The return of college baseball is less than three weeks away. Mississippi’s three major programs again have their sights set on competing in the sport’s upper echelon.
Mississippi State is the only of the three to land in D1Baseball’s preseason top 25 rankings ahead of the 2024 season, but MSU, Ole Miss, and Southern Miss were all comfortably in the publication’s recent list of the top 100 college baseball programs. The trio also made up one-third of the nation’s top nine home attendance averages last season.
The Magnolia State’s illustrious baseball tradition was cemented when the Bulldogs and Rebels went back-to-back as national champions in 2021 and 2022, while the Golden Eagles were a win away from the College World Series the following year.
Can a Mississippi team finish 2025 with another run to Omaha? Let’s take a look.
No. 18 Mississippi State | 2024 record: 40-23 (17-13 SEC)
Chris Lemonis’ club snapped a postseason drought in 2024 after landing a No. 2 seed in the Charlottesville Regional via a quarterfinal run in the SEC Tournament. The season ended in the regional final against host Virginia, but the Bulldogs now approach 2025 with higher aspirations.
Gone are weekend pitching lynchpins Khal Stephen and Jurrangelo Cijntje, along with the team’s top three hitters, including 2024 CSpire Ferris Trophy winner Dakota Jordan. But, as seventh-year head coach Lemonis says, last year’s group set the stage for what he hopes is a bigger jump.
“We had the tough seasons and then we started tough [last year] – probably the first 10 days were really hard,” Lemonis told SportsTalk Mississippi. “We probably put as much into those kids than we ever have, and they responded. Yeah, it was a tough finish in Charlottesville. But man, it was a gritty effort in the second half.”
Replacing Cijntje and Stephen will be a tall task, but a handful of returning veterans and an intriguing new crop of talent gives pitching coach Justin Parker plenty to work with. Veterans like senior lefthander Pico Kohn and sixth-year righty Stone Simmons, who returns after two years of injury absence, will be leaned on to provide stability in the early going. Flame-throwing redshirt freshman Mikhai Grant is also a sneaky prospect to eat serious innings after sitting out his first year of college ball.
For the pitching staff to reach their potential, the influx of high-profile transfers must live up to their billing. USC Upstate transfer Noah Sullivan, Indiana State transfer Jacob Pruitt, and Virginia transfer Chase Hungate will be the primary suspects.
Sullivan drew national acclaim and an array of all-conference awards in the Big South as a two-way player, bringing a set of tools to Starkville that could be difference-makers on the mound and in the batter’s box. Pruitt dazzled as a starter for Indiana State in 2024 and will push for a weekend role for the Bulldogs, while Hungate’s ACC and postseason experience make him the preseason leader in the clubhouse for closer responsibilities.
And even with the departure of Jordan, Connor Hujsak, and David Mershon, the pieces are present for MSU to improve offensively and in the field.
It starts with Hunter Hines, who Lemonis mentioned first as a candidate to take over the club’s primary power-hitting role in the middle of the order.
The Madison native is one of college baseball’s most proven quantities, starting 171 games across his three years in Starkville and bashing 54 career long balls along the way. His batting average took a dip to .257 after hovering around .300 his first two seasons, but he still found a way to contribute double-digit home runs and 56 RBI in his junior season.
Around Hines, senior outfielder Bryce Chance will likely be called on to replace Mershon in the fire starter role towards the top of the lineup, with catcher Ross Highfill and shortstop Dylan Cupp expected to slide back into starting roles after coming back from injury.
“We have some nice pieces. Right now, you feel like we have a nice group of depth, too,” Lemonis said. “We have to find out who our stars are – who our Friday and Saturday guys are. But we had to find that out last year. We didn’t know Khal Stephen was going to be like that, so hopefully we have some guys step up like that again.”
The Bulldogs open the new season with a three-game home set against the Manhattan University Jaspers beginning February 14.
Ole Miss | 2024 record: 27-29 (11-19 SEC)
The Rebels have trudged through a national championship hangover for two years – compiling the worst win-loss record of any SEC team over that span. That puts Mike Bianco and his crew in a similar position to 2024 Mississippi State, with pressure mounting to right the ship.
Bianco doesn’t need anyone to tell him about that pressure, but he’s confident that his program will return to its winning ways after revamping the roster and bringing several important pieces back.
“We’ve had success,” Bianco said, regarding the feeling around the program after two disappointing campaigns. “There’s guys in the room that have won a national championship, and players recruited here because we win and we go to the postseason. It’s always been a positive deal for us – fortunately for a long time.”
Part of the effort to get back to that success was doing something the 25th-year Ole Miss head coach has never done: hire a pitching coach.
Brandon native Joel Mangrum was brought on with the sole objective of reinvigorating Rebel pitching after they finished 12th and 13th in the SEC for team ERA in the last two seasons. Mangrum carries a wealth of experience, which includes six years as a pitching coordinator for the Cleveland Guardians in Major League Baseball.
“It wasn’t good enough [in 2023 and 2024],” Bianco said of hiring Mangrum. “I thought they needed a new voice. I think we’re all better for it and Joel is terrific. There was a high expectation when we hired him, and he has well surpassed that. He gets what we do.”
Bianco says the feeling is different in the clubhouse this spring because his staff feels “really comfortable on the mound.” Part of that is Mangrum’s arrival, but the largest part is what’s coming back.
Hunter Elliot is finally healthy after a long recovery from surgery on his throwing arm. The 2022 Freshman All-American has thrown just six innings since Ole Miss hoisted the national championship trophy two and a half years ago, but he’s expected to play a lead role in his return.
Parts two and three of the Rebel mound monster are Mason Nichols and Riley Maddox – both of whom have thrown a bunch of important innings as starters in SEC play. The pair combined for 108 innings pitched and an ERA of 4.82 in 2024.
St. Joseph’s transfer Will McCausland and freshman Cade Townsend also impressed during fall practice, making them candidates for starting roles as well. Throw in the return of closer Connor Spencer, and Mangrum has a more than solid foundation to build on.
The biggest question mark for the Rebels is in the field and at the plate. Every outfield position must be replaced, with middle infield and catcher also being points of competition leading up to opening day.
Andrew Fischer, Ethen Lege, and Jackson Ross all moved on to either minor league opportunities or the transfer portal, meaning Ole Miss must replace their top three home run hitters from a season ago.
Campbell Smithwick, Will Furniss, and Judd Utermark bring some experience to the order, while a smattering of talented transfers such as two-year BYU starting catcher Collin Reuter, Illinois State transfer shortstop Luke Cheng, and New Orleans transfer Mitchell Sanford will need to meld together well for the Rebels to return to form.
Ole Miss begins the 2025 season in Arlington, Texas at the Shriner Children’s College Showdown round-robin tournament, with first pitch set for 3 p.m. on February 14 against No. 21 Arizona.
Southern Miss | 2024 record: 43-20 (20-10 Sun Belt)
Despite a nearly brand-new roster and a new leader at the top, the Golden Eagles didn’t skip a beat in 2024. They extended their current streak of eight consecutive 40-win seasons – the best running mark in Division I baseball – and reached a regional final for the fifth straight year before losing to eventual national champion and overall No. 1- seed Tennessee in the Knoxville Regional.
But recent achievements like hosting two Super Regionals in three years’ time or back-to-back Sun Belt conference titles create a higher standard of success. The next step in Hattiesburg is to get back to the College World Series.
“It’s a new group, new team, new pulse – you just got to figure it out. But we’re excited about the possibilities that are out there,” second-year head coach Christian Ostrander said. “I think it’s a really good blend of some really solid experience position player-wise and pitching-wise, then some youth and a couple of transfers that we’re excited about.”
Dependable 2024 starters Billy Oldham and Niko Mazza both moved on to minor league baseball after the season. The good news is that every other difference-maker from a year ago is back for more.
Junior Colby Allen was primarily used as a high-leverage reliever in late-game situations last season until a dazzling 7-inning start against Indiana in the Knoxville Regional proved he has what it takes to be a starter. He’s one of the odds-on favorites out of the fall to be the staff ace, while fellow relievers-turned-starters JB Middleton and McCarty English will have to be in the mix as well.
The return of veterans Kros Sivley and Matt Adams adds yet another element to a wealth of experienced arms for Ostrander and pitching coach Keller Bradford. And don’t forget about Josh Och, who burst onto the scene in his freshman season and projects as one of the premiere closers in the Sun Belt.
On the other side of the diamond, vets like Nick Monistere, Ozzie Pratt, Carson Paetow, Matthew Russo, and Davis Gillespie will be the cornerstones for a stingy offensive order and defensive lineup. Tucker Stockman and Lawson Odom are back to split catching duties, giving Ostrander’s staff another swath of battle-tested returners to build on.
“I think the leadership and unity of this team is strong and we sensed that this fall,” Ostrander said. “They’re guys that have been here a while. They’ve seen what it looks like, and they know it’s their turn.”
Paetow and Gillespie have competed amongst an outfield crop jam-packed with both talent and experience. Kentucky transfer Ben Higdon, Butler transfer Joey Urban, and sophomore Jake Cook have all shown the capacity to command one of the outfield spots. With someone inevitably left out of the three positions, the Golden Eagles will have multiple options for the designed hitter role.
Third base is the only true wide-open position on the roster as opening day approaches. Freshman Drey Barrett, sophomore Seth Smith, and Mississippi State transfer Jace Norton have all been mentioned by Ostrander as suitors for the hot corner, though it will likely take the early stretch of the season for one of the three to secure the everyday starting role.
Though not in the preseason top 25 rankings, Southern Miss was named one of the “next 10” teams by D1Baseball and called a contender to host a regional come postseason time.
Southern Miss begins their new season on Friday, February 14, with first pitch slated for 4 p.m. against Lafayette College in the first of a four-game weekend series.
All three head coaches for Mississippi’s major programs painted the college baseball season as a long, winding road – one that will be colored by highs and lows aplenty.
“It’s a long season. You just have to try to stay in the middle of the ring,” Ostrander said. “That’s a saying that Coach (Scott) Berry said for many years and it’s so true. Just stay in the middle of the ring. You’re going to get punched and you’re going to have good moments too. But you just can’t get too high or too low.”