Mississippi State Baseball’s Status as a Program

Jun 25, 2013; Omaha, NE, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs third baseman Sam Frost (left) and infielder Matthew Britton (right) react after game 2 of the College World Series finals against the UCLA Bruins at TD Ameritrade Park. UCLA defeated Mississippi State 8-0. Mandatory Credit: Dave Weaver-USA TODAY Sports

Mississippi State just finished off another weekend of disappointing play at College Station. While it was nice to get a win over the top ranked Aggies on Saturday, it is now the fourth series that the Bulldogs have lost. Their record in SEC play is 6-9 which leaves them in a 3 way tie for fourth in the SEC West with Alabama and Arkansas. Getting a series win would have been a big boost to getting the Bulldogs to a regional. Since they weren’t swept, their chances of doing so are still alive, but those chances are on life support and the doctors are just waiting on the next of kin to sign the paperwork to pull the plug. Getting to a regional at this point would require a miraculous end to the season in which the Bulldogs lose only one or two more games. It’s hard to have that kind of faith in the 2015 version of the squad.

That was the opinion of most of the people that cover the baseball team on Sunday. It also led to a discussion about what kind of a program does Mississippi State have in baseball. There is a belief among many fans that we are an elite level program. But are we?

There is no question that Mississippi State has had a ton of success when it comes to baseball. But being successful does not mean it is elite. The team has been to 33 NCAA Tournaments, the College World Series 9 times, and they have won the SEC Championship 16 times. But the one thing that is missing is a national championship. People might disagree, but you simply can not call your program elite without a national championship.

The Mississippi State baseball brand is one of the most recognizable simply because our fans are some of the most loyal. We follow baseball like no other school. Many of the attendance records are held by the Bulldogs. And this is where the mistake of many of our fans thinking our program is an elite program begins. Just because we have passionate fans who love the game of college baseball like no other program, it doesn’t mean our program is elite. We are going to have to add a few national championships to our trophy case if we ever want to be elite. And unfortunately, 2015 won’t be a step in that direction.