Mississippi State baseball's 2026 season gets underway Friday afternoon at Dudy Noble Field. The Diamond Dawgs will begin the Brian O'Connor era with a series against the Hofstra Pride. MSU announced their starting rotation for the weekend, and Bulldog fans will be pleased to see that "TBA" is no more...
On the bump this weekend pic.twitter.com/aQimoeodYi
— Mississippi State Baseball (@HailStateBB) February 10, 2026
Ryan McPherson, Charlie Foster, and Tomas Valincius named Mississippi State's starting pitchers vs Hofstra
Brian O'Connor and State pitching coach Justin Parker have settled on a trio of sophomores to draw starts for the Bulldogs' season-opening series. Right-hander Ryan McPherson will start Friday's series-opener, followed by left-hander Charlie Foster on Saturday and fellow lefty Tomas Valincius on Sunday.
It's a young but talented rotation for MSU. Perfect Game named all three amongst the nation's Top 100 sophomores in 2026. D1 Baseball listed McPherson and Valincius as preseason Top 50 starting pitchers in the sport.
Ryan McPherson saw extensive action for the Diamond Dawgs as a freshman in 2025. The righty made 20 appearances with two starts. In 39.1 innings pitched, he posted a .412 ERA with a 4-1 record. His three saves was tied for the team lead. McPherson pitched for Team USA in Japan following his freshman campaign.
Charlie Foster also had a role on the mound for State in his freshman year, though an injury during the season limited him. He logged seven appearances with one start. In 11.1 innings, he had a 1.59 ERA with a batting average allowed of just .081. In the Tallahassee Regional against Florida State, he pitched 2.1 scoreless innings with four strikeouts.
Tomas Valincius rounds out the weekend rotation having thrown the most innings of the trio in 2025. The Virginia transfer threw 64.2 innings as a freshman in Charlottesville last season. He made 12 starts in 13 total appearances, posting a 6-1 record. He struck out 70 batters and posted a 4.59 ERA on the way to being named Freshman All-ACC.
State isn't quite as experienced on the mound as they are in their lineup, as very few starts return from last year's team. But there's still a very high ceiling with this rotation. They'll begin action on Friday, February 13 at 4:00 pm CT in Starkville.