Riding a 14-game win streak, No. 11 Texas baseball will cross the Mississippi River for the first time this season as they open their introductory Southeastern Conference series against Mississippi State.
The Daily Texan sat down with Mississippi State’s student newspaper, The Reflector, and its sports editor, Noah McCord, to get a glimpse of the Bulldogs since the last time the Longhorns and Bulldogs faced off on the diamond in the 2021 College World Series semifinal.
“We’ve seen flashes of greatness from this team,” McCord said. “Last week we faced Southern Miss again, and we run-rule them 18–3 in seven innings. So the flashes of greatness are there, it’s just when they can put it together.”
Mississippi State has had an up-and-down 2025 campaign, showing up in moments but faltering in others. Starting the year in the rankings, the then No. 18 Bulldogs were shut out in an upset by Southern Mississippi at home and dropped a pair of games in the Astros Foundation College Classic.
Since its loss to Oklahoma State on March 2, Mississippi State has started to tighten things up, winning six straight. As a team, the Bulldogs have a 2.81 ERA, a .333 team batting average and put 31 home runs on the board, putting them in the top five in the conference in those categories.
Texas will not have an easy environment as they head to Starkville. Dudy Noble Field at Polk-Dement Stadium, Mississippi State’s home field, is the biggest in the SEC and one of the most imposing ballparks in college baseball. The Bulldogs are riding a 10–1 home record to open the year.
“It’s been called the Mecca of college baseball, it’s like a tailgating football environment,” McCord said. “I would compare it to the Atlanta Braves game that I went to before I would compare it to any other college baseball park.”
Mississippi State will have a quick turnaround when they face Texas at home. The Bulldogs will only have one day of rest after playing a mid-week tournament. For McCord, the quick turnaround will be a good test for his Bulldogs.
“This team is a true SEC-built team, to where you can last through that (quick turnaround),” McCord said. “If they can’t last through that stuff, they can’t last through the tournament in late May.”
Despite the flip-flop start to the season for Mississippi State, it is fair to say that McCord is very confident about his Bulldogs when the Longhorns come to town this weekend.
“I think we’ll go 2–1,” McCord said. “I think the first game will probably be an 8–3 win on Friday, a 7–2 win on Saturday and then a 5–4 Texas win on Sunday.”
