Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball

History

Mississippi State has won eleven SEC Championships in 1948, 1949, 1965, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1979, 1985, 1987, 1989, and 2016.

It has won the SEC Tournament seven times, in 1979, 1985, 1987, 1990, 2001, 2005, and 2012. As shown in the List of SEC champs, it has also won six SEC postseason two-team playoffs, in 1948, 1949, 1965, 1966, 1970, and 1971. The seven tournament championships and six playoff championships are a total of thirteen SEC postseason championships, the most of any school.

Prior to the formation of the SEC, the program won the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship in 1909, 1911, 1918, 1921, and 1922 as well as the Southern Conference title in 1924.

The program has also appeared in 33 NCAA Regionals and 9 College World Series, with its highest finish being second place in 2013. Between 1992 and 2003, a Bulldogs pitcher was selected in the first round of the MLB draft 6 times.

Venue

The Bulldogs play their home games at Dudy Noble Field, Polk-DeMent Stadium. Dubbed the "Carnegie Hall of College Baseball" by Nelle Cohen, wife of MSU skipper John Cohen, it was the host site of the first SEC tournament and holds the NCAA baseball on-campus attendance record of 15,586 spectators, set in a game against the University of Mississippi in 2014. The stadium has hosted each of the top 10 largest crowds to attend an on-campus college baseball game. In 2013 Paul Swaney, of Stadium Journey, ranked it as the number one collegiate ballpark. One of the venue's most prominent features is the Left Field Lounge, an outfield area where spectators can gather and enjoy the games in a tailgate setting, including stands built on top of old pick-up trucks and trailers.

In 2005, the Palmeiro Center, a 68,000-square-foot (6,300 m²) indoor practice facility, was built next to Dudy Noble. The facility, made possible by a gift from program alumnus Rafael Palmeiro and his wife Lynne, features an infield practice area, additional training area, and three batting cages. A baseball coaches' office complex located between the Palmeiro Center and Dudy Noble Field was also built in 2005. The complex, which includes a baseball heritage room, was made possible by contributions from former Bulldog players Jeff Brantley, Will Clark, Eric DuBose, Paul Maholm, Jay Powell and Bobby Thigpen, along with former MSU head coach Bo McKinnis.

Attendance

The program has set many attendance records at Dudy Noble Field. SEC weekend games usually draw the largest crowds to Dudy Noble Field. Mississippi State currently holds the NCAA record for the largest single game on-campus baseball attendance at 15,586 and the largest SEC crowd for a 3-game weekend series at 39,181. In 2007, in a Super Regional against the Clemson Tigers, Mississippi State set NCAA attendance records for Super Regional games with 12,620 and 13,715 fans. More than 5,000,000 spectators have attended games at the venue since the university started tracking attendance numbers in 1976. Mississippi State holds all of the top 11 and 17 of the top 25 on-campus crowds in college baseball history, including 14 crowds of over 12,000 and 42 crowds of over 10,000.

Attendance records

Below is a table of attendance records at Dudy Noble Field.

MLB First Round Draft Picks

* 1st round of the 2007 MLB Supplemental Draft

SEC Awards

Coaches

Only those who coached 3 or more seasons and 30 or more games.

† There was no SEC Baseball Tournament before 1977. Records are for the two team playoff that determined the SEC champion.

Regionals

Mississippi State host years shaded in ██ maroon.

Rivalries

In baseball, MSU has two main rivals, Louisiana State University and the University of Mississippi.

Against LSU, the Bulldogs hold a 207–175–1 all-time series lead over LSU in a series that got its start in 1907.

Against Mississippi, Mississippi State now leads the series 245–204–5. Retired Mississippi State head baseball coach, Ron Polk, was 85–49 against Mississippi. John Cohen, MSU's current coach, is 8–11 in SEC Conference games and 11–17 overall against Mississippi. The two teams play a 3-game series each year that counts in the SEC standings and one non-conference game in Jackson, MS. The game in Jackson was called the Mayor's Trophy from 1980 to 2006, and from 2007 to present the game has been called the Governor's Cup. The Mayor's Trophy series ended 14–13 in favor of the Rebels. With the 2007 season, the non-conference meeting between the two teams moved to Trustmark Park in Pearl, Mississippi – which is the home to the Mississippi Braves. Mississippi State holds the lead in the Governor's Cup 6–4.

Mayor's Trophy

Started in 1980 by then Jackson, Mississippi Mayor Dale Danks, Jr., the Mayor's Trophy game had been one of the most anticipated match-ups of the Mississippi college baseball season as it featured Ole Miss versus Mississippi State. In the first 25 editions, the game has drawn an average of 4,887 fans per game. The Mayor's Trophy series ended after the 2006 match-up and was replaced by The Governor's Cup.

Governor's Cup

With the 2007 season, the non-conference meeting between the two teams moved to Trustmark Park in Pearl, Mississippi – which is the home to the Mississippi Braves – and was begun anew as the two teams competed for the Governor's Cup for the first time.