As shared last week, Mississippi State is not finished with their 2026 college baseball recruiting efforts. The Bulldogs are still looking for difference makers and it appears they have found one in South Walton High School (FL) right handed pitcher Denton Lord. 

Lord is rated a perfect ten by Perfect Game on a 10-point grading scale. The 6-8, 215 pounder originally committed to the home state Gators of Florida. After some changes within the UF program, Lord began looking at other options.

“When everything sort of started going south with Florida and all of the stuff came out about Coach Sulli (Kevin O’Sullivan), Coach (Justin) Parker reached out,” Lord explained. “We’ve always been really close. We go back to the summer of 2024. He was an assistant coach at the Team USA trials. I got super close to him then.

“I took a visit to Mississippi State last fall, but I ended up choosing Florida. A couple of weeks ago, all of that came down with Florida. I had a lot of deep conversations with my family and my advisor. I decided to take another visit to Mississippi State last weekend. I remember leaving Starkville yesterday and I really felt in my heart that it was the place that I needed to be. I know it’s a place where I can develop as a man and as a pitcher. 

“It all just felt right in my heart. I called Coach Oak (Brian O’Connor) and Coach Park this morning and made it official. That’s how it all went down.”

While Lord is already familiar with Mississippi State and Dudy Noble Field, he got to see a lot more the behind the scenes this go around. There were also some new faces to get to know. Lord enjoyed every bit of the relationship building.

“It was incredible seeing what all goes on behind those closed doors,” Lord explained. “It’s amazing. Coach Oak runs a great program and he’s a great head coach. Hearing all of the stories behind everything and how they run the program was awesome. A lot of it is about the fan base too. It’s honestly incredible how in tune everybody in Starkville is with Mississippi State baseball. There is no better place to play college baseball in my opinion. It’s the place that I want to be.”

There are no hard feelings about the recruiting process. Lord is simply happy about how things turned out. He felt he had a great situation at Florida before recent events within the program made him reconsider. Now, he is headed to another place within the SEC where he feels even more at home.

“I just feel so good,” Lord said. “Me and my mom were talking this morning before I called Coach Oak. We were talking about how it’s time to just let the good times roll. All of the pressure is off my back. I am where I want to be and I can’t wait to get on campus next summer and start working with the coaches. It’s a feeling of relief to have all of this behind me.”

Lord will have a signing ceremony at his school in the days to come, but he will handle the business of the paperwork as soon as he can. Lord is elated to be a Mississippi State commitment, but is eager to officially be a signee. 

Toeing the rubber at Dudy Noble Field is a dream for many recruits around the country. It will soon be a reality for Lord. He has already had the chance to try the mound on for size and visualize what an SEC Friday night might feel like.

“On Saturday night, Coach Oak and Coach Parker gave me and my parents a tour of the stadium,” Lord said. “All of the lights were on and all of that stuff. I got a cool picture of me and Coach Parker just sitting and talking baseball on the mound. We talked about what it was going to feel like to toe the rubber on a Friday or Saturday night in front of 15,000 during an SEC game. 

“I just looked around the field and imagined seeing that many people in the stands. It is going to be amazing. I can’t wait. It’s always been a dream of mine to pitch in front of a crowd like that. In that environment that Mississippi State has, it is just going to be incredible. It’s great to be a Bulldog and I am ready to get things rolling.”