Mississippi State baseball’s non-conference schedule is good enough
Last season Mississippi State played an almost embarrassingly weak non-conference schedule. The idea was to get a team in desperate need of improving to build up wins heading into SEC play. That plan backfired as they took several bad losses that ultimately proved costly when it came to their hosting chances.
This year, they’ve addressed that with a respectable enough non-conference slate. The Bulldogs will play Southern Miss both home and away, and they’ll play 2024 regional hosts Arizona and Oklahoma State in Houston. While they didn’t load down their non-conference slate with tons of strong programs, they’ll have just enough quality opponents that the non-conference schedule won’t be an issue for the hosting conversation.
The Diamond Dawgs got an incredibly favorable SEC slate
Am I dreaming? Was Mississippi State done a favor by the SEC? They actually have a favorable SEC schedule? This has got to be some sort of a sick joke.
But on paper, it’s true. State got a good draw for SEC play. Of last season’s Top-5 SEC teams, MSU only plays Kentucky, avoiding Texas A&M, Tennessee, Georgia, and Arkansas. Seven of their ten SEC opponents finished last season with losing conference records.
They do College World Series participant Florida, but that series in Starkville. SEC-newcomers Texas and Oklahoma are both good, but it’s a fair trade-off compared to playing the usual suspects. The Ole Miss series is at the Dude too.
This looks to be a fantastic schedule built for wins, and the fact I’m acknowledging that now means this will end up being a brutal schedule when it’s all said and done.
There’s no excuse for Chris Lemonis to not have State hosting next season
2024 was a make-or-break season for Chris Lemonis. He had to return MSU baseball to the postseason, or he would be gone. He achieved that and earned another year. But now the pressure is higher. State fans don’t expect to make the postseason. They expect to contend in the SEC, host regionals, and make runs to Omaha.
And with this schedule, contending in the SEC and hosting a regional should be non-negotiable. This is as favorable a schedule as the Diamond Dawgs have had in years. Playing at a high-enough level to win the majority of those SEC series, including against the better teams they’ll face, isn’t at all unreasonable. Not for what Mississippi State baseball is supposed to be.
Obviously MSU is having to reload after losing many of their best players from last season. But to the point of what’s expected in Starkville, talent is never supposed to be an issue. There’s no excuse for Lemonis to not have the Diamond Dawgs hosting in 2025.
