Photo by: Mississippi State Athletics
Right Back to Work
July 16, 2021 | Baseball, Joel Coleman
Chris Lemonis and staff aren’t resting much, even after winning the national title
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State has been a national champion for more than two weeks now. That's about half a month where Bulldogs head coach Chris Lemonis could've possibly gone online or flipped on a television to try and watch a replay of all the glorious happenings up in Omaha.
So, has the MSU skipper sat back, relaxed and relived it all? Nope. Not yet at least.
"I had a good seat for it the first time, so I felt like I haven't had that desire to go back and watch it at this point," Lemonis said on Friday.
It's a good thing Lemonis is in no hurry to find a replay. He might not have had the time to view it anyway.
With the Bulldogs winning it all, one might think that'd afford Lemonis and his coaching staff the opportunity to kick back, prop the feet up and enjoy the spoils of victory. That's been far, far from the case.
Lemonis is in Starkville helping with baseball camps. His assistants are on the road recruiting. In fact, several members of the coaching staff barely had time to unpack from Omaha before the suitcases were loaded back up again with those men headed out to find another batch of Bulldogs who'll try and earn a ring.
MSU returned from Nebraska back on Thursday, July 1. The team had its championship parade and celebration the next day. The following Monday, Lemonis' assistants were back out on the recruiting trail. In a way, all of State's winning increased the urgency and desire to hurry up and get back to work. The title-winning season had slightly delayed State's full-blown return to the recruiting scene and the Bulldog coaches were chomping at the bit.
"With baseball, it goes so late into the summer," Lemonis said. "A lot of the stuff that happens takes a lot of the summer. Which I'd rather be in Omaha in June than anywhere else...but we're trying to catch up a little bit."
Of course on the road, there's now a certain conversation piece the Bulldog coaches take with them that no one else does. It's made the wait well worth it.
"The one positive is we get to say we're the national champions," Lemonis said. "That works in your favor."
It also doesn't hurt Lemonis and crew can point to another handful of Bulldogs that have heard their names called in the MLB Draft. This past week, Will Bednar, Tanner Allen, Christian MacLeod, Eric Cerantola and Rowdey Jordan were all picked by professional franchises, continuing State's long legacy of putting players on a path towards the big leagues.
Bednar became the 18th first-round pick in MSU history when he was selected by the San Francisco Giants. Allen went to the Miami Marlins in the fourth round. Cerantola and MacLeod were both chosen in the fifth round with Cerantola picked by Kansas City and MacLeod selected by Minnesota. Jordan went to the New York Mets in the 11th round. It was all a little more icing on the championship cake for Lemonis, to see several of his guys get the opportunity to pursue their lifelong goals.
"That's why they come [to Mississippi State]," Lemonis said. "That's why they come here is to do some special things and move on to the next level. It was really fulfilling for some of the guys this year because the last 18 months haven't been easy for anybody in our country. What Tanner and Rowdey had to go through last summer with the [shortened] draft and the disappointment [of not getting picked], it was really nice to see them go to good organizations and be in good spots so they can go out there and chase their dream now. They couldn't have done anything more their four years here in town. Will Bednar, I think we've had the 14th pick twice now in the last two years [after Justin Foscue was also picked 14th overall in 2020]. That's pretty cool to see that. Then Christian and Eric, too, they're going to have great pro careers. It's going to be fun to watch these guys and watch them chase their dreams."
While the former Diamond Dawgs chase those dreams, the current ones will set their sights on once again climbing to the peak of the college baseball mountain. In recent days, Lemonis has been tossing around what to tell his next club, the first-ever team of Bulldogs to try and repeat as national champs. What do you say to set the tone for a group that has now already dogpiled on the biggest stage?
"I haven't come to a conclusion yet," Lemonis said of what his message will be to the 2022 State team. "It's going to be harder here than maybe anywhere else because everywhere you go, you'll have people patting you on the back and congratulating you, which is really nice. But it's everywhere you go you hear how great you are and how long people have been waiting for [a championship]. Here in a couple weeks we have to turn the page to 2022 and everybody's going to be gunning for us. It's going to take some time and it's going to be really important the message we send to our team."
Lemonis does have at least a few more weeks to think about it before classes begin and his new roster is intact on campus. In the meantime, he's finally going to squeeze in a vacation here in the coming days. Perhaps then, Lemonis will also find some time to go back and view all those Omaha heroics.
Even if he does, he won't dwell on it. After all, fall ball is just around the corner.
"It's going to be here before you know it," Lemonis said.
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So, has the MSU skipper sat back, relaxed and relived it all? Nope. Not yet at least.
"I had a good seat for it the first time, so I felt like I haven't had that desire to go back and watch it at this point," Lemonis said on Friday.
It's a good thing Lemonis is in no hurry to find a replay. He might not have had the time to view it anyway.
With the Bulldogs winning it all, one might think that'd afford Lemonis and his coaching staff the opportunity to kick back, prop the feet up and enjoy the spoils of victory. That's been far, far from the case.
Lemonis is in Starkville helping with baseball camps. His assistants are on the road recruiting. In fact, several members of the coaching staff barely had time to unpack from Omaha before the suitcases were loaded back up again with those men headed out to find another batch of Bulldogs who'll try and earn a ring.
MSU returned from Nebraska back on Thursday, July 1. The team had its championship parade and celebration the next day. The following Monday, Lemonis' assistants were back out on the recruiting trail. In a way, all of State's winning increased the urgency and desire to hurry up and get back to work. The title-winning season had slightly delayed State's full-blown return to the recruiting scene and the Bulldog coaches were chomping at the bit.
"With baseball, it goes so late into the summer," Lemonis said. "A lot of the stuff that happens takes a lot of the summer. Which I'd rather be in Omaha in June than anywhere else...but we're trying to catch up a little bit."
Of course on the road, there's now a certain conversation piece the Bulldog coaches take with them that no one else does. It's made the wait well worth it.
"The one positive is we get to say we're the national champions," Lemonis said. "That works in your favor."
It also doesn't hurt Lemonis and crew can point to another handful of Bulldogs that have heard their names called in the MLB Draft. This past week, Will Bednar, Tanner Allen, Christian MacLeod, Eric Cerantola and Rowdey Jordan were all picked by professional franchises, continuing State's long legacy of putting players on a path towards the big leagues.
Bednar became the 18th first-round pick in MSU history when he was selected by the San Francisco Giants. Allen went to the Miami Marlins in the fourth round. Cerantola and MacLeod were both chosen in the fifth round with Cerantola picked by Kansas City and MacLeod selected by Minnesota. Jordan went to the New York Mets in the 11th round. It was all a little more icing on the championship cake for Lemonis, to see several of his guys get the opportunity to pursue their lifelong goals.
"That's why they come [to Mississippi State]," Lemonis said. "That's why they come here is to do some special things and move on to the next level. It was really fulfilling for some of the guys this year because the last 18 months haven't been easy for anybody in our country. What Tanner and Rowdey had to go through last summer with the [shortened] draft and the disappointment [of not getting picked], it was really nice to see them go to good organizations and be in good spots so they can go out there and chase their dream now. They couldn't have done anything more their four years here in town. Will Bednar, I think we've had the 14th pick twice now in the last two years [after Justin Foscue was also picked 14th overall in 2020]. That's pretty cool to see that. Then Christian and Eric, too, they're going to have great pro careers. It's going to be fun to watch these guys and watch them chase their dreams."
While the former Diamond Dawgs chase those dreams, the current ones will set their sights on once again climbing to the peak of the college baseball mountain. In recent days, Lemonis has been tossing around what to tell his next club, the first-ever team of Bulldogs to try and repeat as national champs. What do you say to set the tone for a group that has now already dogpiled on the biggest stage?
"I haven't come to a conclusion yet," Lemonis said of what his message will be to the 2022 State team. "It's going to be harder here than maybe anywhere else because everywhere you go, you'll have people patting you on the back and congratulating you, which is really nice. But it's everywhere you go you hear how great you are and how long people have been waiting for [a championship]. Here in a couple weeks we have to turn the page to 2022 and everybody's going to be gunning for us. It's going to take some time and it's going to be really important the message we send to our team."
Lemonis does have at least a few more weeks to think about it before classes begin and his new roster is intact on campus. In the meantime, he's finally going to squeeze in a vacation here in the coming days. Perhaps then, Lemonis will also find some time to go back and view all those Omaha heroics.
Even if he does, he won't dwell on it. After all, fall ball is just around the corner.
"It's going to be here before you know it," Lemonis said.
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Players Mentioned
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