Mississippi State signee Maddox Miller eager for his future under Brian O'Connor

There were plenty of reasons for Maddox Miller to be anxious about his future with Mississippi State.

It wasn’t that the LHP from Oak Grove wasn’t talented enough to be a Diamond Dawg, but anytime there’s staff turnover, it begs the question as to whether or not the new group will have a player’s plans in the cards. It didn’t take long for Miller to know that Starkville would remain where he belonged.

Head coach Brian O’Connor came to State and had a busy few weeks upon taking the job as the new baseball coach. Among those assignments for the coach was going through the signing class and seeing what he had. Miller was one of the players that really impressed him and the pitcher was equally impressed with his new coach.

“I knew that he had taken Virginia to the College World Series seven of the last 14 years before he got hired. They had always been good under him, and they beat State the year before,” Miller said of O’Connor.

“Getting to know them has been really cool. They’re all really cool guys and I feel like they’re going to take this program to the next level. I’m really excited to play for them.”

Parker’s retainment means a lot to Miller and his future

It also helped ease any concerns for Miller that his pitching coach would remain on staff.

Justin Parker was hired a few months after Miller had initially committed to State back in 2022, but the coach and his pitcher have built a solid relationship over the last couple of years. Knowing that Parker still gets to develop and coach him was reassuring for the young hurler.

“That was really big,” Miller said of Parker’s retainment. “I love coach Parker and he took our ERA down a lot when he came in. He’s a great pitching coach and it makes me feel better knowing someone that was previously on the staff is still hanging around.”

Last week, the coaching staff brought in Miller and his family for another visit to State. Having already taken an official visit with the previous staff back in the fall, this trip was more about getting a chance to meet the staff.

Miller did get to see some areas of Dudy Noble Field that he had not been before and that made for an eye-opening trip.

“I got to go up to the Omaha Club and on top of the Lofts and that was the first time I had been up there,” Miller said. “It was really cool to see the field from there and have dinner. The coaching staff was awesome. They were telling me about their background and I really got to know them all on a personal level.”

The lefty has a strong pedigree as the son of former MLB pitcher Matt Miller and it’s been big in his development at this stage. Over the course of his career with the Warriors, Miller was 20-5 with a 1.48 ERA and struck out 273 batters in 160.0 innings.

Miller’s senior season was his best as he earned First-Team All-State honors in Class 7A and was 8-2 with a 1.87 ERA with 105 strikeouts and 36 walks in 60.0 innings.

“The past three years, I only threw 33.0 innings every year and this year I was finally able to get above 50.0 innings,” Miller said. “I was able to keep my arm healthy and I competed better this year. I’m just trying to develop my secondary pitches and put on some weight.

“A couple of days ago on my visit, (Parker) was talking about my offspeed and I don’t really have a great slider right now. He was showing me a grip and how to throw it and we’re going to work on that right when I get there.”

The fastball is already ahead of schedule for Miller with it topping out at 94 mph and sitting anywhere from 89-92. He has a changeup in the 79-80 mph range and a curveball and slider in the high 70s.

The goal for Miller is to be in the weekend rotation in a couple of seasons, but there’s a lot of work that he’s ready to put in to get there.

“I think the plan is to develop me into a Friday night guy and a first-round draft pick,” Miller said. “I need to cut down on my walks and get in the weight room and get three or four pitches. That’s what I’m excited about doing starting July 6 when I move to Starkville.”