The final opponent that Mississippi State’s baseball team saw on the field in 2025 will be the first opponent they see ahead of the 2026 campaign.
An exhibition game between the Bulldogs and Florida State was announced Wednesday. The scrimmage will take place Saturday, Oct. 18 at 1 p.m. at Blue Wahoos Stadium in Pensacola, home to the Miami Marlins’ Double-A affiliate.
During the 2025 season, Mississippi State made an unlikely run to the postseason after a poor start under head coach Chris Lemonis. Lemonis was fired, and with interim head coach Justin Parker at the helm, the Bulldogs landed in the Tallahassee Regional hosted by FSU. After beating Northwestern twice, Mississippi State fell to the Seminoles in the championship series.
While both teams will return some players from last year’s groups, it will be an almost entirely new Mississippi State team under recently hired head coach Brian O’Connor. Outside of the return of star third baseman Ace Reese and a few others like Bryce Chance and Noah Sullivan, the Bulldogs lost a lot of starting-caliber talent, but not without adding a plethora of new faces through the transfer portal.
The exhibition against FSU will be one of the first chances fans get to see those transfers take the field, including Kevin Milewski (Seton Hall), Reed Stallman, Drew Wyers (Bryant), Aidan Teal (Virginia), and Tomas Valincius (Virginia), to name a few.
“I’m excited about the group of young men that will wear the M over S logo this year and can’t wait for them all to come together and get to work this fall,” O’Connor said. “We’re looking forward to traveling down to Pensacola in October and appreciate the hospitality already shown by the Blue Wahoos. We hope to see a lot of maroon and white in the stands when we take the field against the Seminoles.”
Tickets for the exhibition have already been opened to Blue Wahoos season ticket holders and will go on sale to the general public on Aug. 12.
Blue Wahoos president Jonathan Griffith said allowing the teams to play in their stadium is a no-brainer, considering the history behind each program. Florida State and Mississippi State have reached the College World Series a combined 34 times, with the Bulldogs winning it all in 2021.
“Our organization’s mission is to create memorable experiences, and bringing two elite college baseball teams to Pensacola is going to create memories for a lot of people,” Griffith said. “We’re excited to provide this event both to our local, longtime Blue Wahoos fans, as well as the many visitors who will be taking in our award-winning gameday experience for the first time.”
