The Road to Omaha starts now. The 64-team field for the 2025 NCAA Baseball Tournament was announced on Monday, and officially, Mississippi State baseball is regional-bound for the second-straight season. Where are the Diamond Dawgs off to?
Mississippi State Bulldogs land in Tallahassee Regional for NCAA Tournament
Mississippi State baseball is off to a familiar postseason destination. The Bulldogs are the 3-seed in the Tallahassee Regional, hosted by No. 9 national seed Florida State. This will be the fifth time the Bulldogs head to Tallahassee for regional play, with the most recent being in 2018.
State will take on the 2-seed Northeastern Huskies of the Coastal Athletic Conference in their regional opener. Also in Tallahassee along with the Huskies and host Seminoles is 4-seed Bethune-Cookman. The Tallahassee Regional is paired with the Corvallis Regional hosted by No. 8 national seed Oregon State.
Parallels to 2018 season continue for Mississippi State
In 2018, Mississippi State baseball experienced a tumultuous start to the season. A coaching change was made just three games in (for non-baseball reasons...), they went 10-7 in their pre-SEC slate, and started conference play 2-7. But then the Diamond Dawgs, led by interim coach Gary Henderson, went on a miracle run to make the postseason. Then in the postseason, they kept the magic alive and made it to Omaha for the first time in five years.
That postseason run began in Tallahassee. The 2-seed Bulldogs were embarrassed with a 20-10 opening loss to Oklahoma. State faced elimination against host Florida State. Down 2-0 with two outs and two strikes with two runners on in the bottom of the 9th, Elijah MacNamee delivered one of the most iconic moments in MSU history.
That hit sparked one of the greatest runs we've ever seen at State, and it will always be a reminder that truly anything can happen in this sport. There's been quite a bit of parallels drawn between the 2018 Bulldogs and this season's team. State got off to a horrific 1-9 start in SEC play, and it wasn't until a coaching change was made that they truly caught fire to win their way into a regional. And just like 2018, they're off to Tallahassee.
Can the vibes of that special team rub off on this one? They've got enough pieces to make a run, but this won't be an easy regional to get out of. FSU is a top team, and Northeastern hasn't lost since early April. Still, State at its best can beat anyone. Their quest to replicate 2018's success starts Friday night at 6:30 PM CT against Northeastern.