Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball

The Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball team representing Mississippi State University in NCAA Division I college baseball. The program is a member of the West Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The current head coach is Chris Lemonis, who replaced interim head coach Gary Henderson. They have appeared in the College World Series 11 times, most recently in 2019. They earned their highest finish in their 2013 CWS appearance, losing in the finals to UCLA, finishing the season with a consensus No. 2 ranking, the highest in program history.
History.
Mississippi State has won 11 SEC Championships in 1948, 1949, 1965, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1979, 1985, 1987, 1989, and 2016.
It has won the SEC Tournament seven times, in 1979, 1985, 1987, 1990, 2001, 2005, and 2012. As shown in the List of SEC champs, it has also won six SEC postseason two-team playoffs, in 1948, 1949, 1965, 1966, 1970, and 1971. The seven tournament championships and six playoff championships are a total of 13 SEC postseason championships, the most of any school.
Prior to the formation of the SEC, the program won the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship in 1909, 1911, 1918, 1921, and 1922 as well as the Southern Conference title in 1924.
The program has also appeared in 34 NCAA Regionals and 11 College World Series, with its highest finish being second place in 2013. Between 1992 and 2003, a Bulldogs pitcher was selected in the first round of the MLB draft 6 times.
Venue.
The Bulldogs play their home games at Dudy Noble Field, Polk-DeMent Stadium. Dubbed the "Carnegie Hall of College Baseball" by Nelle Cohen, wife of former MSU skipper and current Athletic Director John Cohen, it was the host site of the first SEC tournament and holds the NCAA baseball on-campus attendance record of 15,586 spectators, set in a game against the University of Mississippi in 2014. The stadium has hosted 9 of the top 10 largest crowds to attend an on-campus college baseball game. In 2013, Paul Swaney of Stadium Journey ranked it as the number one collegiate ballpark. One of the venue's most prominent features is the Left Field Lounge, an outfield area where spectators can gather and enjoy the games in a tailgate setting, including stands built on top of old pick-up trucks and trailers.
In 2005, the Palmeiro Center, a indoor practice facility, was built next to Dudy Noble. The facility, made possible by a gift from program alumnus Rafael Palmeiro and his wife Lynne, features an infield practice area, additional training area, and three batting cages. A baseball coaches' office complex located between the Palmeiro Center and Dudy Noble Field was also built in 2005. The complex, which includes a baseball heritage room, was made possible by contributions from former Bulldog players Jeff Brantley, Will Clark, Eric DuBose, Paul Maholm, Jay Powell and Bobby Thigpen, along with sports agent and former Bulldog manager Bo McKinnis.
Attendance.
The program has set many attendance records at Dudy Noble Field. SEC weekend games usually draw the largest crowds to Dudy Noble Field. Mississippi State currently holds the NCAA record for the largest single game on-campus baseball attendance at 15,586 and the largest SEC crowd for a 3-game weekend series at 39,181. In 2007, in a Super Regional against the Clemson Tigers, Mississippi State set NCAA attendance records for Super Regional games with 12,620 and 13,715 fans. More than 5 million spectators have attended games at the venue since the university started tracking attendance numbers in 1976.
Mississippi State holds nine of the top 10 and 17 of the top 25 on-campus crowds in college baseball history, including 14 crowds of over 12,000 and 42 crowds of over 10,000.
Shown below are the 10 largest home crowds in Mississippi State history. Note that nine of these crowds are among the NCAA's 10 largest ever on-campus crowds.
Coaches.
Only those who coached 3 or more seasons and 30 or more games.
† There was no SEC Baseball Tournament before 1977. Records are for the two team playoff that determined the SEC champion.
Year-by-year results.
†NCAA canceled all postseason activities for all college sports due to the COVID-19 virus.
50 Win Seasons.
† Does not include SEC Tourney Record 
†† Division Champ
Rivalries.
In baseball, MSU has two main rivals, LSU and Ole Miss.
Against LSU, the Bulldogs hold a 216–185 all-time series lead over LSU in a series that got its start in 1907.
Against Mississippi, Mississippi State now leads the series 259–208–5. Retired Mississippi State head baseball coach, Ron Polk, was 85–49 against Mississippi. John Cohen, MSU's former coach, was 8–11 in SEC Conference games and 11–17 overall against Mississippi. Andy Cannizaro was 4-0 against Mississippi in 2017. Gary Henderson was 3-1 against Mississippi in 2018, while MSU's current coach Chris Lemonis has a 4-0 mark. The two teams play a 3-game series each year that counts in the SEC standings and one non-conference game in Jackson, MS. The game in Jackson was called the Mayor's Trophy from 1980 to 2006, and from 2007 to present the game has been called the Governor's Cup. The Mayor's Trophy series ended 14–13 in favor of the Rebels. With the 2007 season, the non-conference meeting between the two teams moved to Trustmark Park in Pearl, Mississippi – which is the home to the Mississippi Braves. Mississippi State holds the lead in the Governor's Cup 9–4.