Mississippi State sophomore outfielder Dakota Jordan won the Ferriss Trophy, presented annually to the best college baseball player in the state of Mississippi, on Monday, becoming the first Bulldog to win the award since 2021.
Jordan was also named to the All-Southeastern Conference second team, with shortstop David Mershon and pitcher Khal Stephen earning spots on the first team. In addition, Jordan was announced as one of 25 semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award, given each year to the top amateur baseball player in the country.
After batting .307 with 10 home runs and 40 runs batted in as a freshman in 2023, Jordan has been even better this year, carrying a .363/.478/.691 triple slash into the postseason with 17 homers, 61 RBI. Strikeouts are an Achilles heel for Jordan — with 71, he has tied MSU’s single-season record — but he has been one of the SEC’s best run producers all year long.
Tanner Allen had been the last MSU player to win the award for the 2021 national champions. Other previous Bulldog winners since the award was first handed out in 2004 include Thomas Berkery (2006), Ed Easley (2007), Chris Stratton (2012), Hunter Renfroe (2013), Jake Mangum (2016 and 2019) and Brent Rooker (2017).
Mershon played in 30 games last year as a freshman, starting 25, before transforming into a true five-tool player this spring. Entering the SEC Tournament, Mershon is batting .326 with a .430 on-base percentage and is 23-for-25 on stolen base attempts. He has also made just two errors while playing a premium defensive position.
Stephen was Purdue’s Friday night starter a year ago but was inconsistent, posting a 5.21 ERA after having been a reliever the year before. He transferred to MSU over the summer, and under the tutelage of new pitching coach Justin Parker, became the Bulldogs’ ace and one of the SEC’s top starting pitchers.
In a five-start stretch during SEC play, Stephen held Texas A&M, Florida, Georgia, Ole Miss and Auburn to a combined three earned runs over 34 1/3 innings, finishing the regular season with an 8-3 record and a 3.25 ERA.
MSU, the No. 5 seed in the SEC Tournament, will play rival Ole Miss in the first round on Tuesday night in Hoover, Alabama.
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