Mississippi State Baseball Lands No. 2 Recruiting Class in the Nation

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI/MSU Athletics) – Boasting 12 players who were either 2013 Major League Baseball Draft picks or All-Americans on the high school or junior college level, Mississippi State’s 2012-13 baseball signing class has been ranked second nationally in the annual recruiting survey compiled by Collegiate Baseball. 

Friday’s ranking is the second-highest ever for the Bulldogs by the newspaper based in Tucson, Ariz., which began ranking classes three decades ago in 1983

“It is really exciting for respected people inside our industry to recognize the work of (assistant coaches) Nick Mingione and Butch Thompson, two of the best recruiters in all of college baseball,” Head Coach John Cohen said. “We certainly will not be able to judge the quality of this class for a few years, but we really like this 2013 class.”

The class officially became Bulldogs this past fall, before the Diamond Dawgs’ completed the best season by any sport in school history, finishing as national finalists in the NCAA College World Series with a 51-20 record. Overall, the 2012-13 newcomers are the fourth MSU class in the last five years to be ranked in the top 15 by Collegiate Baseball or Baseball America, and the second group to finish in the top eight.

“The (recruiting) ranking is not reflective of what our players accomplished earlier this year,” Cohen said. “I think we will feel the effects of what happened in Omaha from a recruiting perspective, but it will be a little bit later on.”

The class is highlighted offensively by 2013 MLB draft pick Reid Humphreys, Mississippi’s 2013 Mr. Baseball. The younger brother of former Diamond Dawg and current MLB player Tyler Moore (Washington Nationals), Humphreysearned 2013 Louisville Slugger First-Team All-America honors this past spring after tallying 11 homers and 32 RBIs as a senior. The 6-2, 200 pounder hit .419 with a .543 on-base percentage and an .874 slugging percentage for Northwest Rankin High School.

“Reid comes from a great family and we feel like he is going to be a great player,” Cohen explained. “Reid enters our program with a very good skill set.”

On the mound, the Bulldogs also signed fellow draft pick Paul Young, a right-hander who was selected by the Cleveland Indians with the fifth pick in the 21st round. Young, who chose MSU over scholarship offers from 11 other Southeastern Conference schools, went 5-0 with a 2.44 ERA this past spring for Central Alabama Community College, including a complete-game victory in the 2013 NJCAA National Championship game.

“Paul had a really difficult decision of whether to go to college or sign a professional contract; we are very pleased he chose Mississippi State,” Cohen said. “He is a very talented young man with a great arm.”

(Joe Ellis/The Clarion-Ledger)
The crown jewel of John Cohen’s signing class is 2013 Mississippi Mr. Baseball Reid Humphreys, the younger brother of current big leaguer Tyler Moore.

Drafted by the Texas Rangers with the 24th pick in the 36th round of this summer’s MLB Draft was fellow righty Dakota Hudson, who was rated a top 100 player overall at any position by national scouting service Perfect Game. Topping out at 95 on the radar gun, Hudson owned a 1.09 ERA and a 124-to-14 strikeout-to-walk ratio as a senior for Sequatchie County High School in Dunlap, Tenn.”

“Dakota’s professional signability is what ultimately got him on our campus-we are thrilled that he decided to be a Bulldog. Cohen said.

Other notable names from the class include catcher Gavin Collins, right-hander Avery Geyer and outfielder Joey Swinarski. Coming all the way from Lake Forest, Calif. (El Toro HS), Collins was projected to go in the top five rounds of the draft before injuring his ankle in the first game of his senior season, but has since fully recovered . Geyer, who was the ace on the national championship Pensacola (Fla.) Catholic High School squad, was a 2013 Louisville Slugger First-Team All-American and finished third in the voting for Florida’s Mr. Baseball. Swinarski, a fellow Floridian from Orlando, Fla. (The First Academy), graduated from high school a year early and chose MSU over South Carolina, despite being a projected as a high pick in next June’s draft.

“As everyone who follows intercollegiate athletics knows, recruiting is a vital component of success-to some degree; games can be won and lost well before they are ever played.”

The newcomers will make their public debut on Friday afternoon, Oct. 4, as the program conducts its first open practice of the fall at Dudy Noble Field.