STARKVILLE – Mississippi State head coach Brian O’Connor and starting pitcher Ryan McPherson both had the same thought after the first inning: It wasn’t going to be the righty’s best night.
The Friday starter since Opening Day, McPherson has shown the right stuff in all four starts so far in the 2026 season, and it has shown through in his emotive, expressive style on the mound.
But it wasn’t there at first. He saw the first two batters get aboard, and despite ending the inning on a strikeout with a zero on the scoreboard, his head coach saw reason to step in and unpack the start to the night.
“I have seen that confidence in him. He exudes it. I went and talked to him after the first inning tonight, and shared with him that the first inning is not how you’ve carried yourself this year. That body language needs to be right, and tonight, maybe you don’t have your best stuff, but we’re counting on you to give us a chance to win. I told him that’s what winners do. He’s a sophomore, he’s got some of the most returning experience on our team, and Ryan McPherson, since day one that we arrived, has been a great leader of this pitching staff because his attitude has been right. Tonight, that’s how you get paid back as a player for being a good leader and having the right attitude. You do that, it comes back around when you need to draw from it.”
McPherson got back to work, tossing six innings with eight strikeouts while allowing one earned run and one walk. He posted five scoreless frames before the Bisons got one on the board, and as soon as he got his team back up to bat, Drew Wyers launched a solo home run to erase the advantage and kickstart a five-run bottom half at the plate.
The starter’s six innings set the stage for a strong offensive finish, as MSU’s batters worked through their own struggles. Wyers hit leadoff home runs in back-to-back innings while Ryder Woodson added a solo shot of his own. Gehrig Frei, Vytas Valincius and Gehrig Frei would all register RBI hits as well in an 8-3 Game One win.
“Ryan McPherson, next to me, threw his ass off, and you want to do it for him as an offense,” Wyers said after the game. “That was really the mindset we had in the dugout, so to give him the response that he deserves was big time for our team tonight.”
“To be honest, even in the last inning, I didn’t feel like I had full control of the fastball,” McPherson said. “I think it was definitely better than the first inning, but offspeed carried me through. I was able to find those pitches. I definitely need to find the fastball for (my) next outing and get better on that.”
McPherson might have been frustrated with his performance, but his quality was there to see once again in his fourth start of the year. He turned heads with his performance against Arizona State a week ago in Arlington, with The Athletic’s Keith Law remarking that he might give the sophomore a first-round grade if he were draft eligible.
He typically has a fastball in the upper 90s and has been able to switch things up with a lethal changeup and slider in his arsenal, which helped him out as he struggled with pitch No. 1 on Thursday.
“It was evident in that first inning he didn’t have his fastball command, and frankly didn’t have the velocity that he’s had in the first three weekends,” O’Connor said. “Was that because it’s a day short? I don’t know, but winners, Friday night starters in this league, find a way to keep their team in the game, to win the game, when you don’t have your best stuff.”
The head coach spoke highly of McPherson’s dedication to his – and the team’s – development since taking charge of the program last summer, and it was evident from the first weekend that O’Connor trusts the sophomore to deliver as the Friday starter.
That trust continues to pay off as the Diamond Dawgs approach the opening weekend of SEC play at No. 6 Arkansas next Friday.
“Tonight was a big step in the development of Ryan McPherson, because you’re not going to go out every night and have your best stuff,” O’Connor said. “What your team needs you to do when you don’t have your best stuff is to grind and find a way to keep your team in the game, and that’s what he did.”
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