season and he saw something in the Marietta, Georgia, native during the fall and knew he was destined for a big fall.

As for the transition Lowe is in right now, Coggin is not surprised with how well he is handling it.

“He’s an incredibly bright young man and he has a passion to work on his own,” Coggin said. “So instantly I knew he was going to be a good player. He also has a sense of toughness about him. He’s very cerebral, he can really process information and apply it to what he’s doing hitting wise. The power, the strength, how smart he is and how good of a worker he is, I knew he was going to figure it out.”

Lowe is not a straight pull hitter and likes to hit from gap-to-gap. His favorite pitch is one that’s more in the center of the plate, even outside of center. The 6-foot-3 first baseman likes to get his arms extended and that’s where most of his power comes from.

But he has been working on being able to drive the fastball thrown on the inner half of the plate.

“It’s been an every day thing,” Lowe said. “Every time I get in the Palmeiro (Center) or out on the field, it’s always making sure that I’m getting the right bat angle, making sure that I’m pulling the ball the way I need to and not trying to hit it too hard. For me, it’s more of a struggle trying to hit that ball over the second fence towards the Sanderson (Center) than just making sure I get a barrel on it.”

Cohen said there is no question about Lowe’s power and said he is a good two-strike hitter. Cohen said great hitters are able to take pitches that are near the strike zone, something he has seen from Lowe.

He said Lowe is mature enough and intelligent enough to make adjustments.

“I think it’s really mature that he’s isolated some things that he’s specifically trying to do,” Cohen said. “I don’t see that as a weakness of his. Really it’s about anticipation and sticking with your plan. I think if he does those things, he can be very successful.”

The Bulldogs are in need of a big power bat in the lineup, as they hit just 22 home runs last year. The team’s leader in home runs from last year, Wes Rea (six), has since graduated. Junior Reid Humphreys has shown some power in the last two seasons and many expect him to have a big season. He has hit six home runs in his career. Sophomore Brent Rooker hit just two home runs last season, but played well down the stretch and had big summer in the New England Collegiate Baseball League.

Although Lowe didn’t have a great fall, Cohen doesn’t necessarily think that will translate into a poor spring.

“I think he can have a big impact,” Cohen said. “Certainly when you have physical guys in the middle of your lineup, it usually forces pitchers to make different types of pitches. It’s one thing to think you know somebody’s deficiencies, it’s another thing to be able to execute that, command that.”

The transition for Lowe is still a work in progress, but he has done it before. However, Lowe said he is always looking forward and tries not to look back.

The transition at MSU has also taught him what is expected of him. Most importantly, it’s given him a sense of his role in the middle of the lineup.

“I want to be an every day run producer in the middle of this lineup,” Lowe said. “I want to do what I can to get as many guys across the plate. For me, it’s not about batting average and home runs, it’s about RBIs because runs win baseball games. We can pitch and play good defense, but if you don’t score, we’re not going to win.”

Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait

Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.