Mississippi State: 2016 SEC Champions!
Mississippi State won the 2016 SEC regular season championship on Saturday!
For the 11th time in program history, MSU is the champion of SEC baseball.
This one was a long time coming – the first since 1989. The Diamond Dawgs finished the conference schedule 21-9. They won the last 10 games including three sweeps to finish one half game ahead of South Carolina overall.
About an hour prior to the conclusion of State’s 9-4 win over Arkansas, Ole Miss defeated Texas A&M 3-2, to open the door for the outright championship.
The Bulldogs’ 21st win of the year also marks the biggest single-season turnaround in SEC history. After going just 8-22 in 2015, State was 13 games better in 2016.
More from Mississippi State Baseball
- Mississippi State baseball: Former Bulldog J.P. France is thriving with Houston Astros
- Dakota Jordan makes strong statement about Mississippi State baseball future
- Former Mississippi State baseball infielder finds transfer destination
- Mississippi State baseball: Bulldogs’ pitcher announces transfer destination
- 2023 College World Series championship: Why I’m rooting for Florida
Newcomers like Jake Mangum, Jack Kruger and Nathaniel Lowe really vaulted MSU to the top. Breakout seasons from Brent Rooker, Reid Humphreys and Dakota Hudson were also huge keys. Solid contributions from Gavin Collins, Ryan Gridley, Austin Sexton and Ryan Rigby are not to be forgotten.
This team was solid as a rock from top to bottom. They pitch with power and finesse. They hit for average and power. They steal bases when they need to and play above average defense (a light shown on that by Arkansas’ 10 errors this weekend).
From here, the Bulldogs will head into the SEC Tournament as the #1 seed. Pretty impressive considering the #1, #2, #5, #6, #8 and #10 teams are all in the same conference as well.
It’s been a remarkable season but this is only the start of what we hope is a magical ride. In 1989, perhaps Mississippi State’s greatest regular season team ever, was ousted in the Regional. This team will be a national seed and need to display everything they’ve done to get here in order to make it to Omaha.