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Mississippi State

Diamond Dawg legacy, top 15 player Rocco Maniscalco commits to State

3rupauk8_400x400by: Robbie Faulk3 hours agoRobbieFaulkOn3
rocco maniscalco2
Photo courtesy of Rocco Maniscalco

One of the best players in the country could be fulfilling a family legacy in Starkville soon.

Just weeks after reclassifying from the 2027 class to 2026, Alabama SS Rocco Maniscalco has announced his commitment to Mississippi State. Maniscalco plans to follow in the footsteps of his father, Matthew, who starred for Ron Polk and the Diamond Dawgs in the early 2000s.

The addition of Maniscalco is building a strong foundation for the ’26 class for Brian O’Connor. After having the class at just six players shortly after being hired, O’Connor has landed seven additional players including five from the Virginia class.

Rocco could be yet another Maniscalco to make waves in the M over S. Matthew played and started in all 246 games during his State career that would span from 2000-03. The former Mr. Baseball in the state of Alabama in 1999, Matthew had his best season as a senior in ’03 when he was Second-Team All-SEC and had 94 hits on a .338 batting average with 20 stolen bases during that season. The Tampa Bay Rays drafted him in the 8th round of the 2003 draft.

Rocco will have the chance to be drafted much higher straight out of high school. Maniscalco was considered one of the top 20 players in the ’26 class and is still expected to be one of the most talented players in this next year’s class as well.

The talented SS from Oxford (Ala.) will just be 17 years old when the draft happens next summer but he’s more than capable of holding his own in that class. Maniscalco is a switch hitter and has impressed in the field as well. He’s been a member of Team USA’s National Team hitting .375 with nine RBI with the 15U team in five games during the summer of 2024 including hitting a home run.

Maniscalco is currently ranked as the No. 11 player by Pro Baseball Report in their class of ’26.

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