Mississippi State Baseball Officially Introduces Head Coach Chris Lemonis

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State baseball formally introduced former Indiana head coach Chris Lemonis to be its 18th head baseball coach today during a introductory press conference at Dudy Noble Field.

Lemonis inherits a young and talented MSU team that went on a historic run and was one win away from reaching the final series of the College World Series.

Lemonis, 48, led the Indiana Hoosiers to the NCAA tournament in three of the past four years. He was also an assistant at Louisville when the school made three trips to the College World Series. His coaching career includes 12 NCAA regional berths and a combined 786-457 record and three 50-win seasons.

In 2018, Lemonis’ Hoosiers held a 40-19 record and earned an at-large berth as the No. 2 seed at the 2018 NCAA Austin Regional. The Hoosiers reached the regional title game after defeating Texas Southern and eliminating No. 25 Texas A&M. They were eliminated by No. 14 Texas.

His squad was among the Big Ten leaders in several key categories. The Hoosiers were first in earned run average (3.09), second in batting average (.284), first in slugging percentage (.448), first in home runs (68), first in total bases (905) and third in runs scored (360).

Lemonis is also known as a top college baseball recruiter in the nation, something he takes great pride in. His recruiting efforts include 69 of his players being selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, including sixteen of his Indiana players being taken in the MLB Draft in the last four years. He has also coached or recruited 12 Cardinals who have made it to the big leagues.

“It’s an incredible honor to be the head coach at Mississippi State,” Lemonis said. “The tradition, fan base and facility in Starkville are second to none in college baseball. My goal is to keep the program moving forward, strive for championships and ultimately win in Omaha.”