2021 Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball
Starkville Regional champions
Starkville Super Regional champions
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionWestern Division
Record50–18 (20–10 SEC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Scott Foxhall
  • Jake Gautreau
Home stadiumDudy Noble Field, Polk–DeMent Stadium
Seasons
← 2020
2022 →
2021 Southeastern Conference baseball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Eastern
No. 6 Tennessee  x‍‍‍y 20 – 10   .667 50 – 18   .735
No. 2 Vanderbilt  ‍‍‍y 19 – 10   .655 49 – 18   .731
Florida  ‍‍‍y 17 – 13   .567 38 – 22   .633
South Carolina  ‍‍‍y 16 – 14   .533 34 – 23   .596
Georgia  ‍‍‍ 13 – 17   .433 31 – 25   .554
Kentucky  ‍‍‍ 12 – 18   .400 29 – 23   .558
Missouri  ‍‍‍ 8 – 22   .267 15 – 36   .294
Western
No. 5 Arkansas  x‍†‍‡‍y 22 – 8   .733 50 – 13   .794
No. 1 Mississippi State  ‍‍‍y 20 – 10   .667 50 – 18   .735
No. 13 Ole Miss  ‍‍‍y 18 – 12   .600 45 – 22   .672
No. 18 LSU  ‍‍‍y 13 – 17   .433 38 – 25   .603
Alabama  ‍‍‍y 12 – 17   .414 32 – 26   .552
Auburn  ‍‍‍ 10 – 20   .333 25 – 27   .481
Texas A&M  ‍‍‍ 9 – 21   .300 29 – 27   .518
x – Division champion
† – Conference champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament
As of June 30, 2021[1]
Rankings from D1Baseball


The 2021 Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team represented Mississippi State University in the 2021 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Bulldogs played their home games at Dudy Noble Field, Polk–DeMent Stadium. Mississippi State won the 2021 College World Series (CWS) Championship over Vanderbilt giving the Bulldogs their first team national championship in any team sport.[2]

Preseason

SEC Coaches poll

The SEC coaches poll[3] was released on February 11, 2021 with Mississippi State predicted to finish second in the Western Division, receiving three out of fourteen Western Division first place votes. Mississippi State also received one overall conference first place vote. Florida received twelve overall conference first place votes and Vanderbilt also received one.

Coaches poll (West Division)
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Ole Miss 78 (7)
2 Mississippi State 73 (3)
3 Arkansas 72 (2)
4 LSU 63 (2)
5 Texas A&M 36
6 Auburn 32
7 Alabama 31
Coaches poll (East Division)
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Florida 91 (13)
2 Vanderbilt 79 (1)
3 Tennessee 58
4 South Carolina 55
5 Georgia 51
6 Missouri 28
7 Kentucky 23

Preseason All-SEC teams

First Team[3]

Second Team[3]

Schedule and results

2021 Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball game log
Regular season (40–13)
Post-season (10–5)
College World Series (5–2)
Date Opponent Seed/Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record CWS record
June 20 vs. (2) No. 3 Texas (7) No. 11 TD Ameritrade Park • Omaha, NE W 2–1 Will Bednar (8–1) Ty Madden (7–5) Landon Sims (11) ESPN2 23,885 46–16 1–0
June 22 vs. Virginia (7) No. 11 TD Ameritrade Park • Omaha, NE W 6–5 Cade Smith (3–0) Stephen Schoch (4–2) Landon Sims (12) ESPN2 22,803 47–16 2–0
June 25 vs. (2) No. 3 Texas (7) No. 11 TD Ameritrade Park • Omaha, NE L 5–8 Aaron Nixon (4–3) Brandon Smith (4–4) none ESPN 24,003 47–17 2–1
June 26 vs. (2) No. 3 Texas (7) No. 11 TD Ameritrade Park • Omaha, NE W 4–3 Landon Sims (5–0) Cole Quintanilla (5–1) none ESPN2 21,883 48–17 3–1
June 28 vs. (4) No. 4 Vanderbilt (7) No. 11 TD Ameritrade Park • Omaha, NE L 2–8 Jack Leiter (11–4) Christian MacLeod (6–6) Nick Maldonado (9) ESPN2 24,052 48–18 3–2
June 29 vs. (4) No. 4 Vanderbilt (7) No. 11 TD Ameritrade Park • Omaha, NE W 13–2 Preston Johnson (4–0) Christian Little (3–2) none ESPN 24,122 49–18 4–2
June 30 vs. (4) No. 4 Vanderbilt (7) No. 11 TD Ameritrade Park • Omaha, NE W 9–0 Will Bednar (9–1) Kumar Rocker (14–4) Landon Sims (13) ESPN2 24,052 50–18 5–2
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Canceled
Bold = Mississippi State team member

1.1 2 3 State Farm College Baseball Showdown originally scheduled 2/19-21 was pushed back 1 day due to winter storms in Texas.[4]
2.2 Game versus Jacksonville State was called after 5 innings due to inclement weather.
† Largest Super Regional Crowd in NCAA History

Schedule Source:[5]

*Rankings are based on the team's current ranking in the D1Baseball poll.

Starkville Regional

See also: 2021 NCAA Division I baseball tournament § Starkville Super Regional
Starkville Regional Teams
(1) Mississippi State Bulldogs (2) VCU Rams (3) Campbell Fighting Camels (4) Samford Bulldogs
First RoundSemi-FinalsFinals
1Mississippi State8
4Samford4
1Mississippi State16
2VCU4
3Campbell4
2VCU19
1Mississippi State6–
3Campbell5–
Lower round 1Lower final
3Campbell19
4Samford132VCU10
3Campbell16
Starkville Regional Round 1
(4) Samford Bulldogs vs. (1) Mississippi State Bulldogs
June 4, 2021 2:06 pm (CDT) at Dudy Noble Field, Polk–DeMent Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
(4) Samford 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 4 7 1
(1) Mississippi State 1 3 0 1 0 1 2 0 X 8 11 1
WP: Will Bednar (7–1)   LP: Samuel Strickland (5–4)
Home runs:
SAM: Max Pinto; Kaden Dreier; Sonny DiChiara
MSU: None
Attendance: 8,794
Starkville Regional Round 2
(2) VCU Rams vs. (1) Mississippi State Bulldogs
June 5, 2021 8:25 pm (CDT) at Dudy Noble Field, Polk–DeMent Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
(2) VCU 0 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 4 8 3
(1) Mississippi State 2 1 0 2 1 9 0 1 X 16 14 0
WP: Christian MacLeod (6–4)   LP: Mason DeLane (3–1)
Home runs:
VCU: Jack Schroeder; Michael Haydak
MSU: Brad Cumbest; Kellum Clark; Kamren James
Attendance: 10,011
Starkville Regional Championship
(1) Mississippi State Bulldogs vs. (3) Campbell Fighting Camels
June 7, 2021 11:06 am (CDT) at Dudy Noble Field, Polk–DeMent Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
(1) Mississippi State 2 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 6 10 0
(3) Campbell 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 5 7 2
WP: Houston Harding (7–2)   LP: Cade Boxrucker (0–2)   Sv: Landon Sims (9)
Home runs:
MSU: Spencer Packard
CAMP: Kamren James; Logan Tanner
Attendance: 8,251

Starkville Super Regional

Starkville Super Regional Game 1
(10) Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. (7) Mississippi State Bulldogs
June 12, 2021 1:06 pm (CDT) at Dudy Noble Field, Polk–DeMent Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
(10) Notre Dame 1 1 1 1 3 0 1 0 0 8 12 4
(7) Mississippi State 1 0 2 0 3 2 1 0 X 9 10 1
WP: Preston Johnson (3–0)   LP: Tanner Kohlhepp (7–2)   Sv: Landon Sims (10)
Home runs:
ND: Brooks Coetzee; Zack Prajzner
MSU: Tanner Allen (2); Rowdey Jordan
Attendance: 14,385
Starkville Super Regional Game 2
(7) Mississippi State Bulldogs vs. (10) Notre Dame Fighting Irish
June 13, 2021 5:05 pm (CDT) at Dudy Noble Field, Polk–DeMent Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
(7) Mississippi State 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 2
(10) Notre Dame 2 0 0 4 0 2 1 0 X 9 8 1
WP: Aidan Tyrell (5–1)   LP: Christian MacLeod (6–5)
Home runs:
MSU: none
ND: David LaManna; Jack Brannigan
Attendance: 13,971
Starkville Super Regional Game 3
(10) Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. (7) Mississippi State Bulldogs
June 12, 2021 6:06 pm (CDT) at Dudy Noble Field, Polk–DeMent Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
(10) Notre Dame 1 0 1 0 3 0 2 0 0 7 10 1
(7) Mississippi State 1 6 1 2 1 0 0 0 X 11 12 1
WP: Landon Sims (4–0)   LP: Will Mercer (4–3)
Home runs:
ND: Ryan Cole; Niko Kavadas
MSU: Logan Tanner; Tanner Allen
Attendance: 11,754

College World Series

See also: 2021 College World Series
2021 College World Series Teams
NC State Wolfpack (9) Stanford Cardinal (5) Arizona Wildcats (4) Vanderbilt Commodores Virginia Cavaliers (3) Tennessee Volunteers (7) Mississippi State Bulldogs (2) Texas Longhorns
First round Second round Semifinals Finals
               
NC State 10
9 Stanford 4
NC State 1
4 Vanderbilt 0
5 Arizona 6
4 Vanderbilt 712
NC State 1 –
Bracket 1
4 Vanderbilt 3 –[A]
9 Stanford 14
5 Arizona 5
9 Stanford 5
4 Vanderbilt 6
4 Vanderbilt 8 2 0
7 Mississippi State 2 13 9
3 Tennessee 0
Virginia 6
Virginia 5
7 Mississippi State 6
7 Mississippi State 2
2 Texas 1
7 Mississippi State 5 4
Bracket 2
2 Texas 8 3
3 Tennessee 4
2 Texas 8
2 Texas 6
Virginia 2

Record vs. conference opponents

Last two do not qualify for conf. tourn. Blank are not scheduled. Blue are home games, otherwise away.

2021 SEC baseball records

Source: 2021 SEC baseball game results, 2021 SEC baseball schedule

Team W–L ALA ARK AUB FLA UGA KEN LSU MSU MIZZ MISS SCAR TENN TAMU VAN Team Div SR SW
ALA 12–17 1–2 2–1 . . 1–2 1–2 0–3 3–0 0–3 . 1–2 3–0 0–2 ALA W5 3–7 2–2
ARK 22–8 2–1 2–1 3–0 2–1 . 2–1 3–0 . 2–1 2–1 2–1 2–1 . ARK W1 10–0 2–0
AUB 10–20 1–2 1–2 1–2 2–1 0–3 1–2 0–3 2–1 0–3 . . 2–1 . AUB W6 3–7 0–3
FLA 17–13 . 0–3 2–1 2–1 2–1 . . 3–0 2–1 0–3 1–2 3–0 2–1 FLA E3 7–3 2–2
UGA 13–17 . 1–2 1–2 1–2 2–1 . . 2–1 1–2 1–2 1–2 1–2 2–1 UGA E5 3–7 0–0
KEN 12–18 2–1 . 3–0 1–2 1–2 1–2 0–3 2–1 . 0–3 1–2 . 1–2 KEN E6 3–7 1–2
LSU 13–17 2–1 1–2 2–1 . . 2–1 1–2 . 2–1 1–2 0–3 2–1 0–3 LSU W4 5–5 0–2
MSU 20–10 3–0 0–3 3–0 . . 3–0 2–1 1–2 2–1 2–1 . 3–0 1–2 MSU W2 7–3 4–1
MIZZ 8–22 0–3 . 1–2 0–3 1–2 1–2 . 2–1 . 1–2 0–3 2–1 0–3 MIZZ E7 2–8 0–4
MISS 18–12 3–0 1–2 3–0 1–2 2–1 . 1–2 1–2 . 3–0 . 1–2 2–1 MISS W3 5–5 3–0
SCAR 16–14 . 1–2 . 3–0 2–1 3–0 2–1 1–2 2–1 0–3 1–2 . 1–2 SCAR E4 5–5 2–1
TENN 20–10 2–1 1–2 . 2–1 2–1 2–1 3–0 . 3–0 . 2–1 2–1 1–2 TENN E1 8–2 2–0
TAMU 9–21 0–3 1–2 1–2 0–3 2–1 . 1–2 0–3 1–2 2–1 . 1–2 . TAMU W7 2–8 0–3
VAN 19–10 2–0 . . 1–2 1–2 2–1 3–0 2–1 3–0 1–2 2–1 2–1 . VAN E2 7–3 2–0
Team W–L ALA ARK AUB FLA UGA KEN LSU MSU MIZZ MISS SCAR TENN TAMU VAN Team Div SR SW

Updated for entire regular season.

Rankings

Main article: 2021 NCAA Division I baseball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314151617Final
Coaches'[7]77*64347544543667т7т*7т*1
Baseball America[8]88222254324436688*8*1
Collegiate Baseball^[9]912108661212114443333331
NCBWA†[10]7654т328654543661212*12*1
D1Baseball[11]75333385446431081111*11*1

^ Collegiate Baseball ranked 40 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranked 30 teams weekly during the season.
† NCBWA ranks 35 teams in their preseason poll, but only ranks 30 teams weekly during the season.
* A new poll was not released for this week, so for comparison purposes, the previous week's ranking is inserted in this week's slot.

MLB Draft

Player Position Round Overall MLB Team
Will Bednar RHP 1 14 San Francisco Giants
Tanner Allen† OF 4 118 Miami Marlins
Eric Cerantola RHP 5 139 Kansas City Royals
Christian McLeod LHP 5 159 Minnesota Twins
Rowdey Jordan OF 11 322 New York Mets

[12]
†Tanner Allen, a red shirt junior, was previously drafted in the 34th round in 2019.[13]
NOTE: Houston Harding, a red shirt Junior LHP, signed a contract with the Los Angeles Angels as an undrafted free agent. [14] All drafted have signed contracts.[15]

Player Eligibility

The following players have used up their eligibility and will not return for the next season: Scotty Dubrule 2nd, Carlisle Koestler RHP, and Riley Self RHP.[16]

High School Recruits

Before any draftees are signed by their major league team, Mississippi State was ranked 9th in the nation by Perfect Game. Perfect Game ranks players nationwide as the top 500. If there is no ranking, then the player was not in the top 500. If draft is not indicated, then the player was not drafted in this years draft. After all players, that were going to, have signed contracts with their major league team, this recruiting class is ranked 16th in the nation.[17]

Player Position PGRnk DftRd DftOA Draft MLB Team
Maddux Bruns LHP 6 1 29 Los Angeles Dodgers
James Wood OF 46 2 62 San Diego Padres
Jordan McCants SS 113 3 88 Miami Marlins
Aaron Downs 3B 107 — — —
William "Pico" Kohn LHP 148 — — —
Slate Alford 3B 224 — — —
Jack Walker RHP 419 — — —
Revy "Trey" Higgins OF 439 — — —
Gray Bane C — — — —
Cole Cheatham LHP — — — —
Jackson Conn RHP — — — —
Tyler Haines RHP — — — —
Hunter Hines 3B — — — —
Jeffrey Ince SS — — — —
Tayler Montiel LHP — — — —
Sawyer Robertson OF — — — —
Bradley Wilson C — — — —
Bryce Chance OF — — — —

[18][19]
NOTE: All drafted have signed contracts.[14]

Notes

  1. ^ Game declared no contest due to COVID-19 protocols with NC State. Vanderbilt advanced in the tournament.[6]

References

  1. ^ "2021 SEC Baseball Standings". secsports.com. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  2. ^ "Road to 2021 College World Series: NCAA baseball tournament scores, schedule, bracket". ESPN. June 30, 2021. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "Florida Picked To Win 2021 SEC Baseball Championship". Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  4. ^ "Start of 2021 State Farm College Baseball Showdown at Globe Life Field moved to Saturday". Texas Sports. February 16, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  5. ^ "2021 Baseball Schedule – Mississippi State". THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF MISSISSIPPI STATE ATHLETICS. May 1, 2021. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  6. ^ "Vanderbilt-NC State College World Series game ruled no-contest due to COVID-19 protocols". NCAA.com. June 26, 2021. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  7. ^ "Baseball Coaches Poll". Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  8. ^ "College Baseball Top 25 Rankings". baseballamerica.com. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  9. ^ "2021 Collegiate Baseball Polls – Collegiate Baseball Newspaper". baseballnews.com. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  10. ^ "NCBWA > News". sportswriters.net. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  11. ^ "College Baseball Rankings News & Analysis". d1baseball.com. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  12. ^ "New York Mets Draft Rowdey Jordan, Citi Field Becoming a Popular Landing Spot For Mississippi State Players". FanNation. July 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  13. ^ "Questions remain about injured Ginn, Eagan". The Commercial Dispatch Publishing Company. June 11, 2019. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  14. ^ a b "Mississippi State pitcher Houston Harding signs free-agent deal with Los Angeles Angels". The Commercial Dispatch Publishing Company. July 21, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  15. ^ "2021 MLB Draft Signing Deadline Team-By-Team Breakdowns". The Sports Poll. August 2, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  16. ^ "2021 Baseball Roster – Mississippi State". Mississippi State Athletics. 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
  17. ^ "College Recruiting Rankings Class of 2021". Perfect Game. 2021. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  18. ^ "MLB Draft: Here's where Ole Miss, Mississippi State players and signees were selected in first 10 rounds". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. July 12, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  19. ^ "2021 Grads Commitments Mississippi State". Perfect Game. 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
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