2026 Baseball Season

[Dawg83]

Still four weeks out from opening day but highly anticipated, especially this year.

 

The Brian O’Connor era begins at State, and his first team has a ton of preseason hype. Preseason number 4 in the D1 baseball poll. A big mixture of returning guys + several key Virginia transfers + several other impact transfers and highly ranked freshmen. The lineup should be absolutely loaded, so much so that good players that have really produced in their college careers are going to be sitting on the bench. There are a couple of positions that are very much up for grabs but they seem to have plenty of options at most spots. Pitching staff is extremely talented but in many ways unproven. Expecting to see some combo of Valincius-McPherson-Foster starting on opening weekend, and we’ll see after that and on bullpen roles. All in all this team has pretty high year one expectations. You never know how long it takes a new regime to gel, and the SEC schedule for this team is nuts, but all the ingredients for there for this team to be one of the last few teams in Omaha, potentially. Doesn’t mean they will be, but the ceiling is certainly quite high. I’m very fascinated to see O’Connor in the SEC, his track record from Virginia speaks for itself.

 

Was surprised to see Ole Miss unranked by D1 and think they probably should’ve been in the Top 25. Any game that a healthy Hunter Elliott is pitching in, I just kinda assume Ole Miss is probably winning it. I know they’ve got other key arms to replace and that will be a big deal. Lots of power returning in the lineup, can they do a better job of not being so boom or bust with the long ball? Last year it felt like all Ole Miss did was either strike out or hit a home run. I do think Bianco has rescued things for the most part after a couple of down years and will be pretty surprised if this group isn’t comparable to what they were last season, which probably would’ve been an Omaha team if not for them being in the wrong place at the wrong time having to play a scorching hot Murray State.

 

USM is the most consistent team in the state over the last decade, and I’m going to believe that continues until it doesn’t. I felt pretty confident they’ll be in the hosting mix yet again. Can they finally make a return to Omaha? Can never rule it out with them, especially if they keep putting themselves in Supers and Regional finals… Eventually a breakthrough is bound to happen if you keep hanging around that stage.

 

Don’t think Mississippi has ever had all three teams host a regional in one year (have had two plenty of times). Maybe this is the year it happens. Would be awesome for the state.

Edited January 16 by Dawg83

[Vott]

11 hours ago, Dawg83 said:

Still four weeks out from opening day but highly anticipated, especially this year.

 

The Brian O’Connor era begins at State, and his first team has a ton of preseason hype. Preseason number 4 in the D1 baseball poll. A big mixture of returning guys + several key Virginia transfers + several other impact transfers and highly ranked freshmen. The lineup should be absolutely loaded, so much so that good players that have really produced in their college careers are going to be sitting on the bench. There are a couple of positions that are very much up for grabs but they seem to have plenty of options at most spots. Pitching staff is extremely talented but in many ways unproven. Expecting to see some combo of Valincius-McPherson-Foster starting on opening weekend, and we’ll see after that and on bullpen roles. All in all this team has pretty high year one expectations. You never know how long it takes a new regime to gel, and the SEC schedule for this team is nuts, but all the ingredients for there for this team to be one of the last few teams in Omaha, potentially. Doesn’t mean they will be, but the ceiling is certainly quite high. I’m very fascinated to see O’Connor in the SEC, his track record from Virginia speaks for itself.

 

Was surprised to see Ole Miss unranked by D1 and think they probably should’ve been in the Top 25. Any game that a healthy Hunter Elliott is pitching in, I just kinda assume Ole Miss is probably winning it. I know they’ve got other key arms to replace and that will be a big deal. Lots of power returning in the lineup, can they do a better job of not being so boom or bust with the long ball? Last year it felt like all Ole Miss did was either strike out or hit a home run. I do think Bianco has rescued things for the most part after a couple of down years and will be pretty surprised if this group isn’t comparable to what they were last season, which probably would’ve been an Omaha team if not for them being in the wrong place at the wrong time having to play a scorching hot Murray State.

 

USM is the most consistent team in the state over the last decade, and I’m going to believe that continues until it doesn’t. I felt pretty confident they’ll be in the hosting mix yet again. Can they finally make a return to Omaha? Can never rule it out with them, especially if they keep putting themselves in Supers and Regional finals… Eventually a breakthrough is bound to happen if you keep hanging around that stage.

 

Don’t think Mississippi has ever had all three teams host a regional in one year (have had two plenty of times). Maybe this is the year it happens. Would be awesome for the state.

Of all the major sports in the NCAA, baseball is the best. You dont hear too much about players in the portal every season and the smaller schools seem to be on a somewhat even playing level of the P4 conferences.

[Dawg83]

5 minutes ago, Vott said:

Of all the major sports in the NCAA, baseball is the best. You dont hear too much about players in the portal every season and the smaller schools seem to be on a somewhat even playing level of the P4 conferences.

I think I agree and disagree on this. The portal is less crazy than football and hoops but it’s still a thing. Almost all of Virginia’s 2025 roster is playing for State or Tennessee this year. Ole Miss went and got one of the dudes from Murray State that was wearing them out in the regional.

 

And yes there are some small schools that have shown they can compete (Coastal, USM, ECU types) but it’s still a pretty small number of teams. I believe 19 of the 25 in D1’s poll are SEC or ACC. The west coast has really lost some of its luster in terms of baseball (other than UCLA who is pressing number one and the two Oregon schools who are always around the host conversation now).

 

We’ve lost a lot of formerly great baseball programs too in terms of relevance. You don’t hear much at all about Rice, Cal State Fullerton, Tulane anymore and there was a time where several schools like that were winning the whole thing. I think we’ve now had 7 of the last 8 national champs be from the SEC, and the only one of those 8 that wasn’t was the Arkansas team that was a missed pop fly from winning it all.

[Bulldogs4]

I know I am in the minority here but I just don’t think State is going to quite be at the level as we are being ranked. Most of the time the baseball gods find a way to stymie first year head coaches. Now I know that times are different and there is really no team development anymore. You just plunk guys out of the portal and try to sign some good HS players and keep them from going pro. And then it is a crapshoot during the season.

 I am definitely a O’Connor fan but I would advise our folks to pump the brakes a bit and let the team play some games and gel. And hopefully not jumping off the cliff when we lose some games early. 
 

I agree that I am surprised that Ole Miss is not ranked. I have always been a Coach Bianco fan and have never understood all criticism he gets from the Ole Miss folks. 
 

And ditto to Southern Miss. Just consistently good every year in baseball. They have a nice ball park in Pete Taylor Park and a solid loyal fan base. 

[Dawg83]

There is definitely a quality with O’Connor where his teams have at times started slow and then heated up in May and June. He’s had teams that were high end national seeds too, but his 2015 national title team and the 2021 team that played State in Omaha both got in as 3 seeds. Believe his first Omaha team that won a Super in Oxford in 2009 was a 2 seed. Won the ACC twice but both instances were around 15 years ago.

 

So he gets to Omaha a lot but it’s not always the conventional path.  I think there’s certainly a path to this State team having a situation like that, especially with the schedule.

 

To me I think they’re really gonna be a good offense, and the trajectory overall just depends on how quickly those pitching roles get nailed down.
 

Edited January 17 by Dawg83

[Dawg83]

Also still cannot get over the fact that BOC is younger than Lemonis. He’s a 54 year old that can pass for 70 lol.

[Bulldogs4]

Since it has been so quiet here lately, I have to give a shout out to the State Softball team for a 4-0 start in the Baylor tournament especially the 10-0 blowout of the Bears in the first game. Of course the SEC is always stacked but Ricketts is a good coach and she has built a good solid program over the last few years. 
 

And baseball kicks off with the first pitch Friday for all of our teams. As Harry Carey espoused for the lowly Cubs back in the day “Hope Springs Eternal “ and everyone is 0-0 at the beginning of the season.

And this year all three teams are looking good and I think we could be in for a fun year on the diamond!!!

[pancho]

I agree.  We can closely monitor all 3 teams.

[Dawg83]

State should probably handle Hofstra, who was a bad CAA team last year.

 

Ole Miss gets Nevada, who was a solid Mountain West team last year but I doubt OM has many issues. But a tougher opponent than State opens with.

 

USM actually has a pretty big opening series. UC Santa Barbara coming to Hattiesburg. Pretty consistent 35-40 win Regional team that has made it to Omaha in the last decade. Strong opening opponent.

[pancho]

12 hours ago, Dawg83 said:

State should probably handle Hofstra, who was a bad CAA team last year.

 

Ole Miss gets Nevada, who was a solid Mountain West team last year but I doubt OM has many issues. But a tougher opponent than State opens with.

 

USM actually has a pretty big opening series. UC Santa Barbara coming to Hattiesburg. Pretty consistent 35-40 win Regional team that has made it to Omaha in the last decade. Strong opening opponent.

UC Santa Barbara Friday starting pitcher looks the part of a high draft pick.

[Dawg83]

McPherson-Foster-Valincius the announced weekend rotation for State to start the year. Not surprised by McPherson getting Friday, a little surprised that Foster got Saturday over Valincius. If that is an indication that Foster has taken a noticeable step up then this has a chance to be an elite rotation. All three guys are very very talented. And all three only sophomores who won’t be 21 until late 2026 or early 2027…. So a real chance this could be the starting rotation for the next two years.

Edited February 10 by Dawg83

[David44]

USM going with Colby Allen, Grayden Harris, and McCarty English this weekend. Allen will be missed 

at the backend of games, but can't argue with putting him on Friday. That game sets the tone for the weekend.

Harris was impressive last year as a true Freshman too. This could be a very formidable rotation.

 

[pancho]

I'm headed to see the golden eagles this weekend.  They do look to have a stacked team.

[Bulldogs4]

Not at a very auspicious start for STATE.

Totally outplayed but we did win 6-5. 
So there is that I suppose. 

[Bulldogs4]

On 2/12/2026 at 5:11 PM, pancho said:

I'm headed to see the golden eagles this weekend.  They do look to have a stacked team.

UC-Santa Barbara with a 5-1 win. Of course those West Coast teams are always solid. 
Hopefully USM can bounce back tomorrow. 

[Dawg83]

11 hours ago, Bulldogs4 said:

Not at a very auspicious start for STATE.

Totally outplayed but we did win 6-5. 
So there is that I suppose. 

Found it interesting that the only guys to record hits for State were returning players from last year’s team. Makes you feel like all the newbies in the lineup were pretty tight. Which I get it, playing in front of 12K against Hofstra in February is a different deal if you’ve never done it before.

[Dawg83]

9 hours ago, Bulldogs4 said:

UC-Santa Barbara with a 5-1 win. Of course those West Coast teams are always solid. 
Hopefully USM can bounce back tomorrow. 

UCSB’s ace is one of the best arms in the country, and one of the best arms USM will see all year.

[Bulldogs4]

Hofstra’s pitching has been pretty good through two games. Have to give them some credit. 
First game of the DH has been much better for State. Good solid job through 8 innings. 
 

[Dawg83]

State sweeps Hofstra. Not an overly impressive weekend, but a sweep is a sweep. They’ve got too much offensive talent for the bats to not heat up sooner or later. I think they’ve got a lot of solid options out of the bullpen. And Valincius was great in his start. McPherson was merely ok, but you’ll take what he gave you for the most part. Jury still out on Foster, but no denying his talent.

 

USM evened their series with a rubber game tomorrow. OM has not had much issue with Nevada through two games.

[Dawg83]

Great series in Hattiesburg, USM wins the last two games to take it.

[David44]

Miss State thumps Troy last night 13-7, while USM bests Southeastern Louisiana 3-1.

That was a well played game, both sides. USM used 8 pitchers, recorded 9 K's by the 5th innning.

[Dawg83]

Last night was the first time you saw State’s bats show out this year. They’ve got some serious depth.
 

The Valincius brothers are off to quite a start. One of them threw 5+ shutout innings Saturday, the other is batting 1.000 so far on the season.

[Dawg83]

State and OM beat Alcorn and JSU by a combined margin of 37-3. Both teams looking good early.

 

State hosts the Delaware Blue Hens this weekend. Ole Miss hosts Missouri State aka the other maroon team with MSU initials. USM headed out to Texas for their big early season tournament, they’ll play Oregon State among others.

[Dawg83]

State and OM both remain undefeated through six games. USM picked up a nice win over Purdue, huge game for them against Oregon State tomorrow.

[David44]

USM was in control of this game but gave up 3 in the 8th, an had to get out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the 9th and then walked it off. Huge an much needed win with Oregon State on deck Saturday.