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Mississippi State

Diamond Dawgs land one of nation's top high school pitchers in LHP Jack Bauer

3rupauk8_400x400by: Robbie Faulk06/16/25RobbieFaulkOn3
jack bauer
Jack Bauer (Photo by Mississippi State Athletics)

Speculation has been out there with LHP Jack Bauer for a couple of weeks but there are answers now – he is a Mississippi State Bulldog.

One of the top high school prospects in the upcoming MLB Draft, Bauer has been committed to Brian O’Connor and the staff at Virginia but opened up his process shortly after the coach left for State. After taking an official visit to Starkville last week, Bauer has decided that his college of choice will be in Starkville.

There is a draft to get through to get Bauer’s talent to campus, but O’Connor and Justin Parker will have one of the top arms in the country if he bypasses. The 6’3, 175-pound hurler from Frankfort, Ill. is humming over 100 mph on the mound from the left side as one of the hardest throwers in the entire country.

Bauer’s recorded 103 mph fastball this month was the fastest pitch from a high school player in history. The velocity has climbed tremendously over the last couple of years going from 88 mph as a sophomore to sitting at 97-100 this season and topping out at 103.

The work that Bauer has done this season has made him a fast riser on MLB Draft boards and will put him at a major risk of signing in July. Prep Baseball has him as the No. 28 prospect overall in the draft and Perfect Game has him No. 17 among the high school players in the country. MLB.com believes he’s No. 37 on the draft boards.

A Lincoln-Way East High School standout, Bauer has more than just the fastball. He’s throwing a slider at 79-82 and a changeup in the mid 80s that has also been difficult for teams to figure out.

The Bulldogs have a quartet of major draft risks this summer as Bauer is joined by Purvis OF Jacob Parker and MIF Joseph Parker as well as East Union RHP Landon Harmon among players expected to draw big interest within the first couple of rounds.

State has already grabbed several standouts with UVA connections since O’Connor was hired. Two other high school commitments switched their pledges to State last week when 2026 C Hunter Strohm and SS Noah Danza both committed to the Bulldogs. O’Connor has also reeled in four transfer portal players from UVA as LHP Tomas Valincius, OF Aidan Teel, OF James Nunnallee and UTL Chone James all plan to transfer to State.

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