STARKVILLE —- For the second consecutive year, the Mississippi State baseball team won’t play in the postseason, marking the program’s first time it didn’t qualify for the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Hoover in back-to-back seasons since a three-year stretch from 2008-10.
Following his team’s 15-10 defeat to Texas A&M Saturday afternoon at Dudy Noble Field, MSU head coach Chris Lemonis said he feels confident the program can get back to its winning ways with him at the helm.
“We will have to fill some needs,” Lemonis said. “ I truly believe we had one of the younger teams in the league and have some special young talent that we can build around.”
Starting three true freshmen in their everyday lineup for the majority of the season, in Dakota Jordan in left field, David Mershon at shortstop and Ross Highfill behind the plate, the Bulldogs finished the year 27-26 with a 9-21 record in Southeastern Conference play, only winning three series against Ole Miss, Alabama and LSU. Over the past two seasons, MSU has a combined league record of 18-42 putting Lemonis’ future with the team into question.
Lemonis, who led the program to a national championship in 2021, said he has stayed in contact with MSU athletic director Zac Selmon throughout the season on the state of the program.
“We almost meet weekly,” Lemonis said of his communication with Selmon, who was officially named the university’s athletic director on Jan. 13. “…I feel like I have a great relationship with Zac.”
Lemonis, who has two years remaining on his contract which was renewed following the national championship season, said he expects to have a meeting with Selmon about his status in the near future. Though he hasn’t been given full assurance he will be back in 2023, Lemonis believes MSU’s athletic department has complete trust in him to right the ship moving forward.
“I feel confident that he (Selmon) is confident in us,” Lemonis said. “We know how to coach. We have an area (in pitching) we have to fix and get it right and I am confident we can get this going.”
Update on MSU’s pitching coach opening
Lemonis said one of his top offseason priorities is to complete the hire of MSU’s next pitching coach.
The position became vacant on May 1 when Lemonis relieved Scott Foxhall of his duties amid the program’s struggles on the mound for the second straight season.
MSU ended the year with the highest team ERA in the SEC for the second consecutive season. Its 7.01 team ERA this year was the highest in school history and its 321 walks, which also led the SEC, was second most in program history, only behind 2017’s 357.
Lemonis, who had taken over in-game pitching duties since Foxhall’s departure, said he’s had tons of calls over the past month about the job, though a hire isn’t imminent as he sorts through quality options, many of which are still finishing their seasons.
“We are just looking for an elite guy that has worked with high-level arms that can not only develop a pitcher individually, but the staff as a whole,” Lemonis said. “A group that is tough, chiseled, competitive and the individual development from day-to-day is huge.”
In terms of a selling point, Lemonis said he’s going to let the program speak for itself.
“This is probably as good a place to play in America,” Lemonis said. “Guys want to come here, I just have to take the time to find the right guy.”
Will MSU use the transfer portal to bolster its roster?
As the season wraps up, Lemonis said the team will have individual player meetings throughout the day Sunday, where the staff will get a good gist of what next year’s roster could look like, along with who will be signing from MSU incoming top-10 2023 recruiting class.
Regardless, Lemonis expects his staff to grab some pieces from the portal this offseason.
“We have already identified – we need a couple of premium arms for sure to be able to help us out,” Lemonis said.
Lemonis also identified defensive improvements as an area to add to after MSU committed 65 errors this season, led by Lane Forsythe’s 15 (an SEC high) and Slate Alford’s 13, which was second-most in the conference.
MSU will also have a surplus of pitchers returning from injuries next season that act as new additions, just on the fact of the limited (if any) innings they were able to pitch this season.
“Brooks Auger could have pitched this weekend, but he just wasn’t on the roster,” Lemonis said. “Stone Simmons. Pico (Kohn) will be back. We get some guys back in that mix that don’t even have to come out of the portal that are 22-23 years old and really good.”
Justin Frommer is the Mississippi State sports reporter for The Dispatch.
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