Mississippi State will play three games in a Major League Baseball stadium next season as part of the 2025 Astros Foundation College Classic at Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astros.
The Bulldogs will tentatively take on Rice on Feb. 28, Arizona on Mar. 1 and Oklahoma State on Mar. 2. MSU’s last visit to an MLB venue came in 2021, when the Bulldogs opened the season with wins over Texas and Texas Tech and a loss to TCU at Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers. The Bulldogs went on to win their first national championship that year.
MSU is coming off a 40-win season and its first trip to the NCAA Tournament since that 2021 national title. However, the Bulldogs are likely to lose their entire opening weekend rotation — Nate Dohm, Khal Stephen and Jurrangelo Cijntje — to the MLB Draft, and sluggers Dakota Jordan and Hunter Hines are also likely to enter the professional ranks. So far, head coach Chris Lemonis has added four players in the transfer portal, all infielders.
Rice has been to the Men’s College World Series seven times, winning it all in 2003, but last made the NCAA Tournament in 2017 and has switched conferences three times in the last 30 years. The Owls finished just 23-36 in 2024, their first season in the American Athletic Conference.
Arizona was one of the teams selected to host an NCAA regional this year over MSU, but the Wildcats were eliminated in just two games with losses to Grand Canyon and Dallas Baptist. They have won four national titles, most recently in 2012, and won both the regular season and tournament titles in the Pac-12’s swan song this past spring before moving to the Big 12.
Oklahoma State also has a rich baseball history, with 11 straight NCAA Tournament appearances. The 2024 Big 12 Tournament champion Cowboys hosted a regional but were eliminated by Florida.
Tennessee and Texas A&M, who met in the national championship series this season, will also represent the Southeastern Conference in Houston.
You can help your community
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 28 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
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 28 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
