Diamond Dogs 15th In Final USA Today/ESPN Poll
STARKVILLE, Miss. --- Mississippi State is ranked 15th in the season's final USA TODAY/ESPN Top 25 baseball coaches' poll released Wednesday. It's the highest season-ending national ranking for the Bulldogs since 2007.
The Diamond Dogs completed their 121st season of baseball with a four-year best 38-25 overall record, including a 3-0 sweep through the 2011 NCAA Atlanta Regional and a strong 1-2 showing against No. 2 national seed Florida in the Gainesville Super Regional.
South Carolina (55-14), after knocking off Florida 5-2 Tuesday night at the College World Series and claiming its second straight NCAA championship, finished atop the USA TODAY/ESPN rankings, leading a remarkable 1-2-3 SEC finish in the final poll. Florida (53-19) was second just ahead of No. 3 Vanderbilt (54-12). No. 23 Arkansas (40-22) joined the 15th-ranked Bulldogs in the final poll.
MSU, South Carolina, Florida and Vanderbilt combined for a 22-0 record against non-SEC teams in the just-concluded NCAA tournament.
State's last listing in a season-ending baseball poll came in 2007. That season the Diamond Dogs were ranked as high as eighth after posting a 38-22 record and making the program's eighth appearance in the NCAA College World Series.
Mississippi State was also ranked 15th in the final poll conducted by Tucson-based Collegiate Baseball newspaper and received top 20 ranking in three other national polls: Baseball America (17th), NCBWA (19th) and Perfect Game (19th).