Diamond Dawgs Among Baseball American’s Preseason Top 10
January 20, 2020 | Baseball
Mississippi State earn fourth top-10 ranking of the preseason
by: Greg Campbell, Assistant Director/Communications
STARKVILLE – As individual works winds down and team practice is ready to crank up, the Mississippi State baseball program received its fourth preseason top-10 ranking on Monday (Jan. 20), this time a No. 9 ranking from Baseball America.
With Baseball America's rankings release, the Diamond Dawgs now own the preseason top 10 lable from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper (No. 6), D1Baseball (No. 10) and Perfect Game (No. 8). The the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and USA Today will also be released in the coming weeks.
Five of State's 2020 opponents are among the teams ranked in Baseball America's preseason poll, with each of them among the top 15 programs entering the year. Texas Tech (No. 6) will present the first ranked test of the season in the non-conference slate, while four ranked SEC opponents dot the schedule: Arkansas (No. 11), LSU (No. 14), Auburn (No. 13) and Vanderbilt (No. 1).
Overall, the SEC boasts seven ranked teams, with Florida (No. 4) and Georgia (No. 7) also earning a spot in Baseball America's preseason poll.
After making its second-straight trip to the College World Series, grabbing a share of the SEC West Division crown and boasting a 52-15 overall record in 2019, MSU returns an experienced nucleus at the plate in juniors Tanner Allen, Justin Foscue, Rowdey Jordan and Jordan Westburg. The pitching staff returns a host of young and talented arms, led by 2019 National Freshman of the Year JT Ginn.
The quartet of Allen, Foscue, Ginn and Westburg have each earned Preseason All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and Perfect Game. Allen, Foscue and Ginn each ended the 2019 campaign with All-America accolades, while Westburg joins Foscue and Ginn on MLBPipeline's list of top-100 prospects for the 2020 Major League Baseball Draft.
Head coach Chris Lemonis enters his second season after posting the most victories (52) by a first-year SEC head coach in the conference's history and becoming just the third SEC first-year dugout boss to guide a team to Omaha. State finished the 2019 campaign ranked among the top five in each of the major national polls.
The Bulldogs open the 2020 season with a three-game series at Dudy Noble Field against Horizon League champion Wright State from Feb. 14-16. The season opener is slated for 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 14. The series continues with a 2 p.m. start on Saturday, Feb. 15 and 1 p.m. first pitch on Sunday, Feb. 16.
Ticket Information
While reserved seating season tickets are sold out for the 34th straight season, general admission/standing room only season tickets are available for a cost of $199.
New for the 2020 season, the Mobile Access Pass will provide access to unused chairback seats at Dudy Noble Field. The Mobile Access Pass provides a GA/SRO ticket for all games on the 2020 home schedule, while also offering upgraded access on a game-by-game basis to the unused chairback seats for all home weekend series – excluding Super Bulldog Weekend. The cost for the Mobile Access Pass is $225.
The Mobile Access Pass and GA/SRO season tickets can be purchased at the Mississippi State Ticket Office, located in the Bryan Building off of Lakeview Drive. Tickets can also be purchased by calling 1-888-GO-DAWGS or online at hailstate.com/tickets.
STARKVILLE – As individual works winds down and team practice is ready to crank up, the Mississippi State baseball program received its fourth preseason top-10 ranking on Monday (Jan. 20), this time a No. 9 ranking from Baseball America.
With Baseball America's rankings release, the Diamond Dawgs now own the preseason top 10 lable from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper (No. 6), D1Baseball (No. 10) and Perfect Game (No. 8). The the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and USA Today will also be released in the coming weeks.
Five of State's 2020 opponents are among the teams ranked in Baseball America's preseason poll, with each of them among the top 15 programs entering the year. Texas Tech (No. 6) will present the first ranked test of the season in the non-conference slate, while four ranked SEC opponents dot the schedule: Arkansas (No. 11), LSU (No. 14), Auburn (No. 13) and Vanderbilt (No. 1).
Overall, the SEC boasts seven ranked teams, with Florida (No. 4) and Georgia (No. 7) also earning a spot in Baseball America's preseason poll.
After making its second-straight trip to the College World Series, grabbing a share of the SEC West Division crown and boasting a 52-15 overall record in 2019, MSU returns an experienced nucleus at the plate in juniors Tanner Allen, Justin Foscue, Rowdey Jordan and Jordan Westburg. The pitching staff returns a host of young and talented arms, led by 2019 National Freshman of the Year JT Ginn.
The quartet of Allen, Foscue, Ginn and Westburg have each earned Preseason All-America honors from Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and Perfect Game. Allen, Foscue and Ginn each ended the 2019 campaign with All-America accolades, while Westburg joins Foscue and Ginn on MLBPipeline's list of top-100 prospects for the 2020 Major League Baseball Draft.
Head coach Chris Lemonis enters his second season after posting the most victories (52) by a first-year SEC head coach in the conference's history and becoming just the third SEC first-year dugout boss to guide a team to Omaha. State finished the 2019 campaign ranked among the top five in each of the major national polls.
The Bulldogs open the 2020 season with a three-game series at Dudy Noble Field against Horizon League champion Wright State from Feb. 14-16. The season opener is slated for 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 14. The series continues with a 2 p.m. start on Saturday, Feb. 15 and 1 p.m. first pitch on Sunday, Feb. 16.
Ticket Information
While reserved seating season tickets are sold out for the 34th straight season, general admission/standing room only season tickets are available for a cost of $199.
New for the 2020 season, the Mobile Access Pass will provide access to unused chairback seats at Dudy Noble Field. The Mobile Access Pass provides a GA/SRO ticket for all games on the 2020 home schedule, while also offering upgraded access on a game-by-game basis to the unused chairback seats for all home weekend series – excluding Super Bulldog Weekend. The cost for the Mobile Access Pass is $225.
The Mobile Access Pass and GA/SRO season tickets can be purchased at the Mississippi State Ticket Office, located in the Bryan Building off of Lakeview Drive. Tickets can also be purchased by calling 1-888-GO-DAWGS or online at hailstate.com/tickets.
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