Ace Reese Sets the Standard as Mississippi State Baseball Prepares for 2026

Mississippi State junior Ace Reese was named a preseason All-American by multiple outlets as the Bulldogs prepare for the 2026 season under Brian O’Connor.

Mississippi State third baseman Ace Reese (3) spears a line drive during the game with Texas A&M in the first round of the SEC Baseball Tournament at the Hoover Met. | Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The start of the much-anticipated 2026 college baseball season is only 10 short days away.

Brian O’Connor is set to begin his era at Mississippi State with a three-game series against Hofstra on February 13 and he’ll do so with a consensus All-American at third base.

Junior Ace Reese was named to Baseball America’s 2026 Preseason College Baseball All-America First-Team. He was also named to Perfect Game’s All-American first team and D1Baseball’s second-team.

On Monday, Reese was asked about being named to the preseason All-America teams.

“It's nice to see it, but at the end of the day, we all have a goal to get to Omaha as a team,” Reese said. “So that's kind of what our focus is on.”

Here’s what Baseball America said about Reese.

“Reese won 2025 SEC newcomer of the year after moving to Mississippi State from Houston and bringing 21 home runs and 18 doubles with him. He’s an aggressive, powerful lefthanded hitter with a pro-ready body at 6-foot-4, 220 pounds. Reese has played left field and first base, but moved to third base with Mississippi State. If he can improve defensively and stick there, his bat would profile admirably.”

Reese is coming off a monster 2025 season that ended with five different publications labeling him an All-American, was named the SEC Newcomer of the Year and had a spot on the All-SEC first team.

He led the team with a .352 batting average, 80 hits, 18 doubles, 21 home runs, 66 RBIs, 163 total bases and a .718 slugging percentage and ranked in the top seven in the Southeastern Conference in each of those categories. His homer total was also the eighth-most in a single season in school history.

Reese started all 57 games for State last season and led the team in just about every category that matters when runs are the currency. Batting average. Hits. Doubles. Home runs. RBIs. Total bases. Slugging percentage. If it showed up in the box score, he probably led it.

Now, Reese and the Bulldogs are prepared for a 2026 season with a new coaching staff and lots of new players.

“It's been awesome,” Reese said. “It was cool having a bunch of new guys come in and keeping a bunch of the old guys. They kind of taught us the way and how the coaches work, and then we taught them the way, the Mississippi State way of how we do things. So having that gel was nice, and we just get after it every day.”

First pitch against Hofstra next Friday is set for 4 p.m.