Lemon is done

[Coach34]

He just can?t get this team turned around. They should be much better than they are. This team can?t get right and make a Regional. Our AD better get going on finding somebody. He better start asking Big Dogs for money. This has to happen

[EdwardDrayton]

He just can?t get this team turned around. They should be much better than they are. This team can?t get right and make a Regional. Our AD better get going on finding somebody. He better start asking asking Big Dogs for money. This has to happen

Welcome aboard Coach.

[msstate7]

He shoulda been done after 2023

[PGHBulldogBG]

Pete Hughes doing what he is doing at KState is on another level. I?m sure our fans don?t get it but he has a lot of experience and improves each year at various schools but never had our talent.

[HoopsDawg]

What is his contract situation? Did Selmon extend him after season?

Really worried about Selmon leading the search.

[99jc]

He just can?t get this team turned around. They should be much better than they are. This team can?t get right and make a Regional. Our AD better get going on finding somebody. He better start asking Big Dogs for money. This has to happen

Took you long enough to see the light! quit blaming the players when you should have seen Indiana Fat Ass wasn't the answer a long time ago...but welcome aboard the Titanic with the rest of us rats!

[Coach34]

What is his contract situation? Did Selmon extend him after season?

Really worried about Selmon leading the search.

It’s gonna cost 3MM or so to get rid of the staff

[Coach34]

Took you long enough to see the light! quit blaming the players when you should have seen Indiana Fat Ass wasn't the answer a long time ago...but welcome aboard the Titanic with the rest of us rats!

This team should be playing better. It has talent. Total fail by the coaching staff

[msstate7]

It’s gonna cost 3MM or so to get rid of the staff

It'll cost us our program to keep him

[Saltydog]

This team should be playing better. It has talent. Total fail by the coaching staff

Meh, it's a combination. Agree on the coaching but the talent is questionable.

[Skydawg1]

It’s gonna cost 3MM or so to get rid of the staffThis team has zero talent.

[NCDawg]

What is his contract situation? Did Selmon extend him after season?

Really worried about Selmon leading the search.

He probably knows an assistant coach he can hire from Oklahoma.

[Todd4State]

It’s gonna cost 3MM or so to get rid of the staff

I was told 2 million. I thought it was 3 million just estimating. I'm guessing the assistants have small or no buyouts.

[DawgFromOxford]

If it?s cheaper to fire the staff now, do it. If it?s cheaper to finish the season, do it. No sense in paying extra money when we are going to miss the post season either way.

[EdwardDrayton]

He shoulda been done after 2023

This

[Todd4State]

Meh, it's a combination. Agree on the coaching but the talent is questionable.

Talent looks bad when it isn't coached properly.

[Todd4State]

If it?s cheaper to fire the staff now, do it. If it?s cheaper to finish the season, do it. No sense in paying extra money when we are going to miss the post season either way.

I mean it would cost the same. Unless there is a clause in his contract about early termination that I am unaware of.

[Todd4State]

He probably knows an assistant coach he can hire from Oklahoma.

I fully expect our baseball boosters to have a lot of say in the hire.

Unless Selmon is an idiot and since we are MSU I can't rule that out completely.

[EdwardDrayton]

What is his contract situation? Did Selmon extend him after season?

Really worried about Selmon leading the search.

There is serious doubt about our leadership at every level, both internally and externally.

[EdwardDrayton]

It'll cost us our program to keep him

Word

[DawgFromOxford]

I mean it would cost the same. Unless there is a clause in his contract about early termination that I am unaware of.
I?m unsure of how it works but if costs are equal I?d cut him loose.

[EdwardDrayton]

I fully expect our baseball boosters to have a lot of say in the hire.

Unless Selmon is an idiot and since we are MSU I can't rule that out completely.

Well played Todd

[Todd4State]

Well played Todd

Sadly, I'm speaking from personal experience.

Hi Scott Stricklin!

[EdwardDrayton]

Meh, it's a combination. Agree on the coaching but the talent is questionable.

Yeah think we have to question the quality talent supposition overall. It seems to be a combination of talent and coaching.

[Todd4State]

Yeah think we have to question the quality talent supposition overall. It seems to be a combination of talent and coaching.

Eh. The only place we really lack talent is starting pitching. I would say catcher but Ross has had a lot of injuries to deal with in college and Powell was an EMT when we signed him.

[EdwardDrayton]

Eh. The only place we really lack talent is starting pitching. I would say catcher but Ross has had a lot of injuries to deal with in college and Powell was an EMT when we signed him.

Didn't mean to imply it's across the board talent wise. Just that it's not all coaching.

[Todd4State]

Didn't mean to imply it's across the board talent wise. Just that it's not all coaching.

I think it's mostly coaching because we struggle making routine plays. That's a sign that we don't work on defense enough in practice. Defense is by far the most controllable part of the game in that if a player puts work in they can at least be adequate defensively at whatever position they play.

Also, how many games have we lost because we left a struggling pitcher in too long? Pitchers are not going to just walk off the mound and take themselves out ever. And our pitchers as a group have performed reasonably well individually for the most part as far as the ones we use the most.

And we play uptight too much. Again- on the coaches.

[confucius say]

It’s gonna cost 3MM or so to get rid of the staff

That's on Selmon. Dumb. Lemonis had a 4 year deal starting in 2022. This should be the last year on his contract. Should be no buyout.

[confucius say]

Be nice to have for a buyout that 7 figures Selmon spent remodeling his office.

[Todd4State]

And I'll say this. If we brought in a different coach I think we could reasonably make a regional in year one if not go further. Especially with all of the freshmen arms we have and guys like Dotson, Ben Davis, and Dane Burns- we could easily get a starter or two out of the portal. Then we return Highfill who could be much better with a better catching coach, we return Gatlin Sanders, Cupp, Reese, Stevens, and Chance. We have something to build around there.

[confucius say]

We haven't had a sec catcher since LT left. No idea how that happens.

[CaptainObvious]

And I'll say this. If we brought in a different coach I think we could reasonably make a regional in year one if not go further. Especially with all of the freshmen arms we have and guys like Dotson, Ben Davis, and Dane Burns- we could easily get a starter or two out of the portal. Then we return Highfill who could be much better with a better catching coach, we return Gatlin Sanders, Cupp, Reese, Stevens, and Chance. We have something to build around there.

Some of these guys will not be here next season. So it will likely be a total rebuild to include new portal and incoming freshmen/juco signees.

[Todd4State]

That's on Selmon. Dumb. Lemonis had a 4 year deal starting in 2022. This should be the last year on his contract. Should be no buyout.

Selmon wasn't the AD in 2022. And to be fair, you're telling me that you wouldn't give a baseball coach that won a NC and had another CWS appearance a nice long term deal?

[Todd4State]

Some of these guys will not be here next season. So it will likely be a total rebuild to include new portal and incoming freshmen/juco signees.

That's true no matter who the coach is. The Mississippi guys are not likely going anywhere else.

[ArrowDawg]

Eh. The only place we really lack talent is starting pitching. I would say catcher but Ross has had a lot of injuries to deal with in college and Powell was an EMT when we signed him.

I agree with you. We have some talent on this team. It's not complete, especially pitching, but we have guys we'd absolutely want to keep. We're just poorly coached.

[Todd4State]

I agree with you. We have some talent on this team. It's not complete, especially pitching, but we have guys we'd absolutely want to keep. We're just poorly coached.

Coggin has a reputation for being pretty good with the portal. Just saying. If we were able to get Vaughn from Alabama I think we could pull a couple of their guys at least- Fowler in particular if he doesn't go pro. We literally got a commitment from his brother this week.

I'm not too worried about rebuilds with coaching changes anymore. Especially in baseball with our NIL. Lemonis has done pretty well with it- but we need someone that can land the Paul Skenes, Braden Montgomery types. We've gotten guys like Skenes to visit but couldn't close the deal.

Our NIL could help keep some of our more valuable players too as long as we don't make a Rick Ray type hire. There really aren't many places in the country like MSU when it comes to playing baseball. So, odds are most guys are going to be going to a worse situation overall.

[The Federalist Engineer]

That's on Selmon. Dumb. Lemonis had a 4 year deal starting in 2022. This should be the last year on his contract. Should be no buyout.

Is Selmon any good? I don't even think about ADs, what is the opinion on him?

Should Selmon be on our jettison list too?

[parabrave]

Eh. The only place we really lack talent is starting pitching. I would say catcher but Ross has had a lot of injuries to deal with in college and Powell was an EMT when we signed him.

our SS can't even field the ball cleanly or throw it to the 1st basemans glove on a night basis. Yep thats a non talent issue.

[Coach34]

This team has zero talent.

Lol- we have draft picks all over this team

[State82]

Unless Selmon is an idiot and since we are MSU I can't rule that out completely.

This is very worrisome.

[parabrave]

Why was Henderson not Hired??

[MStateDawg]

Why was Henderson not Hired??

Good Lord. Stop with this nonsense. Henderson took over a damned good Kentucky program that Cohen built and ran it into the ground. He has never led Utah to the NCAA tournament and currently has them sitting in dead last in the Big12. i swear some of you people don't even follow college baseball outside of Mississippi State yet spew asinine takes like this

[Ranchdawg]

Is Selmon any good? I don't even think about ADs, what is the opinion on him?

Should Selmon be on our jettison list too?

Yes he is terrible. He made a lazy hire, since hired has not once that I know of publicly announced what his vision is for our athletics except some b.s. master plan that cost a bunch of money and will never be used also I thought we already had one. He is ghost, oh sure I see him at different sporting events around campus but very seldom or ever at all have I heard him be interviewed by tv, radio or podcast etc. Wasn?t big fan of Cohen but to his credit it seemed like every other week he was on sports talk radio doing an interview promoting MSU. He also does little things that are failures, example not having a live look in when women?s basketball was announced on ESPN for this year?s NCAA tournament. Those are just some of my disdain for Selmon I could go on and on.

[AROB44]

"Should Selmon be on our jettison list too?"

No...

[Pancho]

I am expecting a very somber saturday mood today at the ball park. I guess it'll be kinda like the day before the funeral ball park mood. The polk ring of honor ceremony might raise some spirits?

[KB21]

Yes he is terrible. He made a lazy hire, since hired has not once that I know of publicly announced what his vision is for our athletics except some b.s. master plan that cost a bunch of money and will never be used also I thought we already had one. He is ghost, oh sure I see him at different sporting events around campus but very seldom or ever at all have I heard him be interviewed by tv, radio or podcast etc. Wasn?t big fan of Cohen but to his credit it seemed like every other week he was on sports talk radio doing an interview promoting MSU. He also does little things that are failures, example not having a live look in when women?s basketball was announced on ESPN for this year?s NCAA tournament. Those are just some of my disdain for Selmon I could go on and on.

This is not true at all.

[Bothrops]

I'd hate to have to make the next baseball coaching hire..

[Coursesuper]

I fully expect our baseball boosters to have a lot of say in the hire.

Unless Selmon is an idiot and since we are MSU I can't rule that out completely.

It better be the ones with ties to baseball and not the creepy want to be, jock sniffing 17s. These types are a part of the problem and need to be backed away from the program.

[BuckyIsAB****]

State is done till Keenum and Selmon are gone

[Pancho]

Not sure on Selmon since I feel he can me manipulated but for the Coggin fans we have, I think Keenum would sure try to throw up a roadblock vs a baseball coach with such persona.

[Coursesuper]

Not sure on Selmon since I feel he can me manipulated but for the Coggin fans we have, I think Keenum would sure try to throw up a roadblock vs a baseball coach with such persona.

He’s a politician, he will go with where the prevailing wind is blowing. Coggin having ties to the program clears any other hurdles that could be in the way.

[Pancho]

I say getr done then. this is ridiculous coming out of the dugout pointing in the outfield and returning to the dugout and for what reason? I wish the guy well

[maroonmania]

It?s gonna cost 3MM or so to get rid of the staff

That is about as cheap as you will ever fire a staff for in today's world. Even for SEC baseball.

[BuckyIsAB****]

This is not true at all.

Selmon is bad dude. He is a hermit

[maroonmania]

Yes he is terrible. He made a lazy hire, since hired has not once that I know of publicly announced what his vision is for our athletics except some b.s. master plan that cost a bunch of money and will never be used also I thought we already had one. He is ghost, oh sure I see him at different sporting events around campus but very seldom or ever at all have I heard him be interviewed by tv, radio or podcast etc. Wasn?t big fan of Cohen but to his credit it seemed like every other week he was on sports talk radio doing an interview promoting MSU. He also does little things that are failures, example not having a live look in when women?s basketball was announced on ESPN for this year?s NCAA tournament. Those are just some of my disdain for Selmon I could go on and on.

Well, we know he can't be worse than Cohen when it comes to hiring coaches so there's that. Cohen failed at every turn hiring a coach either because the coach was incompetent or didn't last because of health issues. Jans is the only decent hire made by Cohen in the primary sports of interest and he still hasn't won an NCAA tourney game.

[DownwardDawg]

Good Lord. Stop with this nonsense. Henderson took over a damned good Kentucky program that Cohen built and ran it into the ground. He has never led Utah to the NCAA tournament and currently has them sitting in dead last in the Big12. i swear some of you people don't even follow college baseball outside of Mississippi State yet spew asinine takes like this

So, by him asking a question is an asinine take??? Just trying to understand.

[maroonmania]

I am expecting a very somber saturday mood today at the ball park. I guess it'll be kinda like the day before the funeral ball park mood. The polk ring of honor ceremony might raise some spirits?

Team should be able to play loose. All goals for the season are basically in the toilet so no stress.

[cheewgumm]

So, by him asking a question is an asinine take??? Just trying to understand.

You gotta remember you ar arguing with people who probably would have cut our best player 2 weeks ago.

During basketball - who did they focus their criticism on - Hubbard.

Ha

Grain of salt.

[confucius say]

Selmon wasn't the AD in 2022. And to be fair, you're telling me that you wouldn't give a baseball coach that won a NC and had another CWS appearance a nice long term deal?

No. I'm saying he got a new four year deal after winning the cws in 2021. No issue there.
Year one of that deal was 2022.
Year two was 2023. Year three was 2024. This should be the final year and there should be no buyout.
If we extended his contract or buyout since prior to the 2022 season, that was dumb.

[DEDawg]

Why did it take you so long to see this when everyone else was right about this and you were calling them low IQ and dumbasses?

[StateDawg44]

No. I'm saying he got a new four year deal after winning the cws in 2021. No issue there.
Year one of that deal was 2022.
Year two was 2023. Year three was 2024. This should be the final year and there should be no buyout.
If we extended his contract or buyout since prior to the 2022 season, that was dumb.

Wasn?t the narrative by those who always have narratives on here that if you don?t extend a baseball coach each season that is a bad look and hurts recruiting.

[DEDawg]

Wasn?t the narrative by those who always have narratives on here that if you don?t extend a baseball coach each season that is a bad look and hurts recruiting.

I heat that in every sport not just baseball. Probably some truth in it unfortunately

[StateDawg44]

I heat that in every sport not just baseball. Probably some truth in it unfortunately

Can a recruit not look at the product and read the writing on the wall?

Does a coach/school showcasing a shit product (for several years now) not do the equivalent damage?

[confucius say]

Wasn?t the narrative by those who always have narratives on here that if you don?t extend a baseball coach each season that is a bad look and hurts recruiting.

I'm fine with extending them but not the buyout.
Lemonis had zero leverage after 22, 23, and 24. If you want to extend him after 24, fine. But you tell him no buyout because he's had an average year and 2 horrible years the last 3 years.

[Todd4State]

I'm fine with extending them but not the buyout.
Lemonis had zero leverage after 22, 23, and 24. If you want to extend him after 24, fine. But you tell him no buyout because he's had an average year and 2 horrible years the last 3 years.

There has to be some sort of a buyout I think. Now it doesn't have to be a stupid high buyout.

[The Federalist Engineer]

Assuming that Lemons has no Buyout or a very little One. You really only have Cheese and Goat to Replace for sure. Maybe Wes will want Parker as a PC. Helps keep some recruits and control transfer volatility. Just dismiss Lemons from coaching and promote Parker, see how the team responds and what happens to the recruiting class. Keep Goat to see out the season.

Then after the season:

(1) Call Wes and hope he does not win the NC this year, if he says No
(2) Call Rob Vaughn and hope Bama is not a host school with a rocking home vibe, if he says No
(3) Call Coggin, if he says No
(4) Call Erlander, if he says No
(5) Promote Parker as a roll over with a glam Hitting Coach

One lesson from recent history is that Bama fired Bohanon mid-season and lost nothing in recruiting and gained in performance. Jason Jackson did a great job and got the team into a decent post season performance.

Another lesson was the Cannizarro Collapse. MSU got great interim service from Henderson. John Cohen got leverage for a great hire and could have just rolled Henderson to 2019. No need for his moronic and public proclamations, within the season. No need to pickup a mutt from Indiana and his shitty friend Scott Foxhall. By 2019 or 2020, you could already see Vitello was the best coach in America. If you roll Parker you can better study Erlander by hiring him as a glam Hitting Coach. Probably no way that Coggin comes back to MSU as a hitting coach for anything.

[Really Clark?]

Assuming that Lemons has no Buyout or a very little One. You really only have Cheese and Goat to Replace for sure. Maybe Wes will want Parker as a PC. Helps keep some recruits and control transfer volatility. Just dismiss Lemons from coaching and promote Parker, see how the team responds and what happens to the recruiting class. Keep Goat to see out the season.

Then after the season:

(1) Call Wes and hope he does not win the NC this year, if he says No
(2) Call Rob Vaughn and hope Bama is not a host school with a rocking home vibe, if he says No
(3) Call Coggin, if he says No
(4) Call Erlander, if he says No
(5) Promote Parker as a roll over with a glam Hitting Coach

One lesson from recent history is that Bama fired Bohanon mid-season and lost nothing in recruiting and gained in performance. Jason Jackson did a great job and got the team into a decent post season performance.

Another lesson was the Cannizarro Collapse. MSU got great interim service from Henderson. John Cohen got leverage for a great hire and could have just rolled Henderson to 2019. No need for his moronic and public proclamations, within the season. No need to pickup a mutt from Indiana and his shitty friend Scott Foxhall. By 2019 or 2020, you could already see Vitello was the best coach in America. If you roll Parker you can better study Erlander by hiring him as a glam Hitting Coach. Probably no way that Coggin comes back to MSU as a hitting coach for anything.

I'm sorry but in 2019-2020 not one single person thought Tony was the best coach in America. That's ridiculous. He had 1 winning season, his second year in 2019 and 2020 was Covid and season cut short. Did people think he was a good up and coming coach? Next hot assistant coming out of Ark? Yes to those questions but he wasn't even thought of as the best coach in the state, much less in all of college baseball.

[BankerDog]

To piggy back what 34 has said in the past about our advantages prior to NIL versus say a UGA or Bama. Now that both those schools, Tenn., Auburn are taking baseball seriously-we have lost some recruiting grounds. Use to you could get the best in Alabama, Georgia, etc because those programs did not care about baseball. Heck our best hitters in the CWS were out of state guys as well as our two best pitchers.

Now that those programs are taking baseball serious, our recruiting strategy is going to have to improve. For too long, Jake and Lemo have recruited perfect game events only-worrying solely about exit velo, angles, etc. This is reminiscent of Polk only recruiting his camps and not recruiting the Stephen Heads, Logan Powers, JoJo Tanns on the early 2000s that wound up launching the ole miss program.

We have lost a sense to truly evaluate ball players and trying to run our program like a Double A team. Except-we don?t have time to develop guys like a double a team. Lemonis should?ve learned that he doesn?t have the time to trot guys out there and not care about W/Ls to get experience. That is my second biggest gripe about him. I mean how many guys will he roll out at 2B this week? He has had all year to evaluate and still can?t make a call. Brings in UNA, guy hits and then he sits him for two weeks before deciding ?oh I may need the bat?. It?s terrible.

[Thick]

To piggy back what 34 has said in the past about our advantages prior to NIL versus say a UGA or Bama. Now that both those schools, Tenn., Auburn are taking baseball seriously-we have lost some recruiting grounds. Use to you could get the best in Alabama, Georgia, etc because those programs did not care about baseball. Heck our best hitters in the CWS were out of state guys as well as our two best pitchers.

Now that those programs are taking baseball serious, our recruiting strategy is going to have to improve. For too long, Jake and Lemo have recruited perfect game events only-worrying solely about exit velo, angles, etc. This is reminiscent of Polk only recruiting his camps and not recruiting the Stephen Heads, Logan Powers, JoJo Tanns on the early 2000s that wound up launching the ole miss program.

We have lost a sense to truly evaluate ball players and trying to run our program like a Double A team. Except-we don?t have time to develop guys like a double a team. Lemonis should?ve learned that he doesn?t have the time to trot guys out there and not care about W/Ls to get experience. That is my second biggest gripe about him. I mean how many guys will he roll out at 2B this week? He has had all year to evaluate and still can?t make a call. Brings in UNA, guy hits and then he sits him for two weeks before deciding ?oh I may need the bat?. It?s terrible.

Nice post!!

[DownwardDawg]

Nice post!!

Yes. Very good post.

[Coach34]

I'm fine with extending them but not the buyout.

He 100% has a buyout.

[Coach34]

To piggy back what 34 has said in the past about our advantages prior to NIL versus say a UGA or Bama. Now that both those schools, Tenn., Auburn are taking baseball seriously-we have lost some recruiting grounds. Use to you could get the best in Alabama, Georgia, etc because those programs did not care about baseball. Heck our best hitters in the CWS were out of state guys as well as our two best pitchers.

Now that those programs are taking baseball serious, our recruiting strategy is going to have to improve. For too long, Jake and Lemo have recruited perfect game events only-worrying solely about exit velo, angles, etc. This is reminiscent of Polk only recruiting his camps and not recruiting the Stephen Heads, Logan Powers, JoJo Tanns on the early 2000s that wound up launching the ole miss program.

We have lost a sense to truly evaluate ball players and trying to run our program like a Double A team. Except-we don?t have time to develop guys like a double a team. Lemonis should?ve learned that he doesn?t have the time to trot guys out there and not care about W/Ls to get experience. That is my second biggest gripe about him. I mean how many guys will he roll out at 2B this week? He has had all year to evaluate and still can?t make a call. Brings in UNA, guy hits and then he sits him for two weeks before deciding ?oh I may need the bat?. It?s terrible.

absolutely agree

[Coach34]

To piggy back what 34 has said in the past about our advantages prior to NIL versus say a UGA or Bama. Now that both those schools, Tenn., Auburn are taking baseball seriously-we have lost some recruiting grounds. Use to you could get the best in Alabama, Georgia, etc because those programs did not care about baseball. Heck our best hitters in the CWS were out of state guys as well as our two best pitchers.

and to add to that- look at top hitters throughout school history- most have been from out of state. Now that other SEC schools take baseball seriously- chances to get those guys are drying up.

[BuckyIsAB****]

But he made a regional final, the most mythical of all achievements

[EdwardDrayton]

But he made a regional final, the most mythical of all achievements

Screams for a Lemo unicorn pic here. On a bucket.

[Todd4State]

To piggy back what 34 has said in the past about our advantages prior to NIL versus say a UGA or Bama. Now that both those schools, Tenn., Auburn are taking baseball seriously-we have lost some recruiting grounds. Use to you could get the best in Alabama, Georgia, etc because those programs did not care about baseball. Heck our best hitters in the CWS were out of state guys as well as our two best pitchers.

Now that those programs are taking baseball serious, our recruiting strategy is going to have to improve. For too long, Jake and Lemo have recruited perfect game events only-worrying solely about exit velo, angles, etc. This is reminiscent of Polk only recruiting his camps and not recruiting the Stephen Heads, Logan Powers, JoJo Tanns on the early 2000s that wound up launching the ole miss program.

We have lost a sense to truly evaluate ball players and trying to run our program like a Double A team. Except-we don?t have time to develop guys like a double a team. Lemonis should?ve learned that he doesn?t have the time to trot guys out there and not care about W/Ls to get experience. That is my second biggest gripe about him. I mean how many guys will he roll out at 2B this week? He has had all year to evaluate and still can?t make a call. Brings in UNA, guy hits and then he sits him for two weeks before deciding ?oh I may need the bat?. It?s terrible.

They think they run our team like a AA team. But they really don't. I've been around AA teams that put up with less BS than our coaches.

[Todd4State]

and to add to that- look at top hitters throughout school history- most have been from out of state. Now that other SEC schools take baseball seriously- chances to get those guys are drying up.

We can fill in with guys from California, Texas, Florida, and Georgia.

The biggest difference to me is the portal to be honest with you.

[Coursesuper]

To piggy back what 34 has said in the past about our advantages prior to NIL versus say a UGA or Bama. Now that both those schools, Tenn., Auburn are taking baseball seriously-we have lost some recruiting grounds. Use to you could get the best in Alabama, Georgia, etc because those programs did not care about baseball. Heck our best hitters in the CWS were out of state guys as well as our two best pitchers.

Now that those programs are taking baseball serious, our recruiting strategy is going to have to improve. For too long, Jake and Lemo have recruited perfect game events only-worrying solely about exit velo, angles, etc. This is reminiscent of Polk only recruiting his camps and not recruiting the Stephen Heads, Logan Powers, JoJo Tanns on the early 2000s that wound up launching the ole miss program.

We have lost a sense to truly evaluate ball players and trying to run our program like a Double A team. Except-we don?t have time to develop guys like a double a team. Lemonis should?ve learned that he doesn?t have the time to trot guys out there and not care about W/Ls to get experience. That is my second biggest gripe about him. I mean how many guys will he roll out at 2B this week? He has had all year to evaluate and still can?t make a call. Brings in UNA, guy hits and then he sits him for two weeks before deciding ?oh I may need the bat?. It?s terrible.

Spot on assessment, well done.

[Saltydog]

We can fill in with guys from California, Texas, Florida, and Georgia.

The biggest difference to me is the portal to be honest with you.

I told someone this same thing yesterday. We're going to have to expand our recruiting footprint and try to get guys from the midwest and west that want to play in the SEC.

[The Federalist Engineer]

I'm sorry but in 2019-2020 not one single person thought Tony was the best coach in America. That's ridiculous. He had 1 winning season, his second year in 2019 and 2020 was Covid and season cut short. Did people think he was a good up and coming coach? Next hot assistant coming out of Ark? Yes to those questions but he wasn't even thought of as the best coach in the state, much less in all of college baseball.

Vitello was good from the start and was building a program from ashes. He doubled their wins in one season and was already snaking top recruits. By the time the wins started piling up, he had already signed Christian Moore and Drew Gilbert. Baseball is build years in advance. Probably why Van Horn panicked during a pre-game and had a dust up. By 2021, the battle ship was built.

[Pancho]

FYI- Lemo has ditched the bucket

[EdwardDrayton]

FYI- Lemo has ditched the bucket

ED strikes twice in one weekend!!! *****

[BankerDog]

We can fill in with guys from California, Texas, Florida, and Georgia.

The biggest difference to me is the portal to be honest with you.

You can?t fill them in anymore. The guys we use to get from Texas, Florida, Georgia-aren?t coming here anymore. The moment other programs started taking baseball seriously, you lose an advantage. Why would someone want to be in Starkville versus a Houston, Athens, Dallas, etc? Stadium size?

My point is you use to be able to get top guys in those states, it?s harder now. And you have to be able to evaluate which our coaches have proven they don?t evaluate well. So now you have two things against your program. What is going to differentiate your program versus everyone else now? Stadium? Maybe.

Player Development? Hines, Clark, Jordan, Alford, Forsythe, Chance are/were all the same hitters year over year. Hunt, Cerenatola, Smith, Walling as pitchers.. never developed until getting into minors were they have time and are allowed to fail-with no pressure of winning every weekend.

Transfer Portal? Yeah you can flip a team like Lebby but you better be able to evaluate talent.

At the end of the day-next guy needs to have a staff that can evaluate and develop and stop tinkering with a lineup.

[Pancho]

gotta have a HC with the personality of more than a tour guide at the dude to attract them...end of story

[Really Clark?]

Vitello was good from the start and was building a program from ashes. He doubled their wins in one season and was already snaking top recruits. By the time the wins started piling up, he had already signed Christian Moore and Drew Gilbert. Baseball is build years in advance. Probably why Van Horn panicked during a pre-game and had a dust up. By 2021, the battle ship was built.

All that's well and good but he was NOT considered the best baseball coach in 2019, he was not even considered the best coach in his own state. That is what you asserted.

[Coach34]

All that's well and good but he was NOT considered the best baseball coach in 2019, he was not even considered the best coach in his own state. That is what you asserted.

exactly. Vitello was just above nobody in 2019. He was a top assistant that got a good job and made it take off.

[confucius say]

He 100% has a buyout.

Meaning we extended him at some point between his july 2021 deal and now?
Because otherwise, if we did a 4 year deal in July 2021, he should have no buyout.
If we extended his contract and gave him a buyout since July 2021, that is dumb on Selmon.

[Todd4State]

You can?t fill them in anymore. The guys we use to get from Texas, Florida, Georgia-aren?t coming here anymore. The moment other programs started taking baseball seriously, you lose an advantage. Why would someone want to be in Starkville versus a Houston, Athens, Dallas, etc? Stadium size?

My point is you use to be able to get top guys in those states, it?s harder now. And you have to be able to evaluate which our coaches have proven they don?t evaluate well. So now you have two things against your program. What is going to differentiate your program versus everyone else now? Stadium? Maybe.

Player Development? Hines, Clark, Jordan, Alford, Forsythe, Chance are/were all the same hitters year over year. Hunt, Cerenatola, Smith, Walling as pitchers.. never developed until getting into minors were they have time and are allowed to fail-with no pressure of winning every weekend.

Transfer Portal? Yeah you can flip a team like Lebby but you better be able to evaluate talent.

At the end of the day-next guy needs to have a staff that can evaluate and develop and stop tinkering with a lineup.

We have one of the top catchers in the country from California committed. We have two of the top pitchers in Florida committed for 2026. We have one of the top players in Texas committed for 2026 as well. We're still getting them. We have dominated Mississippi in recruiting this year which is a really loaded class for the state- Harmon, Parker bros, Beliveau, and Miller. Mississippi is one of the top six states in producing MLB players per capita. We win Mississippi- we can build around that. Our recruiting class makeup isn't much different than before really. It seems like a lot of the players we get from Alabama are busts. Booth was the player of the year there last year and I don't think he has played for us at all this year.

The difference is with the new roster limits our classes aren't going to be as big. And you have the portal available for any misses to fill gaps. When we do miss on the portal it's usually because we didn't bring in someone to fill a position rather than someone being a complete bust.

I do think the crux of the issue is development and evaluating what the lineup should be...and attention to detail on things like fundamentals and defense.

This is what we won with in Omaha basically

Sims- GA
Bednar- PA
P. Johnson- MS
Harding- MS/Memphis
MacLeoud- AL

Tanner- MS
Hancock- MS
Dubrule- Fl
James- MS/Memphis
Forsythe- TN

Cumbest- MS
Rowdey- AL
TA- AL
Kellum Clark- MS

If you're a baseball player most of them don't really care about the town. It's about player development and can you get me to MLB and a million dollars? If you ask a player- "hey would you live in Starkville, MS for three years if it meant getting 25 million dollars and a 10 year career in MLB?" They would sign up in a heartbeat. Some of the minor league towns are really bad and probably worse than Starkville. And MSU has one of the best reputations of getting players to MLB. That sells and the facilities if you have been to Dudy Noble and seen the resources we have access to and compare it to others- we have stuff that most teams simply don't have. If you compare what MSU has to say Georgia there is no comparison.

[Todd4State]

Meaning we extended him at some point between his july 2021 deal and now?
Because otherwise, if we did a 4 year deal in July 2021, he should have no buyout.
If we extended his contract and gave him a buyout since July 2021, that is dumb on Selmon.

No we did have to at least extend his contract because if we didn't it would be used against us in recruiting- just like it was used against Ole Miss and it caused them to have two losing seasons in a row.

Our fans are worried way too much about buyout. That's not an issue and it wouldn't be an issue if we just kept extending him. We can not have a coach without a contract. And remember when you sign a recruiting class in baseball they really don't get to campus until July or August so it's delayed a year almost from when they actually sign their NIL's in November for most of the players.

Lemonis having a contract that inevitably runs out without any sign of the potential that he might stay hurts MSU baseball- and it would hurt MSU baseball for the guy who takes over for Lemonis.

Our fans need to stop letting anger and frustration dictate their demands and understand the big picture. Selmon gets what the issues are I assure you. The boosters get it too. If Lemonis doesn't make the postseason he is gone period. Current buyout, contract be damned. It is what it is and buyouts are negotiable.

Also- not extending Lemonis makes us look cheap and petty. If we are trying to attract a good candidate that's not the look we want to give off. Firing the guy who won the school's only NC so far in any sport is going to be tricky as it is. At least now we can say that we have given him every fair chance to turn it around. Ball is completely in his corner at this point.

[confucius say]

No we did have to at least extend his contract because if we didn't it would be used against us in recruiting- just like it was used against Ole Miss and it caused them to have two losing seasons in a row.

Our fans are worried way too much about buyout. That's not an issue and it wouldn't be an issue if we just kept extending him. We can not have a coach without a contract. And remember when you sign a recruiting class in baseball they really don't get to campus until July or August so it's delayed a year almost from when they actually sign their NIL's in November for most of the players.

Lemonis having a contract that inevitably runs out without any sign of the potential that he might stay hurts MSU baseball- and it would hurt MSU baseball for the guy who takes over for Lemonis.

Agree. I think everybody agrees. There is no issue with extending him after 2024. Just don't renew/include a buyout.

For clarity, does anybody know the last time his contract was extended?

[StarkVegasSteve]

Agree. I think everybody agrees. There is no issue with extending him after 2024. Just don't renew/include a buyout.

For clarity, does anybody know the last time his contract was extended?

I think it was extended last year for an addt year but not 100% sure on that.

[Brobi-wan]

Is Lemo buddies with all his assistants? I don’t actually have a problem with Lemo just recruiting and letting his assistants drive the players. The problem is that his assistants haven’t been up to the task. Parker is the only one who I would give a passing grade.

Firing an employee who is making me look bad is a lot different than firing my buddy.

For context, I think Leno should be fired. He just seems lazy to me. Lack of drive. Maybe his doc needs to put him on some TRT lmao.

[sandjunky]

FYI- Lemo has ditched the bucket
It shattered under the pressure

[The Federalist Engineer]

Seems to me that MSU's gap is not recruiting, it's retaining players.

MSU lost an 8th rounder, Conrad Cason, most SEC school are not losing these guys. Not even Auburn loses 8th rounders.

MSU lost two potential All-American sophomores. I am ok with being corrected, but I don't see this happening at LSU, Tennessee, and Arkansas. If MSU had Dakota and Mershon on the roster, they would be worth 4 or 5 more SEC wins. Would be 7-5 or 8-4 in the conference. Even Jurrangelo was just a sophomore. Texas A&M even kept an All-American Starting pitcher, Prager.

Could be all these dudes personally did not want to stick with MSU and no coaching or recruiting was going to change their minds. But if MSU had gotten three years from Dak, Mershon, and Jurrangelo, this would be a top-10 team ... even with Cheese coaching third, chest thumping, and Lemons sitting on a Bucket.

[StarkVegasSteve]

Seems to me that MSU's gap is not recruiting, it's retaining players.

MSU lost an 8th rounder, Conrad Cason, most SEC school are not losing these guys. Not even Auburn loses 8th rounders.

MSU lost two potential All-American sophomores. I am ok with being corrected, but I don't see this happening at LSU, Tennessee, and Arkansas. If MSU had Dakota and Mershon on the roster, they would be worth 4 or 5 more SEC wins. Would be 7-5 or 8-4 in the conference. Even Jurrangelo was just a sophomore. Texas A&M even kept an All-American Starting pitcher, Prager.

Could be all these dudes personally did not want to stick with MSU and no coaching or recruiting was going to change their minds. But if MSU had gotten three years from Dak, Mershon, and Jurrangelo, this would be a top-10 team ... even with Cheese coaching third, chest thumping, and Lemons sitting on a Bucket.

Mershon is probably the one I have the biggest gripe about. Dakota and Jurrangelo were both projected to be 1st rounders. You can't tell a kid to turn down 1st round money. Dakota's number was too high and that's why he fell a little. He still was not coming back and that would've tied up way too much NIL.

And look, some guys are just ready to start pro ball. Nate Lowe was that way in 2016. Hunter Stovall was that way back in 2018. Houston Harding was the same way in 2021. It's the drawback of recruiting talented kids, they know they're pros and sometimes they're just ready to start that journey. You only have a finite amount of years so you have to maximize it.

[KB21]

Mershon is probably the one I have the biggest gripe about. Dakota and Jurrangelo were both projected to be 1st rounders. You can't tell a kid to turn down 1st round money. Dakota's number was too high and that's why he fell a little. He still was not coming back and that would've tied up way too much NIL.

And look, some guys are just ready to start pro ball. Nate Lowe was that way in 2016. Hunter Stovall was that way back in 2018. Houston Harding was the same way in 2021. It's the drawback of recruiting talented kids, they know they're pros and sometimes they're just ready to start that journey. You only have a finite amount of years so you have to maximize it.

Plus, Mershon leaving obviously wasn't because of an issue with the coaching staff, as his brother is a part of the 2025 class for Mississippi State.

[The Federalist Engineer]

Mershon is probably the one I have the biggest gripe about. Dakota and Jurrangelo were both projected to be 1st rounders. You can't tell a kid to turn down 1st round money. Dakota's number was too high and that's why he fell a little. He still was not coming back and that would've tied up way too much NIL.

And look, some guys are just ready to start pro ball. Nate Lowe was that way in 2016. Hunter Stovall was that way back in 2018. Houston Harding was the same way in 2021. It's the drawback of recruiting talented kids, they know they're pros and sometimes they're just ready to start that journey. You only have a finite amount of years so you have to maximize it.

Seems right but Dylan Crews did not bail on LSU and he was a day-1 1st rounder. Kumar Rocker gave Vandy 4 years. Jac Caglianone 3 years + COVID.

Lowe, Stovall, and Harding were all Juniors and Seniors. MSU was Nate Lowe's 3rd team after high school.

[sandjunky]

Plus, Mershon leaving obviously wasn't because of an issue with the coaching staff, as his brother is a part of the 2025 class for Mississippi State.

I highly doubt Peter makes it to campus

[HoopsDawg]

I highly doubt Peter makes it to campus

I would be surprised if he doesn't.

[The Federalist Engineer]

Duplicate Post

[Todd4State]

Mershon is probably the one I have the biggest gripe about. Dakota and Jurrangelo were both projected to be 1st rounders. You can't tell a kid to turn down 1st round money. Dakota's number was too high and that's why he fell a little. He still was not coming back and that would've tied up way too much NIL.

And look, some guys are just ready to start pro ball. Nate Lowe was that way in 2016. Hunter Stovall was that way back in 2018. Houston Harding was the same way in 2021. It's the drawback of recruiting talented kids, they know they're pros and sometimes they're just ready to start that journey. You only have a finite amount of years so you have to maximize it.

Yeah. We need guys that are going to be first round talents to be what we want to be.

The thing is first round talents are not going to turn down first round money when it's their time to be drafted.

With the 21 year old rule we have lost our share after a couple of years. Like Loo, Mershon, and Dakota. Which is kind of unusual to have that many on one team.

[Coach34]

Fortunately Stevens, Reese, and Cupp will be underage and return for a 3rd season

[mckeen]

I think it's mostly coaching because we struggle making routine plays. That's a sign that we don't work on defense enough in practice. Defense is by far the most controllable part of the game in that if a player puts work in they can at least be adequate defensively at whatever position they play.

Also, how many games have we lost because we left a struggling pitcher in too long? Pitchers are not going to just walk off the mound and take themselves out ever. And our pitchers as a group have performed reasonably well individually for the most part as far as the ones we use the most.

And we play uptight too much. Again- on the coaches.

Let's not forget another fundamental part of the game that Lemon's teams fail at every year. Baserunning.

[Pancho]

Lemo will have us a 3 seed in a regional yet to be determined. wait til 2026, rinse and repeat

[WinningIsRelentless]

Let's not forget another fundamental part of the game that Lemon's teams fail at every year. Baserunning.

The biggest issue with Lemo is his indecisiveness from who is playing where and the batting order. You end up during fall and winter practice having kids scrimmage against each other in positions they don?t end up playing. Make your damn mind up and go with it. From positions to batting order. But the constant moving crap around shows a coach who is afraid to make a decision. Bottom line.

[Pancho]

he has always been lacking when it comes to evaluating a players abilities long term and is slow to actually assess which position etc a players skills are best suited for. this will never change

[Thick]

If Lemon sinks, why not go after Lane Burroughs? Cohen coaching tree, and U would think he would run to Starkville if we offered. Thoughts? By the way, there are a lot of MSU baseball royalty that?s not happy right now. I think even if we make a regional, he?s going to be forced to make an assistant upgrade. I heard some shit today!

[Todd4State]

If Lemon sinks, why not go after Lane Burroughs? Cohen coaching tree, and U would think he would run to Starkville if we offered. Thoughts? By the way, there are a lot of MSU baseball royalty that?s not happy right now. I think even if we make a regional, he?s going to be forced to make an assistant upgrade. I heard some shit today!

Well I'm going to be straight up with you about our assistants. Cheese is the worst one we have by far. Offense and pitching are both in the top half of the SEC. Catching is awful though. A guy that can coach defense and base running could help immensely. And I would dare say that a lot of the base running mistakes we make are on Cheese and not the players.

As far as Burroughs I don't think he would be bad but I also think we can do better.

[State82]

As far as Burroughs I don't think he would be bad but I also think we can do better.

Yeah that is kinda where I am on Burroughs. If we have to venture off into a coaching search and he ended up being the choice then I would venture to guess the search went like our last one. In other words, we got turned down by several others first.

[Santiago]

The biggest issue with Lemo is his indecisiveness from who is playing where and the batting order. You end up during fall and winter practice having kids scrimmage against each other in positions they don?t end up playing. Make your damn mind up and go with it. From positions to batting order. But the constant moving crap around shows a coach who is afraid to make a decision. Bottom line.

Yep, it is getting a little old each year to figure out the team lineup each season usually after mid April.

[Thick]

Yep, it is getting a little old each year to figure out the team lineup each season usually after mid April.

I agree with that also. There?s too many ?unknowns? pitching and starting lineup wise that seem to linger too far into the season. A few adjustments are expected, due to injury/slump of course, but this year, I believe he?s just now (13 games into the SEC) figured it out. Powell definitely needs to be the catcher, Frei needs to be in the lineup everyday with Stallman, Downs, & Cupp off of the bench. Problem with Frei is his defense. LF was scary last night?.he made the plays, but you were holding your breath the entire time. Don?t lie!

[ArrowDawg]

Lemo will have us a 3 seed in a regional yet to be determined. wait til 2026, rinse and repeat

Probably. We're okay with mediocrity now.

[cheewgumm]

I agree with that also. There?s too many ?unknowns? pitching and starting lineup wise that seem to linger too far into the season. A few adjustments are expected, due to injury/slump of course, but this year, I believe he?s just now (13 games into the SEC) figured it out. Powell definitely needs to be the catcher, Frei needs to be in the lineup everyday with Stallman, Downs, & Cupp off of the bench. Problem with Frei is his defense. LF was scary last night?.he made the plays, but you were holding your breath the entire time. Don?t lie!

Amen, agree with all this. (I?m not totally sure on Frei, but he?d probably tear it up hitting I playing every day)

I hope Lemonis turns it around . I like him, but everyone will be ready to moveon if he fails this year.