Predict the 2026 Baseball lineup and rotation

[Coach34]

We are currently +2800 to win it all. It's worth a $100 flyer for $2800

[Todd4State]

So.....We gon be pretty good? I need to know if I should start harassing Kendal Rogers if we're hosting or not!***

I think we will be pretty good. Our schedule is a typical SEC schedule- it's not easy but it's never going to be. But right off the bat- I can't see Tennessee being as good as they were with Vitello. South Carolina and Texas A&M have coaches on the hot seat. I feel like we can go toe to toe with anyone in the league. There are a few series we should feel pretty good about right off the bat.

[Todd4State]

D1 already says MSU should host. SEC schedule is brutal, however. Be prepared to lose some SEC games.

BOC has the pitching depth to avoid midweek surprises. In 2025- Alabama and Ole Miss hosted with 16-14 records.

I think BOC will make better decisions and manage the team much better than Lemonis did. Pre-SEC play against people like Hofstra and Delaware is the time to tinker and get guys at bats. Lemonis would stay with too many guys too long and then we had holes by the time SEC play rolled around and by the time he adjusted we would have lost a crucial series or two. We can't afford that.

And things like Troy last year- we put in Schnoor and Black in for their first action of the year against a solid Troy team and it blew up in our face. Losses like that are the difference between hosting and not hosting. Especially when you have 2-3 a year.

I also fully expect our fundamentals to be much improved under BOC compared to Lemonis. Bad fundamentals cost us several games under Lemonis and yes I understand "that's baseball" happens and sometimes you have a bad game as a team in baseball but under Lemonis it happened way too much.

I do think our pitching is improved but that sounds like it was a NIL issue and maybe hoping that Justin Parker could pull off a Dave Duncan. However it works out I hope we have some clearly defined roles for our pitching staff. It was just kind of messy the past two years. So, I think it's encouraging that we're naming someone the closer early because that means that BOC at least maybe intends to identify those roles.

[The Federalist Engineer]

The difference in 2026 is the insane depth of quality pitching prospects.

Not everyone is going to pan-out and not everyone is going to be good in March. Some dudes are going to be better or great in May and June.

MSU has Team USA guys like Valincius and McPherson (2 dudes)

Also have premium cape talent like Foster, Pitzer, Duke Stone, and Dane Burns (4)

Also a top-150 draft pick that stayed home: Ben Davis (1)

Also have 3 proven arms with +100 innings of collegiate D1 performance Logar, Webb, and Sullivan (3). Sully may not even pitch but he was the best midweek guy last year, 18 sharp innings with 1.96 ERA and 17Ks only 3 walks.

A national top-100 recruit and Gatorade NJ POY, William Kirk

This factors nothing from quality freshmen like Bauer, Beliveau, Rhodes, or Miller

Also, the crow that I will eat, maybe 6ft 7in Brendan Sweeney (+8 ERA in So Carolina) is going to pull a Tyson Hardin or Chad Girodo to really shove in 2026. PG and D1 called him dominant in the fall.

[preachermatt83]

I think we will be pretty good. Our schedule is a typical SEC schedule- it's not easy but it's never going to be. But right off the bat- I can't see Tennessee being as good as they were with Vitello. South Carolina and Texas A&M have coaches on the hot seat. I feel like we can go toe to toe with anyone in the league. There are a few series we should feel pretty good about right off the bat.

Nm

[Todd4State]

The difference in 2026 is the insane depth of quality pitching prospects.

Not everyone is going to pan-out and not everyone is going to be good in March. Some dudes are going to be better or great in May and June.

MSU has Team USA guys like Valincius and McPherson (2 dudes)

Also have premium cape talent like Foster, Pitzer, Duke Stone, and Dane Burns (4)

Also a top-150 draft pick that stayed home: Ben Davis (1)

Also have 3 proven arms with +100 innings of collegiate D1 performance Logar, Webb, and Sullivan (3). Sully may not even pitch but he was the best midweek guy last year, 18 sharp innings with 1.96 ERA and 17Ks only 3 walks.

A national top-100 recruit and Gatorade NJ POY, William Kirk

This factors nothing from quality freshmen like Bauer, Beliveau, Rhodes, or Miller

Also, the crow that I will eat, maybe 6ft 7in Brendan Sweeney (+8 ERA in So Carolina) is going to pull a Tyson Hardin or Chad Girodo to really shove in 2026. PG and D1 called him dominant in the fall.

I'll say this about Sweeney- I wouldn't pay too much attention to his ERA last year. Manieri did some guys pretty dirty last year.

[somebodyshotmypaw]

We are currently +2800 to win it all. It's worth a $100 flyer for $2800

Serious question here, because I'm not a gambler. If I want to throw down some money on MSU to win it all, where would I do that? Can you do it at a casino in Mississippi, or do you do it online?

[Coursesuper]

Had dinner with old diamond dawg all American pitcher last night. He’s seen a lot of them this fall. He said he has no real idea who the starting 9 will be but we have more depth than pretty much any other team in our league. He loves the older pitchers and said we can mix and match for almost any situation. Said all the freshmen have a ways to go yet. He is very impressed by some of the things this staff has done that y’all might never see, he relaid a story of the head coach having to call a signee about an incident that garnered some attention and had to remind him that he now represents the M over S and if anything like this occurred again he would no longer have a place at MSU. The little things are never going to get overlooked by this staff. That will pay more dividends than any other single thing we can do.

[Coach34]

I dont know if one of the casinos will have college baseball futures but online sites do. I use Draftkings for convenience so I dont have to go downtown to bet. FanDuel and Ceasars are out there. Kalshi is legal in every state but I havent checked it out yet

[Coach34]

Had dinner with old diamond dawg all American pitcher last night. He’s seen a lot of them this fall. He said he has no real idea who the starting 9 will be but we have more depth than pretty much any other team in our league. He loves the older pitchers and said we can mix and match for almost any situation. .

Yeah- I can almost guarantee we will have a line-up vs RHPs and then a different one vs LHP's. Probably sub 3-4 guys in/out depending what arm we face

[The Federalist Engineer]

Yeah- I can almost guarantee we will have a line-up vs RHPs and then a different one vs LHP's. Probably sub 3-4 guys in/out depending what arm we face

C- Milewski R Raymond L Mershon R
1B- Sullivan R Stallman L Revis R Valincius R
2B- Wyers R Sanders L James R
LF- Chance R Frei S Valincius R Mershon R
RF- Nunnallee L Revis R Parker L Frei S

With these hitting options, a designated pinch runner could be a clutch weapon. If I were a student today, I would present myself to BOC as his Pinch Runner. Would have my HS coach (black gentlemen) tell BOC that I was the fastest non-black person in the history of Mississippi (did not ask how he knew) and how I used to feast on stealing bases on fat-boy righties and lanky lefties. Today, Brenen Thompson would be my guy, if he wants to play baseball in the spring.