Ben Davis running it back with the Diamond Dawgs for one final season
More Mississippi State players are climbing on board for what could be a special 2026 season.
On the same day that Bryce Chance and Reed Stallman announced their return for one final season, RHP Ben Davis will come along with them. Davis announced on his X page that he would be pitching with the Diamond Dawgs in 2026.
A Booneville native, Davis made a huge impact this season out of the bullpen for the Bulldogs. The junior was 4-2 with a 3.77 ERA and he threw more than anyone out of the bullpen with 57.1 innings and 23 appearances. He gave up 24 earned runs, 24 walks and he struck out 61 batters on the year.
His final appearance was his third start of the season when he pitched against Northeastern in State’s opening matchup of the Tallahassee Regional. Davis pitched a season-high 5.0 innings, gave up five hits, one earned run, two walks and struck out three batters.
Davis was a great find by the previous State staff led by Chris Lemonis as his mid-90s fastball with power sink became a weapon for him. He was a catcher and a pitcher for two seasons in junior college at Itawamba as he threw 64.2 innings his freshman season and went 7-2 with a 3.76 ERA and 57 strikeouts.
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He dealt with an injury during his sophomore season but did start seven games and pitched 39.2 innings with 47 strikeouts.
Davis will now come back with a year of State baseball under his belt and a lot of retention is happening for that group heading into next season. Since Justin Parker has been named the pitching coach for Brian O’Connor, freshmen Dane Burns, Ryan McPherson and Charlie Foster have all announced their return on the mound.
The pieces of the offensive lineup has also gotten a boost this offseason with Ace Reese, Bryce Chance and Reed Stallman all announcing a return. O’Connor has also picked up a commitment from five players out of the transfer portal with LHP Tomas Valincius, OF Aidan Teel and James Nunnallee and C/INF Chone James all committing from Virginia. Vytas Valincius has also announced his commitment to State.
