Four State Players Selected In MLB Draft
July 12, 2026 | Baseball
STARKVILLE – The 2026 MLB Draft came and went with four Mississippi State standouts hearing their name called.
Day 1 of the draft saw third baseman Ace Reese selected 24th overall by the Seattle Mariners before reliever Ben Davis was drafted in the fourth round (104th overall) by the Colorado Rockies.
On Sunday, a pair of Bulldog outfielders came off the board. Bryce Chance was taken in the 10th round (312th overall) by the Toronto Blue Jays while Aidan Teel went five picks later in the 11th round to the Minnesota Twins.
Chance spent five years in Starkville including a redshirt season in 2022. The former walk-on appeared in 217 career games and made 201 starts for the Diamond Dawgs amassing a .323 batting average, 237 hits, 48 doubles, two triples, 14 homers, 136 RBIs and 36 steals while maintaining a perfect fielding percentage.
The Ridgeland native saw action in every game as a graduate this past year and made 61 starts. He led MSU with a .349 average and 13 steals while collecting 73 hits, 19 doubles, two homers and 35 RBIs. He was a second team All-SEC selection in 2026 and named to the Tony Gwynn Trophy Starting 9 and the SEC Community Service Team.
Chance is the ninth Bulldog to be drafted by the Blue Jays and the latest since his former teammate Karson Ligon last year.
Teel joined State's roster this season after three years with coach Brian O'Connor at Virginia. The redshirt junior started 38 of the 45 games in which he played in 2026 hitting .294 with 40 hits, six doubles, five homers, 22 RBIs and six steals.
It is the 12th time a Diamond Dawg has been taken by the Twins. Christian MacLeod was the last Mississippi State player picked by Minnesota in 2021.
The Bulldogs have now had 252 draft picks all-time in the program's storied history with multiple selections in each of the past 12 drafts.
The deadline for players to sign with their respective clubs is July 27th at 4 p.m.
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