Mississippi State baseball is in the midst of a frustrating season and infuriating overall stretch. Following a series loss at Auburn, the Diamond Dawgs are 24-19 overall with a 7-14 conference record. They look destined to miss the postseason, which would mark the third time in the last four seasons that the program has missed a regional.
Given the steadily falling program trajectory, Bulldog fans have long been waiting for an inevitable and necessary change in program leadership. That wait is now over.
Mississippi State fires national championship-winning head baseball coach Chris Lemonis
Monday afternoon, Mississippi State announced that seventh-year head baseball coach Chris Lemonis, who led the program to its lone national championship in 2021, has been let go. Steve Robertson and David Murray of 247 Sports first reported the news followed by the official release from the university.
Mississippi State announces change in baseball leadership https://t.co/iSNoTJLjTZ
— Mississippi State Baseball (@HailStateBB) April 28, 2025
Chris Lemonis was hired by Mississippi State in June of 2018 after four seasons as the head coach of Indiana. He inherited a great situation, taking over a program that had just reached the College World Series in a miraculous run under interim coach Gary Henderson and had a talented young nucleus to build around.
Lemonis made the most of that talent. In his first season in 2019, the Bulldogs won 52 games and reached the College World Series. COVID ended the 2020 season almost as quickly as it began, but his 2021 team is one that will never be forgotten.
For the third-straight full season, Mississippi State returned to the College World Series, and this time, they broke through. The Diamond Dawgs won the program's first ever national championship, the only team championship in any sport at Mississippi State. After having been so close for so many years, one of college baseball's most storied and celebrated programs had finally reached the mountaintop.
But that reign over the sport was short-lived. The Bulldogs came crashing back down to earth in 2022 with a disastrous 26-30 season, finishing last in the SEC. 2023 was no better, as State failed to even qualify for the SEC Tournament for a second-straight season. Many believed it was time for a change, but having won a title two years prior, the administration chose to give Chris Lemonis another shot.
And in 2024, it seemed Lemonis had righted the ship. MSU overcame a slow start to win 40 games, including a 17-13 mark in SEC contests, and return to a regional. While not a season that reaches the standard for Mississippi State, it was a step in the right direction and enough to keep the head man in Starkville.
Unfortunately, there was no building off the 2024 season. Despite a talented roster, the Diamond Dawgs have not at all reached their potential. Behind costly errors and baffling decisions, the 2025 Bulldogs have handed away both singular games and entire series. While they could easily be trending towards a return to the postseason if not being in hosting contention, they're instead going to miss a regional once again barring an improbable late-season run.
Three bad seasons over four years isn't enough at most programs. It's especially not enough at a place with the standards of Mississippi State. It was time for a change. And rather than wait for the end of the year, AD Zac Selmon has decided to get started on the coaching search now. Chris Lemonis finishes his tenure as MSU's head coach with a 232-135 (.632) overall record and an 82-89 (.480) SEC record. Pitching coach Justin Parker will serve as interim coach.