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Mississippi State

Ball State 1B Blake Bevis commits to Mississippi State out of NCAA transfer portal

Danby: Daniel Hager06/18/25DanielHagerOn3
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via @BlakeBevis on X/Twitter.

Ball State first baseman Blake Bevis has committed to Mississippi State via the NCAA Transfer Portal, he revealed on X Wednesday afternoon. Bevis was an All-MAC Second Team selection in 2024 and was an All-MAC First Team selection in 2025.

The Brentwood, TN native started 56 games for Ball State State this season, hitting for a .302 batting average with 13 doubles, 17 home runs, 50 RBI, a .608 SLG% and a .368 OBP%.

Along with playing first base, Bevis also pitched a bit during his time at Ball State. In his three seasons, he boasted a 7.16 ERA in 16 1/3 innings of relief. On the offensive side, Bevis posted a .296 average with 43 doubles, 40 home runs and 144 RBIs in his three seasons of MAC play.

Bevis joins an extremely talented transfer class heading into the first season of the Brian O’Connor era in Starkville. The class now consists of Bevis, Virginia LHP Tomas Valincius, Virginia OF James Nunnallee, Virginia UTL Chone James, Illinois OF Vytas Valincius, Virginia OF Aidan Teel, NC State INF Ryder Woodson, The Citadel RHP Maddox Webb and James Madison RHP Jackson Logar.

Brian O’Connor era seems to be starting strong

After 21 years of being the head coach at Virginia, O’Connor left Charlottesville to be named the new head coach at Mississippi State on June 1st.

During his time with the Cavaliers, O’Connor led the program to an 885-370-2 (362-234-1) overall record. In that time, he was named ACC Coach of the Year five times, helped the Cavaliers to two ACC titles, made seven total trips to the Men’s College World Series and won a National Championship in 2015. O’Connor will now head to Starkville, replacing Chris Lemonis who was fired after a 7-14 start to SEC play.

“Well so much goes into [taking the job at Mississippi State],” he said at his introductory press conference. “That’s a long answer probably that we don’t all have time for but this is an incredibly special place here in Starkville. Certainly the program is supported at the highest level, in the history and tradition behind this program. But [Mississippi State AD] Zac Selmon was a big part in this. I felt like if I was going to leave this place that I loved and worked at for 22 years, it had to be the right partnership. And then it had to be the place you felt like you could be successful as possible.”