Mississippi State baseball reportedly snags SEC pitching coach
By Ethan Lee
When Chris Lemonis needed a new pitching coach, he went out and snagged one of the SEC’s best as he reportedly plucked Justin Parker away from the South Carolina Gamecocks.
After some concern and some confusion and a bit of quiet, Mississippi State baseball apparently has its next pitching coach.
Chris Lemonis and the Mississippi State Bulldogs were able to poach one of the best pitching coaches in the country away from the South Carolina Gamecocks as MSU has reportedly hired Justin Parker.
This is big news for a Mississippi State baseball team that has struggled since it won the 2021 College World Series.
Sources have confirmed that South Carolina's Justin Parker is Mississippi State's new pitching coach.
— Justin Frommer (@JustinbFrommer) June 19, 2023
Was told Chris Lemonis texted players this morning, notifying them of the hire. https://t.co/BH4OlZkLAQ
Both 2022 and 2023 have been disasters for Lemonis and his Bulldogs and it led to Mississippi State baseball’s former pitching coach, Scott Foxhall, leaving the team before the season was even over.
BREAKING: Lemonis brings Justin Parker across SEC to coach Bulldog pitchers https://t.co/LkFp1N0yve
— Steve Robertson (@ScoutSteveR) June 19, 2023
But now the Bulldogs have a new pitching coach. And this hire is a really good one.
Can confirm Mississippi State is expected to name Justin Parker its next pitching coach. Parker spent the last two seasons at South Carolina and led the Gamecocks to the SEC’s second-best ERA this year.
— Stefan Krajisnik (@skrajisnik3) June 19, 2023
The Fort Wayne native is Starkville bound. https://t.co/NMygVMhFLV
Mississippi State baseball reportedly set to hire Justin Parker
While Parker wasn’t in Columbia for very long, he did make a meaningful impact on one of the SEC’s best college baseball programs. Parker’s presence and guidance sure seemed instrumental in the South Carolina Gamecocks very quickly developing a dominant pitching staff that
Related Story. South Carolina fans react as MSU hires Justin Parker. light
Justin Parker helped lead the Yardcocks to a 4.19 overall ERA, good enough for second best in the SEC.
— The Spurs Up Show (@TheSpursUpShow) June 19, 2023
Mississippi State got a damn good one.
And his replacement, Matt Williams from Liberty, has some huge shoes to fill.
As a team, South Carolina ended up recording a 4.19 ERA and the Gamecocks struck out 608 opposing batters this season. That’s really solid and far better than what the Bulldogs’ pitching staff put up.
Mississippi State had a miserable 7.01 ERA and the Bulldogs only managed to record 538 strikeouts through the 2023 season.
So, it’s pretty clear that Parker has his work cut out for him. But, if he can help the Bulldogs land some more talent in the transfer portal and he can effectively develop the players that MSU has on campus right now, then Mississippi State should be in pretty good shape this coming season.
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This is a big hire for Lemonis, who was facing an intense level of scrutiny from Mississippi State baseball fans. This sort of hire should be exactly what Lemonis needed to help generate some more fan support and then also (and more importantly) get the Bulldogs back to where they need to be as a program.