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Mississippi State

Third Virginia transfer making the move to Mississippi State with commitment of Chone James

3rupauk8_400x400by: Robbie Faulk06/06/25RobbieFaulkOn3
chone james
Chone James (Photo by Virginia Athletics)

A wave of commitments are coming through from Brian O’Connor as the coach is making an early statement in the transfer portal.

Just a few hours after O’Connor was welcomed to Mississippi State with a huge celebration inside Dudy Noble Field, the players that were there to see it are signing up to join him. Virginia Utility player Chone James has joined classmates LHP Tomas Valincius and OF James Nunnallee in committing to State on Friday afternoon. All three players are coming off a freshman season where they all contributed.

James is a player that has played several different roles for the Cavaliers in his first year. He played in 26 games for UVA with 15 starts and played in the outfield and at second base while also being a designated hitter for his team.

He batted .373 on the year with a .455 OBP and .478 SLG while notching 25 hits, five doubles, a triple and 11 RBI. He also stole four bases on the year.

The South Carolina native came out of high school as a catcher and was the second best in the state his senior year while coming in at No. 4 overall after his time at Socastee High School in the Myrtle Beach area.

James and several of his teammates took in their visits to Starkville over the last couple of days and wasted no time on their commitments. O’Connor was named as the Bulldogs’ head coach last Sunday evening and has been putting in the work on the recruiting trail and with State’s current roster to put together a team next season that can compete right away. James adds to those possibilities as he joins forces with his Virginia coaches and former teammates now in Starkville.

More commitments could be on the way in the coming days for the Bulldogs as other visitors make their decisions. State now has three commitments out of the portal with 11 players from last season’s roster having entered.

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