Coming Up Huge
May 30, 2024 | Baseball, Joel Coleman
Connor Hujsak has taken himself from freshman foe of the Dawgs to State star.
STARKVILLE – Connor Hujsak had a smile on his face as he walked back to the Mississippi State locker room at Dudy Noble Field.
It was earlier this week, and the Bulldogs were just wrapping up a practice and workouts. They were only a day away from heading eastward for the Charlottesville Regional where MSU will begin its postseason run on Friday.
With so much excitement ahead, no wonder Hujsak was sporting a grin. Fact is though, this is a young man that absolutely should be cheesing given not only what's to come but how his whole collegiate ride has gone.
"It's been a good journey for sure," Hujsak shared just before packing up his stuff for the day.
Hujsak's path is one certainly deserving of recollection, if not a full-length feature film. And it's not so much about how he enters the NCAA Tournament as State's leading hitter with a .350 batting average, put together while compiling a team-high three triples to go along with 13 doubles and nine home runs. All that's just the latest, greatest chapter in this intriguing story.
Instead, Hujsak's tale is best told from the beginning of his college days.
Rewind back to 2021. Hujsak was a freshman star for VCU following a standout high school career in New Hampshire where he was the state's Gatorade Player of the Year in 2020.
At VCU, Hujsak quickly showed he had a big stick. He was chosen to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team after starting 48 games, collecting 42 hits including 12 doubles, three triples and seven homers. He was an extra-base-hit machine, and that stood out to a certain opposing coach Hujsak faced in a 2021 regional.
On the way to an eventual national championship, Mississippi State had to host and get past Hujsak and VCU. The Dawgs did, but in the process, MSU head coach Chris Lemonis couldn't help but be impressed by the Rams' shortstop.
"When I saw [Hujsak], I saw Jordan Westburg," Lemonis recalled, drawing a comparison to the State great who's currently shining on an incredibly talented Baltimore Orioles roster. "Now, I'm not saying that [Hujsak is] Jordan Westburg, who is one of the best players in the big leagues right now, but it's the same body type, energy and athleticism. The swings were even similar…I just saw a lot of similarities."
While Lemonis and the Dawgs liked what they saw in Hujsak, Hujsak was equally as captivated by Mississippi State. How could he not be?
Hujsak remembers looking around at The Dude as a freshman kid in complete awe.
"It was shocking," Hujsak said. "I never even thought that could be college baseball…Seeing that my freshman year was unbelievable. It was breathtaking really."
It'd soon by Hujsak's new home.
Hujsak went on to play one more season at VCU in 2022 and hit 12 long balls to tie for seventh in VCU history for single-season home runs. He also led the Rams with 17 stolen bases. But in the summer following the 2022 season, Hujsak decided to take his talents to the South and back to the place that had mesmerized him about a year prior.
"Seeing that winning culture then and coming here [to MSU] and seeing what the fans are about and what this town is about, it was a no-brainer," Hujsak said of choosing to put on the Maroon and White. "It was a really quick process. Lemonis called me one day and then about two days later, I was a Bulldog. It was really quick. It was a really easy decision, big-time easy."
The choice might've been easy, but things weren't exactly smooth sailing for Hujsak immediately in Starkville. His athleticism allowed him to shift from being an infielder to an outfielder, but that meant Hujsak found himself behind a trio of highly skilled Bulldogs in 2023 – Dakota Jordan, Colton Ledbetter and Kellum Clark.
Hujsak's playing time was limited to just 25 games and six starts. All the while though, he simply kept his head up and believed, eventually, his time would come.
"Lemonis always said, 'Stay ready,' and that's what I did," Hujsak said. "I come here and want to play right away, and I don't get the job and I'm not able to, but you just put your head down and work. Enjoy the moment. Just be in the moment, be with your guys and the work will pay off eventually. You've just got to trust it.
"Mindset is big time – being able to take a step back and understanding what you're here for. Yeah, you want to play and want to grow as a player and get drafted and all that, but really, it's about building a culture and building on what the people in front of you have done and growing as a person."
Keep growing, Hujsak did. His progress became readily apparent last summer.
After State's 2023 season concluded, Hujsak played 28 games down in the Sunshine State for the Sanford River Rats of the Florida Collegiate Summer League. Hujsak showed what he could do on an everyday basis as he hit .319 with five homers, seven doubles and 16 RBIs.
Hujsak carried his momentum into MSU's fall practices and right on into this season, where just about the only thing that's been able to slow him down all year was a back ailment that knocked him out of action for a couple of weeks earlier this month.
All Hujsak did to shake that off was hop right back in the lineup and get a pair of dramatic, game-winning hits in the Southeastern Conference Tournament. It was a testament to not only his own perseverance, but this year's State team as whole. It's like Hujsak and these Dawgs just keep coming at the opposition.
"We get knocked down, this group gets up every time," Hujsak said. "We've got a lot of older guys and guys with experience…It helps having that experience. We just knew what the last two seasons have done and we didn't want that to happen again. So, we've worked our butts off and we're here now."
"Here" is back in the postseason – the place where Hujsak and the Bulldogs first met all those years ago. This time, Hujsak is happy to be on the good guys' side.
"It means the world to me," Hujsak said. "[Coming to State was] the best decision of my life."
And still, the feeling is absolutely mutual.
"He's such a wonderful kid," Lemonis said of Hujsak. "Being able to come back and prove to everybody and have this experience is pretty cool."
So cool, in fact, Hujsak has a definitive word for anyone – freshman, transfer or whoever – that's ever considering becoming a Diamond Dawg.
"If you want to play college baseball in the best atmosphere in the best conference, Mississippi State is the place to be," Hujsak said. "The fans are the best. This town is unbelievable. This is just the best place to play."
