Mississippi State fans learned today who their beloved Bulldogs will face in conference play next spring as the program kicks off the Brian O’Connor era. The ten league opponents, dates and locations have now been formally released by the Southeastern Conference. 

Last season, State did not face Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas A&M or Vanderbilt in regular season play. All five of those teams will be on the schedule this year. 2025 foes Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Missouri  and Oklahoma will rotate off ten weekend slate in 2026. 

The Diamond Dawgs will make the trip to Arkansas to open league play the weekend of March 13th. The two programs have not met on the diamond since the 2024 season. That series was also played in Fayetteville. 

After a one-year hiatus, Vanderbilt is once again a weekend opponent for the Bulldogs. State took two of three from the Commodores in Nashville as part of the 2024 season. The crucial blow came off the bat of Hunter Hines in the Sunday rubber game. Vandy will make the trip to Starkville the weekend of March 20th.

The annual rivalry series against Ole Miss will take place the third weekend of the SEC schedule. The Bulldogs will travel to Oxford for the March 27th weekend. The Rebels snapped a series losing streak to Mississippi State that weekend. The Diamond Dawgs went on to win the Governor’s Game and a first round SEC tourney game to finish the year with a 3-2 record against the Rebels.

Georgia will make their second straight trip to Dudy Noble Field. Those Bulldogs were in town during the 2024 season. State won the weekend, but is not without controversy. The middle game was marred by ejections. The two teams played on. Former State hurler Khal Stephen ended up playing left field and was the final out at the plate.

Tennessee is scheduled to serve as the opponent the weekend of April 10th. The last pairing between the Bulldogs and Volunteers took place in the 2024 SEC tournament. Tennessee won a one-run affair to eliminate Mississippi State from the field at Hoover.

The Bulldogs will make the trip to Founder’s Park for the first time since 2021 the weekend of April 17th. South Carolina dropped a pair of games and the series at Mississippi State last season.

LSU is slated to visit Starkville the weekend of April 24th. The two schools are longstanding baseball rivals and the weekend series between the two have been extremely competitive in recent years. The Tigers swept the Diamond Dawgs as part of a rain soaked weekend last year.

Mississippi State will make their first trip to Austin since the 1983 NCAA tournament to take on the Texas Longhorns to open the month of May. In their first year as a member of the Southeastern Conference, Texas swept the Bulldogs in Starkville. 

Auburn will make the return trip to Mississippi State the weekend of May 8th. The Tigers won a wild weekend against the Diamond Dawgs last year at Plainsman’s Park. State will look to return the favor this coming spring.

The final weekend of SEC play will see the Bulldogs travel to College Station, Texas. The Aggies got the better of the Bulldogs last season in the SEC tournament. Texas A&M had a challenging year last year and will look to right the ship in 2026.

The full non-conference portion of the schedule will be shared at a later date. As part of the first month of the season, Mississippi State will take part in the Amegy’s College Baseball Classic at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas the weekend of February 27th. State will play Arizona State, UCLA and Virginia Tech during the event.