From Houston to the Heartland

OMAHA, Neb. – About 3,500 people call Houston, Mississippi home. It's perhaps the quintessential Magnolia State town, full of good, hard-working, honest folks.

Right at the moment, Houston might perhaps best be known as the hometown of Luke Hancock. The sweet-swinging first baseman and cleanup hitter for Mississippi State has become a cornerstone for the 2021 Bulldogs. So has that made Hancock a celebrity when he gets back inside those Houston city limits?

"Naw," Hancock quickly said on Saturday. "They think of me as the same. Just a dude from Houston, Mississippi."

Hancock can downplay his fame (or lack thereof) in his old stomping grounds. But make no mistake about it, Mississippi State isn't opening up play in the College World Series on Sunday night without him.

It's tough to overstate how big of a piece Hancock has been for this year's Diamond Dawgs. From Opening Day on, he's been getting big hits, swapping positions and just generally doing whatever it has taken to help push State to Omaha.

Long before the present though, Hancock was just a Houston up-and-comer. He was a lifelong Bulldog fan, that as a kid alongside his dad, made the 40-mile trek to Starkville to watch MSU play at Dudy Noble Field a few times a year when they could.

Hancock comes from a family full of MSU supporters. By the time he got to high school, it was already apparent he was going to get the chance to be a Bulldog himself.

"I had a [high school] teammate of mine, [former State pitcher] Denver McQuary, he was two years older than me and he was getting a lot of attention," Hancock recalled. "Me and him started going to camps around my freshman year and his junior year…I think it was somewhere around my freshman year when I started talking to Mississippi State."

To hear Hancock tell it, once the Bulldogs started calling, there was little chance he was going anywhere else. He committed and essentially played his entire high school career knowing he'd one day be trading in Houston Hilltopper maroon and white for the MSU version.

"It was a really easy decision," Hancock said.

Hancock wasted no time in showing flashes of why MSU had wanted him for years. Though he played in just 26 games in his true freshman season, Hancock hit .326 and displayed a plate discipline that few newbies have. He worked 10 walks, helping give him a season on-base percentage of .483. Hancock quickly felt like, and proved, he belonged.

"I feel like you have to go up there [to the plate] when you're a freshman with the mindset that you deserve to be here," Hancock said. "When you get [to this level], everybody here is good. In high school, most everybody is the man. Then you get to college and everybody is better than you or right the same as you, so you have to work. I've always had the mindset that I deserve to be here, especially my freshman year."

If his performance wasn't enough, Hancock's debut season with the Dawgs also gave him an Omaha trip. He didn't see game action in the 2019 College World Series, but he watched. He listened. He soaked it in, hoping one day to be back and contributing.

It didn't happen in 2020. Like for so many others, it was a trying year for Hancock. He was playing, but limited by an injury. Then 14 games into the season, the campaign was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the world shutting down, it did at least allow Hancock the opportunity to heal.

"I worked my way back and by the end of the fall, I was back 100 percent," Hancock said.

Back feeling good, Hancock was ready to play a big part for MSU in 2021. Few could've predicted the method in which it was going to happen.

Hancock began the year sharing catching duties with primary backstop Logan Tanner, and being a designated hitter at times. By midseason though, the Bulldogs needed Hancock to shift to first base. Despite never really having the played the position competitively in his life, Hancock made the move.

"I played first base when I was like five," Hancock said. "Me and our shortstop at the time, we were the only two that could catch and throw really when we were five and six. So I had to play first to catch the balls and get the outs. That's really the only time I've ever played it. I took ground balls in high school every day. I'd shag in the outfield. But this is the first time I've ever played first in meaningful games."

A casual observer would've likely never have known Hancock was somewhat learning on the job. He's only made one error all season long. And that bat, well, it has always performed no matter where Hancock has been in the lineup or on the field.

"He's [been] like that his whole career," State head coach Chris Lemonis said earlier this month of Hancock's offensive success. "I remember putting him in the lineup in 2019. He sees a lot of pitches – grinds out a lot of pitches, doesn't swing out of the zone and he doesn't really change with the moment. If it's a big moment, he stays relaxed. He makes somebody give him a good pitch. Usually, pitchers fall behind so he gets a good pitch to hit. He doesn't try to do too much."

It's been pretty remarkable how Hancock's all-around game has been so steady in his new role. His teammate, MSU third baseman Kamren James, certainly respects how Hancock learned a brand new position and still kept right on playing a big part in helping push the Bulldogs to the College World Series.

"It's definitely not easy," James said. "For him to come in and step into a role that we needed him to in the middle of a season, he's done awesome. I don't think there is anyone better for the job. And as a hitter in the middle of the lineup, [he's second on the team in RBIs]. So I think having him in the lineup – he doesn't chase pitches and he walks a lot – he just contributes a whole lot."

If the Houston boy's production follows him into America's heartland over the upcoming days, it'd go a long way towards helping the Bulldogs perhaps earn the grandest of prizes. Can Hancock put into words what that'd mean?

"I don't think I can," Hancock said. "We have what I think is the best fan base in the country. We've been out here [to Omaha] 12 times [as a program]. Been close [to winning it all] a couple times. Just haven't been able to get the job done. If we can pull it off, it'll be awesome. We have a good chance. We just have to play good baseball and beat some really good opponents, starting with Texas [on Sunday night]. We start from there and just keep winning and hopefully keep playing good baseball and then hopefully we'll have the opportunity to bring it home."

Who knows? If that happens, maybe Hancock will be a Houston celebrity after all. Then again, maybe not.

"It's never changed and I hope it never does," Hancock said.

Mississippi State University Athletics

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