Well, Friday night did not go as the Bulldogs hoped. Now, Mississippi State’s focus has shifted from positioning in the NCAA Tournament to reaching the College World Series. Losing is never fun, but the Bulldogs won two massive games in Hoover and are now in the running to host an NCAA Tournament Regional for the first time since winning a National Championship in 2021.

For Mississippi State, the Bulldogs did what they came to Hoover to do: win a few more games. They hope to host an NCAA Tournament for the first time since winning the National Championship in 2021. According to all the reports, they project Mississippi State to receive a two-seed and miss out on hosting an NCAA Tournament. Despite matching all the metrics, the talking heads believe Mississippi State will not be an NCAA Tournament t Regional because of the start of the season when multiple Bulldogs were out with various injuries.

Mississippi State has the third most quad-one wins, with 16; its strength of schedule is 14th, and it plays in the toughest conference in the country. According to NCAA.com, the Mississippi State Bulldogs sit at 12th in the country in the KPI, and 11 of the top 21 teams are from the Southeastern Conference. Not to mention, Mississippi State currently holds the top-five attendance records for an on-campus stadium in all of college baseball. For Mississippi State to host, it will come down to what the committee values the most; if it’s RPI, then the Bulldogs will not be a host; if it’s KPI and SOS, then Starkville will be the place to be next weekend, we will find out on Sunday what the case will be.

From a baseball standpoint, Hoover was an exciting weekend for the Bulldogs. Tuesday and Wednesday were unique as they defeated Ole Miss before eliminating Texas A&M. Plus, for a program without a lot of postseason experience, Hoover was the perfect place to learn the ins and outs of the postseason with the fear of ending the season.

However, the negative for Mississippi State is the poor performances of Hunter Hines and Dakota Jordan. Two guys Mississippi State relies on to spark offensive onslaughts fell into nasty slumps over the last week, combing for one hit between the two. These two couldn’t get anything going this week, and it hurt Mississippi State in the process. Coach Lemonis even played with the lineup on Thursday and Friday, moving Hunter Hines to the bottom half in hopes the spark would return, but it never did. Dakota Jordan did break his streak on Friday night against Tennessee with a base hit to score two runs, giving the Mississippi State Bulldogs a pivotal lead over the Volunteers.

Overall, Mississippi State’s trip to the 2024 SEC Baseball Tournament was a success, with a few minor adjustments needed to make a run at the 2024 College World Series. Sooner than later, Dakota Jordan and Hunter Hines will snap off their slumps, and Mississippi State will be in the best position since 2021 to reach Omaha.

Mississippi State will find out if it gets to host an NCAA Tournament Regional Host on Sunday night while waiting until Monday to find out about the rest of the field.