‘This Was Always The Dream’
June 05, 2026 | Baseball, Joel Coleman
STARKVILLE – Maybe Hank Williams Jr. said it best.
We heard him sing it over the speakers every single time Mississippi State's Bryce Chance came to bat at Dudy Noble Field for this, his final, season in Maroon and White:
"'Cause you see I'm a dinosaur. I should have died out a long time before."
Not all walk-up songs are created equal. Some bring energy. Some craft the right mindset within a player. Others encourage crowd involvement.
Chance's was always descriptive. He's a relic from a bygone era.
College sports have changed drastically this decade. Athletes frequently seek out new opportunities. It's not always a bad thing. It's just a reality.
MSU baseball has benefited greatly from transfers. The Bulldogs wouldn't be in Athens, Georgia, this weekend for a Super Regional – two wins away from Omaha – if not for names like Ace Reese, Tomas Valincius and Noah Sullivan. State has soared because of the performances of players who started their careers elsewhere, then decided to put on the prestigious M-over-S.
Consider this. When the Diamond Dawgs clinched the Starkville Regional last Sunday, seven of the nine guys in the starting batting order began their college baseball days elsewhere.
The lone exceptions? There was true freshman Jacob Parker. Then, there was Chance. The five-year Bulldog. The only man on the entire roster to have played for MSU prior to 2025. The dinosaur.
Chance has now played his final game at The Dude. No matter how this weekend or the upcoming weeks go, a chapter of Bulldog baseball is closing as Chance's career wraps up.
So, given how much things have changed, it seems wise to appreciate Chance's story one more time – the tale of a boy that just wanted to be a Bulldog, then went out, did it, kept doing it and became so much more.
"This was always the dream," Chance said. "I knew that since I was growing up.
"I knew from probably 7 years old this is where I wanted to play."
MAROON IN HIS BLOOD
Chance isn't exaggerating when he says he had State firmly in his sights at 7.
Let's take the clock back to that time period. It's fall of 2009. If you were looking for Chance on a Saturday, odds are he was in Starkville at Davis Wade Stadium watching Bulldog football.
"We had season tickets," Chance recalled. We sat on the top row – visitor's side."
Chance was locked in, too. His attire reflected it.
"I had a custom [former MSU quarterback] Tyson Lee jersey that was made before NIL was a thing, so I don't know how legal it was," Chance said. "But we made it and it was the No. 16 jersey, white, with the Mississippi State on the front and then it said, 'Lee' on the nameplate on the back.
"And I had one of those replica football helmets that was always crooked because it was too big for me."
The apple didn't fall far from the tree at all. Chance's father, Chris, was long involved with the stat crews for football and basketball at Mississippi State. Chris, as well as Bryce's mom, Angie, are both State graduates. So, it's no surprise just how deeply Bryce's own roots run.
Those roots only grew deeper through the years, along with Bryce's passion for all things Maroon and White.
Still, like with any young kid with high hopes, nothing about the future was guaranteed. If Bryce Chance ever wanted his own State jersey, there was work to do.
EARNING THE OPPORTUNITY
In the summer prior to Chance's senior year of high school at Madison-Ridgeland Academy, he had no offers of any kind.
"I talked to schools, but nothing ever came of it," Chance said.
That'd soon change. Chance was close with Hunter Hines – the man who now holds State's career home run record – as well as with Hines' father. Those relationships led to some words of wisdom for Chance: putting a little more pop in his bat would lead to a better recruitment process.
Well the pop came and with it, interest in Chance soared.
"I hit a homer in summer ball and got my first offer from Mississippi Delta Community College," Chance said. "After that, I got like five [junior college offers].
"I cut it down to Hinds, Pearl River and Jones. The reason I committed to Hinds was it was closer to my house. If I was using JuCo as a stepping stool to get to Mississippi State, I didn't want to drive two and a half hours when I could drive 30 minutes."
Chance admitted it also impacted his decision to see several Bulldogs through the years who'd played previously at Hinds. So, it appeared Chance's next step was set. However, fate had other plans.
"I go into high school scrimmages that spring and I end up hitting a homer that my hitting coach was videoing," Chance said. "It was a cool angle from the back where it was at night and I hit it and the ball just like disappeared into the night. It was a really cool video.
"Well it ends up going crazy viral and I ended up getting a text from [former MSU hitting coach Jake Gautreau] the next day."
Chance thought it was a joke. He was convinced one of his teammates was simply messing with him because they all knew how much Chance wanted to play at Mississippi State.
To make sure it was all real, Chance reached out to friend and former Bulldog football linebacker Stone Blanton who was committed to play baseball and football at State at the time.
'I said, 'Plug this number into your phone and make sure it's [Gautreau]," Chance said. "So, he plugs it in, and it's him.
'I was like, 'Oh my gosh. This might actually be happening.'"
It wasn't happening immediately, but it was indeed happening.
Shortly after that initial text, Chance had a two-homer game. It led to a phone chat with Gautreau.
"We have this long conversation," Chance said. "It ends with, 'Hey, we basically don't have any money for a scholarship, but you have an opportunity to come play [at Mississippi State]. All you have to do is say yes.'"
Chance didn't even have to think. Gautreau insisted Chance talk things over with his family, but there was no need. He'd have to walk on at Mississippi State, but that was fine. Heck, he'd have literally walked to Dudy Noble if that's what it'd have taken.
"I'm in the truck with my dad [as all this is happening]," Chance said. "I'm telling my dad everything that was said. My dad is emotional. I'm emotional. Everything that we'd worked for up to that point was finally coming true."
Chance had a couple of other phone calls to make. He informed Hinds of his change of plans. Then, he called his girlfriend (and now-wife) Abby to let her know he was going to be a Bulldog.
"She was already coming to Mississippi State anyway," Chance said. "As much as I don't want to admit it, that was part of why I really wanted to come to Mississippi State.
"But it was just a super special time to be able to share that with everybody."
FROM BENCH TO BULLDOG STARDOM
All wasn't roses for Chance upon his arrival at State. He had visions of contributing immediately. That didn't happen. He was redshirted.
"It didn't start off pretty for me," Chance said. "It was heartbreaking.
"Coming to the field every day, knowing that you're not going to be in the lineup and not going to get into the game is devastating…But I had to learn how to be a great teammate and I had to provide value somewhere else. So, I was doing everything I could to help with scouting reports, watching hitters, and that's something that helped me grow as a baseball player was learning how to scout a pitcher and watching guys like Brad Cumbest and RJ Yeager go about their at-bats. That redshirt year was a really crucial time in my development."
While Chance waited his turn, he was encouraged by his family.
"I had good voices in my head telling me to trust God because he's got a plan, and he really did and still does to this day," Chance said. "He's taken care of me every step of the way."
It didn't take too long for Chance's faith to be rewarded. He was a starter to begin the 2023 season. What happened in those first few games served as a preview of what Chance has now made a common occurrence over the last four years. He produced over and over and over again.
Chance went 7-for-12 at the plate in his first series as an active Bulldog. He drove in seven runs and hit his first State homer. In doing so, Chance earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors.
"It really made me feel like [redshirting in 2022] was worth it just in that first weekend," Chance said.
Chance has been helping the Bulldogs win ever since. He enters super regional play this weekend sporting a .320 career batting average with 14 homers, 48 doubles, a pair of triples, 36 stolen bases and 135 RBIs. He's struck out, on average, only about once in every 10 trips to the plate – almost unheard of in today's baseball where contact often takes a back seat to big swings.
In the field, Chance has never made an error. Literally. He currently sports a perfect 1.000 career fielding percentage.
Chance hasn't just fulfilled his dream of playing for Mississippi State. He's become one of the most consistently productive Bulldogs of all time whether he's at the plate, in the field, or – and this might get overlooked – in the locker room.
Chance can relate to most anyone. Remember, he sat for a whole year, so he knows what it's like to feel left out or passed over. He's been in the lineup most every day for four years now, so he can relate to those guys, too.
"I always tell guys to just have a conversation with me," Chance said. "If you're feeling down…There's not a lot of guys you can talk to and have that conversation with. Well, you can have it with me."
Chance said he's emphasized to players how their individual stories won't be the same as anyone else's. He has so much to point to in his own past as he worked his way from redshirt to State royalty.
"Bryce is such an awesome guy – an awesome leader for us young guys," the freshman Parker said of his veteran teammate. "He's really shown us what to do as a player. He goes about his business the right way. It's special for us to see because this place means so much to him, and hopefully we can carry on that legacy that he has."
THE LAST RIDE
Whether it's this weekend in Athens or later this month in Omaha, the Chance era is in its final moments for MSU baseball. The conclusion already feels right.
Chance's arrival at State came just after the 2021 national title season. So, while his own career blossomed as an individual, he's also slowly helped pull MSU back to the point where – at the very least – the College World Series is squarely back in State's sights.
The storybook ending would of course be a dogpile at the center of what's now Charles Schwab Field Omaha. Regardless, Chance will forever stand as one of the most respected players to ever wear the M-over-S.
He wanted all this since he was 7. He got it, and he'll remember it and treasure it forever.
"This means everything to me," Chance said. "Being here and being able to carry on the legacy that other people have put in front of me, and growing up and watching all that and being able to have a small hand in where this program is going – it just means everything to me.
"I hope that when I go out there, there's no doubt that I left everything on the field and I do everything for the people that are around me, the people that came before me and the people that are going to come after me."
