The 2026 Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team represented Mississippi State University in the 2026 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Bulldogs played their home games at Dudy Noble Field, and were led by first year head coach Brian O'Connor.

Previous season

The Bulldogs finished 36–23 and 15–15 in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) to finish 11th place in the SEC.

Preseason SEC Awards and honors In February, the SEC named its 2026 Preseason All-SEC Teams and awards.

Preseason All-SEC Team

Coaching staff 2026 Mississippi State Bulldogs coaching staff Name Position Seasons atMississippi State Alma Mater Brian O'Connor Head coach 1 Creighton (1993) Kevin McMullen Associate head coach 1 IUP (1990) Matt Kirby Assistant coach 1 William & Mary (2003) Justin Parker Assistant pitching coach 3 Wright State (2012)

SEC Coaches' Poll In the SEC Preseason Coaches' Poll released in February, the team was predicted to finish third in the SEC.

Coaches' Poll LSU 231 (9) Texas 214 (1) 3Mississippi State 205 (4) Arkansas 203 (2) Auburn 175 Tennessee 162 Florida 156 Vanderbilt 151 Georgia 133 Ole Miss 110 Kentucky 99 Alabama 87 Texas A&M 86 Oklahoma 84 South Carolina 49 Missouri 31

Offseason 2025 MLB draft

Several Mississippi State players from the previous 2025 Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball season were selected in the 2025 MLB draft and departed the team ahead of the 2026 regular season.

4 134 Pico Kohn Pitcher New York Yankees 8 235 Evan Siary Pitcher Texas Rangers 9 262 Karson Ligon Pitcher Toronto Blue Jays 10 291 Hunter Hines First baseman Washington Nationals 11 333 Luke Dotson Pitcher Arizona Diamondbacks 13 391 Nate Williams Pitcher Chicago Cubs 15 461 Jacob Pruitt Pitcher Philadelphia Phillies

Schedule and results

2026 Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball game log (Overall: 43–19; Conference: 16–14); (Home: 28–8; Away: 10–9; Neutral: 5–2) Regular season (39–16) February (11–0) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SEC recordFebruary 13 No. 4 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 6–5 Duke Stone (1–0) Carlos Martinez (0–1) Ben Davis (1) SECN+ 12,824 1–0 –February 14 Hofstra (DH-1) No. 4 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 6–1 Tomas Valincius (1–0) Sean Hamilton (0–1) Brendan Sweeney (1) SECN+ 12,667 2–0 –February 14 Hofstra (DH-2) No. 4 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 7–5 Jack Gleason (1–0) Tanner Sanderoff (0–1) Maddox Webb (1) SECN+ 12,667 3–0 –February 15 Hofstra No. 4 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS moved to February 14, impending weatherFebruary 17 Troy No. 4 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 13–7 William Kirk (1–0) Blake Dean (0–1) – SECN+ 9,842 4–0 –February 18 No. 4 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 19–07 Maddox Miller (1–0) Caden Wade (0–1) – SECN+ 9,752 5–0 –February 20 No. 4 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 9–2 Ryan McPherson (1–0) Brady Blum (0–2) – SECN+ 11,632 6–0 –February 21 Delaware No. 4 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 10–08 Tomas Valincius (2–0) Doug Marose (0–1) – SECN+ 13,194 7–0 –February 22 Delaware No. 4 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 7–3 Duke Stone (2–0) Ryan Pugh (0–1) Tyler Pitzer (1) SECN+ 9,473 8–0 –February 24 No. 4 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 16–37 Chris Billingsley (1–0) Chance Cox (0–1) – SECN+ 9,337 9–0 – Amegy Bank College Baseball SeriesFebruary 27 vs. Arizona State No. 4 Globe Life Field • Arlington, TX W 8–4 Ryan McPherson (2–0) Cole Carlon (2–1) – FloCollege 7,181 10–0 –February 28 vs. Virginia Tech No. 4 Globe Life Field • Arlington, TX W 15–8 Tomas Valincius (3–0) Griffin Stieg (0–1) – FloCollege 13,097 11–0 – March (14–4) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SEC recordMarch 1 vs. No. 1 UCLA No. 4 Globe Life Field • Arlington, TX L 7–810 Easton Hawk (1–1) Ben Davis (0–1) – FloCollege 8,903 11–1 –March 3 at No. 10 Southern Miss No. 4 Pete Taylor Park • Hattiesburg, MS L 6–7 Josh Och (3–0) Maddox Miller (1–1) Camden Clark (4) ESPN+ 5,716 11–2 –March 5 No. 4 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 8–3 Ryan McPherson (3–0) Alexander Llinas (0–2) Ben Davis (2) SECN+ 10,057 12–2 –March 6 Lipscomb No. 4 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 9–4 Tyler Pitzer (1–0) Collin Bosley-Smith (0–1) – SECN+ 11,499 13–2 –March 7 Lipscomb No. 4 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 26–07 Duke Stone (3–0) Jackson Lee (1–1) – SECN+ 10,375 14–2 – Hancock Whitney ClassicMarch 10 vs. No. 3 Keesler Federal Park • Biloxi, MS W 11–7 Dane Burns (1–0) Tom Vincent (1–1) – SECN+ 6,112 15–2 –March 13 at No. 5 Arkansas No. 3 Baum–Walker Stadium • Fayetteville, AR L 4–5 Cole Gibler (2–0) Maddox Miller (1–2) – SECN+ 10,464 15–3 0–1March 14 at No. 5 Arkansas (DH-1) No. 3 Baum–Walker Stadium • Fayetteville, AR W 7–2 Tomas Valincius (4–0) Hunter Dietz (2–2) – SECN 10,790 16–3 1–1March 14 at No. 5 Arkansas (DH-2) No. 3 Baum–Walker Stadium • Fayetteville, AR L 3–7 Ethan McElvain (3–0) Tyler Pitzer (1–1) – SECN+ 9,653 16–4 1–2March 15 at No. 5 Arkansas No. 3 Baum–Walker Stadium • Fayetteville, AR moved to March 14, impending weatherMarch 17 No. 6 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 17–17 Parker Rhodes (1–0) Jo Williams (0–2) – SECN+ 7,967 17–4 –March 20 Vanderbilt No. 6 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 4–2 Jack Gleason (2–0) Connor Fennell (2–1) Ben Davis (3) SECN 14,649 18–4 2–2March 21 Vanderbilt No. 6 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 7–2 Tomas Valincius (5–0) Wyatt Nadeau (1–1) – SECN+ 14,834 19–4 3–2March 22 Vanderbilt No. 6 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 17–77 Duke Stone (4–0) Tyler Baird (0–1) – SECN+ 12,207 20–4 4–2March 24 No. 11 Southern Miss No. 6 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 12–07 Jack Bauer (1–0) Thomas Crabtree (0–2) – SECN+ 12,887 21–4 –March 27 at No. 18 Ole Miss No. 6 Swayze Field • Oxford, MS W 5–4 Tyler Pitzer (2–1) Taylor Rabe (3–1) – SECN+ 11,758 22–4 5–2March 28 at No. 18 Ole Miss No. 6 Swayze Field • Oxford, MS W 6–1 Tomas Valincius (6–0) Hudson Calhoun (1–2) – SECN+ 11,336 23–4 6–2March 29 at No. 18 Ole Miss No. 6 Swayze Field • Oxford, MS W 7–1 Duke Stone (5–0) Cade Townsend (2–1) – SECN 9,408 24–4 7–2March 31 No. 4 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 12–07 Jack Bauer (2–0) Trevor Esparza (1–2) – SECN+ 9,473 25–4 – April (10–6) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SEC recordApril 2 No. 5 Georgia No. 4 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS L 9–10 Joey Volchko (6–0) Charlie Foster (0–1) Caden Aoki (3) SECN+ 12,828 25–5 7–3April 3 No. 5 Georgia No. 4 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS L 1–3 Paul Farley (3–0) Tomas Valincius (6–1) Matt Scott (1) SECN+ 14,348 25–6 7–4April 4 No. 5 Georgia No. 4 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS L 5–810 Caden Aoki (3–0) Maddox Webb (0–1) – SECN+ 10,256 25–7 7–5April 7 No. 9 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 5–3 Jack Gleason (3–0) Justin Hicks (2–2) Ben Davis (4) SECN+ 9,329 26–7 –April 10 Tennessee No. 9 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS L 5–6 Cam Appenzeller (5–0) Tyler Pitzer (2–2) – SECN+ 13,543 26–8 7–6April 11 Tennessee No. 9 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS L 2–6 Tegan Kuhns (2–3) Duke Stone (5–1) Brandon Arvidson (1) SECN+ 14,814 26–9 7–7April 12 Tennessee No. 9 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS L 2–7 Evan Blanco (3–2) Charlie Foster (0–2) Bo Rhudy (2) SECN+ 10,376 26–10 7–8April 14 at No. 17 Joe Lee Griffin Stadium • Birmingham, AL W 11–17 Maddox Miller (2–2) Ryan Vermillion (1–1) – ESPN+ 2,113 27–10 –April 17 at South Carolina No. 17 Founders Park • Columbia, SC W 5–3 Tomas Valincius (7–1) Brandon Stone (4–2) Ben Davis (5) SECN+ 6,752 28–10 8–8April 18 at South Carolina No. 17 Founders Park • Columbia, SC W 9–0 Duke Stone (6–1) Amp Phillips (3–5) – SECN 6,735 29–10 9–8April 19 at South Carolina No. 17 Founders Park • Columbia, SC W 4–311 Maddox Webb (1–1) Zach Russell (3–1) – SECN+ 6,459 30–10 10–8April 21 No. 15 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 6–2 Maddox Miller (3–2) Isaac Lucas (0–2) Maddox Webb (2) SECN+ 8,772 31–10 – Super Bulldog WeekendApril 24 LSU No. 15 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 10–811 Dane Burns (2–0) Zac Cowan (1–3) – SECN+ 13,489 32–10 11–8April 25 LSU No. 15 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 9–8 Jack Bauer (3–0) Grant Fontenot (0–1) Maddox Webb (3) ESPN2 15,289 33–10 12–8April 26 LSU No. 15 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 13–8 Peyton Fowler (1–0) Deven Sheerin (3–1) – SECN+ 12,379 34–10 13–8April 28 vs. No. 17 Ole Miss Governor's Cup No. 10 Trustmark Park • Pearl, MS W 7–3 Maddox Miller (4–2) Owen Kelly (2–2) Dane Burns (1) SECN+ 8,223 35–10 – May (4–6) Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SEC recordMay 1 at No. 4 Texas No. 10 UFCU Disch–Falk Field • Austin, TX L 1–3 Dylan Volantis (7–0) Tomas Valincius (7–2) Sam Cozart (7) SECN+ 6,747 35–11 13–9May 2 at No. 4 Texas No. 10 UFCU Disch–Falk Field • Austin, TX W 7–4 Jack Bauer (4–0) Brett Crossland (1–2) – SECN+ 7,536 36–11 14–9May 3 at No. 4 Texas No. 10 UFCU Disch–Falk Field • Austin, TX L 6–11 Luke Harrison (5–2) Jack Gleason (3–1) – ESPN 7,481 36–12 14–10May 5 No. 11 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 21–67 Jack Gleason (4–1) Austin Vargas (0–3) – SECN+ 8,042 37–12 –May 7 No. 6 Auburn No. 11 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 10–3 Tomas Valincius (8–2) Jake Marciano (4–4) – ESPN2 12,658 38–12 15–10May 8 No. 6 Auburn No. 11 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS L 4–5 Jackson Sanders (4–1) Ben Davis (0–2) – SECN 13,772 38–13 15–11May 9 No. 6 Auburn No. 11 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS L 2–137 Alex Petrovic (8–2) Ryan McPherson (3–1) – SECN 13,506 38–14 15–12May 14 at No. 10 Texas A&M No. 13 Blue Bell Park • College Station, TX W 18–11 Tomas Valincius (9–2) Ethan Darden (4–2) – SECN+ 5,862 39–14 16–12May 15 at No. 10 Texas A&M No. 13 Blue Bell Park • College Station, TX L 9–11 Shane Sdao (4–4) Duke Stone (6–2) Clayton Freshcorn (12) SECN+ 6,776 39–15 16–13May 16 at No. 10 Texas A&M No. 13 Blue Bell Park • College Station, TX L 6–7 Clayton Freshcorn (3–2) Charlie Foster (0–3) – SECN 6,600 39–16 16–14 Postseason (4–3) (1–1) Date Opponent Seed/Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SECT Record May 20 vs. (16) Missouri (8) No. 16 Hoover Metropolitan Stadium • Hoover, AL W 12–27 Tomas Valincius (10–2) Brady Kehlenbrink (3–10) – SECN 8,352 40–16 1–0 May 21 vs. (1) No. 4 Georgia (8) No. 16 Hoover Metropolitan Stadium • Hoover, AL L 3–5 Joey Volchko (9–2) Duke Stone (6–3) Matt Scott (5) SECN 11,146 40–17 1–1 (3–0) Date Opponent Seed/Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record NCAAT record May 29 (4) Lipscomb (1) No. 17 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 10–1 Duke Stone (7–3) Alexander Llinas (6–5) – ESPN+ 10,470 41–17 1–0 May 30 (2) No. 24 Cincinnati (1) No. 17 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 10–5 Tomas Valincius (11–2) Adam Buczkowski (4–2) – SECN 11,588 42–17 2–0 May 31 (3) No. 25 Louisiana (1) No. 17 Dudy Noble Field • Starkville, MS W 19–5 Ryan McPherson (4–1) Sawyer Pruitt (7–5) – SECN 9,901 43–17 3–0 (0–2) Date Opponent Seed/Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record NCAAT record June 6 at (3) No. 3 Georgia (14) No. 17 Foley Field • Athens, GA L 12–13 Grant Edwards (1–1) Dane Burns (2–1) Justin Byrd (8) ESPN 3,633 43–18 3–1 June 7 at (3) No. 3 Georgia (14) No. 17 Foley Field • Athens, GA L 9–1110 Justin Byrd (5–2) Tyler Pitzer (2–3) – ESPN 3,633 43–19 3–2 Legend:      = Win      = Loss      = CanceledBold = Mississippi State team memberRankings are based on the team's current ranking in the D1Baseball poll.

1. Three game series with Lipscomb was originally scheduled 3/6-8 was pushed up 1 day due to impending weather.

Record vs. conference opponents

Rankings

References