STARKVILLE — Mississippi State baseball has won six of the last seven games, making the NCAA tournament appear like more of a possibility.
After falling to South Carolina on April 4 for a 1-9 start to SEC play, it’s won two consecutive conference series, including a road series at No. 15 Alabama. The Bulldogs (23-14, 5-10 SEC) also won their two midweek games against UAB and Southern.
MSU hosts Florida (25-14, 4-11) for a three-game series at Dudy Noble Field beginning on April 18 (7 p.m., SEC Network).
Here’s a look at the latest NCAA tournament projections for the Bulldogs.
Mississippi State baseball NCAA tournament projections
D1Baseball projects Mississippi State as a No. 3 seed in the Tallahassee Regional. It has Florida State as the No. 1 seed, Troy as the No. 2 seed and Holy Cross the No. 4 seed. MSU won the Tallahassee Regional in 2018 and reached the College World Series that season.
Baseball America lists Mississippi State as the first team out of the field.
Mississippi State baseball NCAA tournament resume
Mississippi State entered the season as a ranked team but hit a rut to begin SEC play. It’s been playing catch-up ever since.
MSU’s RPI is 38th entering the Florida series, its best since the start of conference play. Its two wins against Alabama are its best of the season.
MSU has particularly struggled against its best opponents. It is 3-11 in Quad 1 games, but 20-3 against everyone else. The Florida games are slated to be Quad 1 but could drop to Quad 2 with the Gators holding a No. 25 RPI.
Mississippi State baseball NCAA tournament history under Chris Lemonis
Mississippi State has had mixed NCAA tournament results under Lemonis.
It has peaked twice with two College World Series appearances in 2019 and 2021. The Bulldogs won the national championship in 2021. There was no NCAA tournament in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Bulldogs have only made the postseason one other time in Lemonis’ tenure. It was last season when they lost to Virginia in the Charlottesville Regional.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State baseball: NCAA tournament projections for Chris Lemonis