D1Baseball Tabs Diamond Dawgs Top 15
January 14, 2019 | Baseball
State earns third preseason ranking and second top-20 ranking for 2019
by: Greg Campbell, Assistant Director/Communications
STARKVILLE – As the calendar inches closer to February 15, the preseason rankings continue to roll in for the Mississippi State baseball program. The Diamond Dawgs and first-year head coach Chris Lemonis earned their second top-20 ranking of the 2019 preseason, this time from D1Baseball.
Mississippi State enters the season ranked No. 14 according to D1Baseball, after being tabbed No. 17 by Perfect Game and No. 27 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. In the 2018 preseason, State appeared in just two of the six major polls, earning the No. 32 spot from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers and USA Today Coaches Poll.
The D1Baseball poll includes eight opponents on the 2019 schedule for State, including six of the top 11 teams in the preseason standings. The slate will include dates with LSU (2), Texas Tech (3), Florida (6), Georgia (9), Ole Miss (10), East Carolina (11), Arkansas (16) and Auburn (22). Mississippi State faces six of the seven ranked SEC teams during the regular season, with top-ranked Vanderbilt joining the aforementioned SEC programs on D1Baseball's list.
The 2019 squad features 18 returners from the CWS squad a season ago, including nine student-athletes that started at least 30 games in the field. The pitching staff will look to fill a pair of open spots in the weekend rotation, with Ethan Small's 18 starts in 2018 being more than the rest of the returning staff combined from last season.
On Monday (Dec. 17), senior Jake Mangum was named to Collegiate Baseball's Preseason All-America squad. He was the lone SEC representative on the first team and the only SEC position player selected to the first or second team of the publication's All-America squads. Mangum and the freshman All-American duo of Tanner Allen and Rowdey Jordan are the only returners that started at least 50 games for State last season.
A talented crop of 18 newcomers join the fold, as well, including two freshmen and one transfer student-athlete choosing the Maroon and White over Major League Baseball following the 2018 First Year Player Draft. Freshmen Eric Cerantola (30th Round; Tampa Bay) and JT Ginn (1st Round; Los Angeles Dodgers), along with junior Gunner Halter (26th Round; Cleveland) were each chosen in the 2018 MLB Draft.
The Bulldogs open the 2019 season with a three-game series at Dudy Noble Field against Youngstown State on Feb. 15-17. The season opener is slated for 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 15 against the Penguins and general admission season tickets are on sale now by contacting the ticket office at 1-888-GO-DAWGS or clicking here.
-- HailState.com --
STARKVILLE – As the calendar inches closer to February 15, the preseason rankings continue to roll in for the Mississippi State baseball program. The Diamond Dawgs and first-year head coach Chris Lemonis earned their second top-20 ranking of the 2019 preseason, this time from D1Baseball.
Mississippi State enters the season ranked No. 14 according to D1Baseball, after being tabbed No. 17 by Perfect Game and No. 27 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. In the 2018 preseason, State appeared in just two of the six major polls, earning the No. 32 spot from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers and USA Today Coaches Poll.
The D1Baseball poll includes eight opponents on the 2019 schedule for State, including six of the top 11 teams in the preseason standings. The slate will include dates with LSU (2), Texas Tech (3), Florida (6), Georgia (9), Ole Miss (10), East Carolina (11), Arkansas (16) and Auburn (22). Mississippi State faces six of the seven ranked SEC teams during the regular season, with top-ranked Vanderbilt joining the aforementioned SEC programs on D1Baseball's list.
The 2019 squad features 18 returners from the CWS squad a season ago, including nine student-athletes that started at least 30 games in the field. The pitching staff will look to fill a pair of open spots in the weekend rotation, with Ethan Small's 18 starts in 2018 being more than the rest of the returning staff combined from last season.
On Monday (Dec. 17), senior Jake Mangum was named to Collegiate Baseball's Preseason All-America squad. He was the lone SEC representative on the first team and the only SEC position player selected to the first or second team of the publication's All-America squads. Mangum and the freshman All-American duo of Tanner Allen and Rowdey Jordan are the only returners that started at least 50 games for State last season.
A talented crop of 18 newcomers join the fold, as well, including two freshmen and one transfer student-athlete choosing the Maroon and White over Major League Baseball following the 2018 First Year Player Draft. Freshmen Eric Cerantola (30th Round; Tampa Bay) and JT Ginn (1st Round; Los Angeles Dodgers), along with junior Gunner Halter (26th Round; Cleveland) were each chosen in the 2018 MLB Draft.
The Bulldogs open the 2019 season with a three-game series at Dudy Noble Field against Youngstown State on Feb. 15-17. The season opener is slated for 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 15 against the Penguins and general admission season tickets are on sale now by contacting the ticket office at 1-888-GO-DAWGS or clicking here.
-- HailState.com --