I am very happy with how we came out of the draft. We didn't lose anyone we didn't expect to lose. We kept at least one and probably two players we felt were high risk of leaving. We lost one portal pitcher who I wasn't real wild about being in the rotation. We kept Aiden Teel who is an elite CF. I'm not surprised that Siary went pro. He needed to. We have a ton of elite arms and he shouldn't come back and run the risk of being the midweek guy his senior year. Williams needed to leave because he could have very well gotten lost in the bullpen. We kept Ben Davis which was a big piece to have return.

Since practice hasn't started yet I'm going to run down the lineup and put together a what I would do if I were in O'Connor's shoes and as things begin in the fall and spring will adapt the lineup.

Fri- Tomas Valincius- I think he has this spot locked down. Team USA player.
Sat- Tyler Pitzer- Misused at South Carolina he has been dominant in the Cape making the All-Star team with an ERA under 1.00.
Sun- Chuck Foster- Pitched very well when healthy. Has struggled some in the Cape but I'm not sure if he is 100% or not. Only allowed three hits all year and once he gets the walks down some he will be elite.
Midweek- Ben Davis- He is perfect for this role. He has dominated non-SEC competition as a starter including winning an elimination game in a regional. Also has the ability and SEC experience to be a solid relief pitcher in SEC play.

Closer- Ryan McPherson- Certainly will be in the mix to start. And eventually he will. But for 2026 I think he follows a career arc similar to Landon Sims. Closer, possible multi-inning guy which we really haven't truly had since Sims left where we can use him anywhere from the 7th to 9th innings. Team USA player.
Set-up- Maddox Webb- The former Citadel closer is one of my favorite pick ups. I think he could have a pretty quick impact at MSU
Relief Ace- Dane Burns- Parker loves him and you can see the potential mixed in with the up and down performances at times. I think he takes a big step this year.

Wild cards- I have four of them for the pitching staff.

1. Jack Bauer- I'm going to get the obvious out of the way here. The guy is able to throw 103 but his command needs refinement. Unless Parker does some amazing work with him I'm not expecting a lot from him this year other than some midweek appearances. That said, Parker can do some amazing things so it's not out of the realm of possibility that he contributes next year. I think if he does it's most likely in short relief but if he makes major strides I could see them letting him be the closer with McPherson in the rotation best case scenario. His career will be interesting to follow but if he can follow a similar development path as Loo he could be incredible.

2. William Kirk- This is a sneaky good pick up by O'Connor. He is recovering from an injury but was one of the top high school pitchers in the country coming out of high school. I would not be surprised if we hear his name a lot when scrimmages start.

3. Duke Stone- MSU saved him from the portal. He has performed very well in the Cape. MSU has some big plans for him but we'll see exactly where he fits in.

4. Parker Rhodes- Potential draft risk who performed well at MLB draft combine. The floor for him in 2026 is as a match up guy but his role could certainly expand based on his performance. The talent is there to make an expanded role a reality.

Now for the position groups.

C- Kevin Milewski- I feel pretty certain that he starts. The CS numbers are concerning so it will be interesting to see how Matt Kirby, MSU's new catching coach, develops him. He does have the potential to hit 10-15 home runs and his strike out to walk ratio is pretty good- which is going to be a theme under O'Connor.
C- Andrew Raymond- He's a younger catcher with two years of eligibility left. He doesn't have the power that Milewski has but he has better defensive stats and a better K/BB ratio. I think he will likely be our starter in 2027.
Wild Card- Tanner Beliveau. He could play a number of positions but I think this is where he may end up.


1B- Gehrig Frei- Lemonis did him dirty but not playing him more early. I could easily see him hitting 15-20 home runs with full time play. I picked him here because of his SEC experience and he is unique because he is a switch hitter who would be very athletic for a first baseman. I just think he could excel at first base.
2B- Chone James- Not many fans are talking about him but O'Connor added him for a reason. He only played half a season at UVA but his .373 and stole 4 bases. I don't think he is likely to sustain .373 across a full SEC season but I do think .310 is reasonable with 10+ steals.
3B- Ace Reese- He has a very real chance to contend for the SEC Triple Crown. Likely first round pick next year. I think his defense will improve immensely under O'Connor. Team USA player
SS- Drew Wyers- Here's the dirtbag MSU fans love! He hit .407 with 11 home runs and was the American East POY. Not sure I expect those numbers from him but I think .350 with 10 home runs is realistic. He does not strike out and walks a lot and he chipped in 9 stolen bases while being a Brooks Wallace Award Semi-finalist.
Wild Card- Ryder Woodson- could be the SS or 3B of the future. Small sample size but his .733 SLG stands out. Will be interesting to watch him in the fall and spring. Has two years left before becoming draft eligible.
Wild Card- Blake Bevis- Going to be hard to keep a senior who smashed 18 home runs on the bench.

LF- Bryce Chance- Yes, we could start Frei here and Bevis at first. Yes, Jacob Parker or Peter Mershon are also capable of winning a spot. And Reed Stallworth could also win a spot. But let's be honest here- Bryce Chance always finds a way to get into the lineup. And I think he does it again especially on a team short with SEC experience. He has played a ton of baseball and most of his numbers improved despite striking out more than he did in 2024. With Kevin McMullen having more emphasis on striking out less we'll see if Chance becomes a combination of the best of 2024 and 2025.
CF- Aidan Teel- Getting him through the draft was huge. He's a top 100 draft type prospect and is an elite defender. He also hit 7 home runs and walks more than he strikes out.
RF- James Nunnalee- Has also played LF at Virginia and our fans should be very excited about him. This is a true leadoff hitter who hit .296 as a freshman and only struck out 13 times while walking 18. He has two year left before becoming draft eligible and he should improve into a .300+ hitter with 10+ steals easily.
Wild card- Jacob Parker- The power is real. And yes, he was drafted by the Diamondbacks but most expect him to come to MSU. He is also extremely athletic and if he adapts quickly could start very soon for MSU.
Wild card- Peter Mershon- He is the highest rated player in the Mershon family and I don't think we can rule anyone out in that family as far as making an impact right away.
Wild card- Vytas Valincius- He has the ability to play first base but is a LF by trade. He led Illinois in batting average last year while also walking more than he struck out. He started out at South Carolina and will be a fifth year senior. I'm curious to see how much power he has since his build seems like a player that should be able to hit more than 7 home runs.

DH- Noah Sullivan- He was as advertised last year and has SEC experience. I can't see us sitting a guy with a one dot OPS in SEC play and as a fifth year senior he really could potentially hit 20 home runs. He is another guy who we may see cut down on his strike outs under McMullen so that will be interesting to watch. The only bad thing is he is basically a DH only guy and that makes it difficult to get others into the lineup.
Wildcard- Reed Stallman- We'll see if he goes pro but he will contend for a lot of spots. I don't think he has a chance to beat out Sullivan but I do think he will factor in at other positions.

Going forward under O'Connor I think we will see better fundamentals defensively and a lot more walks and a lot less striking out. In a way I think it's perfect for MSU because it kind of reminds me of Ron Polk except that O'Connor has won a NC and knows what it takes to do that. Also, with him being from Omaha I think he will be very motivated to go to the CWS as much as he can. I think Parker has more to work with this year and more guys that have been developed so I think we will see some improvement on the mound as well. Also, enjoy this portal class because going forward I don't think this is going to be the norm. I think O'Connor is going to do a better job than Lemonis in terms of identifying signability and I think we're going to get our share of high end players going forward. Really excited about MSU baseball and looking forward to next season and the O'Connor era!