Everything Brian O'Connor said before first fall baseball scrimmage

Mississippi State opens its fall baseball schedule Friday night with its first scrimmage at Dudy Noble Field.

Before that, new Mississippi State coach Brian O'Connor met with reporters for the second time since he was hired in June. Here's everything he said:

O'Connor's opening statement...

It's great to see you all again. I think the last time I was in this room addressing you all was the press conference, obviously, the welcome that they had here. So glad you all are back. A lot has happened in those three months, a lot of exciting things. So, just looking forward to getting fall baseball started. We've been together for about four weeks now and doing small group work and things like that. This starts our full fall baseball segment tonight and that runs through the Louisiana Tech game on November 1st. So, we're looking forward to building this team and getting the guys out there and seeing them compete against each other to ultimately build our team and see what we've got. So, looking forward to it, looking forward to tonight.

Coach, you got a lot of guys that know you and you got some guys that know Mississippi State. How has that integration been kind of meshing the team together, kind of combining the culture?

Yeah. Well, it's been a lot of fun for sure and certainly there's a few players that have previously played for me that came here from Virginia. But I I've really made a full conscious effort to having them not lead things, right? To just instill what I believe how a college baseball program needs to be run and how they need to go about their business. But I got to tell you, in the first four weeks together it's been impressive when you have 15 returning players, 18 transfers, and eight freshman to see them very quickly in the clubhouse connect with each other, encourage each other, push each other has been really a bright spot for me in these first four weeks is to see them come together working together for a common goal.

Back in the summer, you had talked about the whirlwind that you had been through with the transfer portal and getting your roster ready. Since then, you've added the 2027 class recruiting, trying to get this team together and practices and stuff. How have you been able to navigate all that over the last few months?

Very little sleep. Sleep is overrated, right? You know it's like I had said the first and foremost it was to build this year's roster and that's what our focus was on and then once we were completed with that it was moving to you know fill in some spots in the 2026 class which we're still pursuing that with some recruits and then August 1st was the first date that we could call 2027. So, you know, you're just looking at things big picture of what you see future rosters look like in this college baseball world where the rosters will ultimately be 34 and how you're going to navigate that. The big question is how many high school players are you going to take, right? That's always a little bit of a moving target, right, as you project these rosters out. I still believe at its foundation, I said this here three months ago, that you still have to have elite high school players even at the highest level of college baseball ultimately if you want to sustain consistency at a high level. So, we're focused on that. Players that we really believe can come here to Mississippi State and make an impact from the high school standpoint and then we'll supplement from there. So, it's been a lot, but the last four weeks, our main focus and attention has to be on this team, right? While you're also working the recruiting game as well. And I enjoy it. It's a lot of fun. It's relentless. You have to be that way and you just you just can't stop, right? There's no days off and keep moving forward.

I know one observation was these guys came in and it seemed like they've been teammates for years. Yes. How proud of you as a coach to see it come together so quickly?

Well, I'll let the players speak to that. That's what I see. I felt like the chemistry right away has been really good and that's part of the selection of the young men that you decide to bring in and what's important to them. So, it's been that part of it's been really fun to see and we do some things every day when we're together intentionally to bring the group together. So, there's a lot of intentionality with what we do to create that kind of culture. It's been it's been fun and enjoyable to watch.

Just looking at the roster here and the rule changes that were made for this year with the roster limits and stuff like that. Do you know if you're going to need to make any roster cuts before the season begins or maybe not with the designated student athletes?

Yeah, you don't. We don't have to make any roster cuts because of the new roster because of the designated student athletes. So, this is this is our roster. We're not required to downsize at all to meet any rules or anything. Ultimately, how this is going to work four years from now, it's going to take four years for the designated student athletes to work themselves through the system everywhere and then it will be in doubt being in the 34 at that time. I mean, we could be at 34 prior to that, right? But that's going to take some time for the designated student athletes to work their way through the system. So, the answer is it's a long answer to no, we do not have to make any cuts off this roster.

A lot of change this summer, not just you personally, but in college athletics in general and kind of undergoing, you know, the transformation that comes with roster construction, everything like that. How has it been working with the new administration on your end? You know, bringing your staff in here and figuring things out?

Yeah, working with the new administration has been excellent. I use this word “alignment,” and I believe having alignment is really important and this administration is very much in line. We have alignment of what we believe that we need to do to have a baseball program that can compete and win at the highest level. So, they're very committed to that. I knew that when I took the job, but their follow through has been very good. So, it's been fun.

The event in Pensacola with Florida State, everybody wants to be there. Sold out in 80 minutes. So, if you could talk a little bit about how that came to be and maybe what you're hoping to bring back from it.

Well, the game in Pensacola against Florida State was previously scheduled. So, the Florida State coach called me right after I got the job and said, "Hey, we've, you know, we had an agreement that y'all would we'd meet in Pensacola and play this game." So, it was already in place. I didn't have anything to do with the date. There was no wiggle room with it or anything. It just happened to fall on when the football team plays at Florida. So, we're excited about that opportunity just like we are the game here at home against Louisiana Tech. In college baseball, you get two of these opportunities to play somebody else in a different uniform. And we're excited. It doesn't surprise me with our fan base that that game sold out that that quickly. It'll be a great environment, a great atmosphere to for our players to compete in to ultimately get them prepared for this spring season. So, excited about that opportunity. We've got some work to do between now and then, right? We'll do that work, but it's going to be a great opportunity for us to head down there.

You've been at this a long time, so I'm sure you've got a lot of friends within the league, but have you had any interactions with coaches around the league since you've been here? And if so, what's that reception been like?

Yeah, not much interaction with coaches around the league, candidly. You know, two weeks ago was the SEC head coaches meeting in Birmingham for two days. Obviously, saw all the coaches there and talked to them there and you know have competed against all of them at some point in time in my coaching career. A lot of them in my time at Virginia competed against them whether it was in Omaha or regional or super regional. And so, like, listen, it's this league, the coaches, it's the highest level. It's competitive as heck. And that's why we do it. That's why you coach in this league. It's why you play in the league. And so, I've got a ton of respect for all the coaches in in the league because they've all had really great careers as coaches and look forward to the spring to competing out on that on that field.

You've coached 20 plus years without having to be on social media, but joined, a few weeks ago or a month ago. What made you just decide to join Twitter and start using that?

Well, that's actually not entirely correct. I was on X at one point during my time at Virginia and actually had just deleted and dropped my account about a year ago. Okay. I just felt like I didn't want the noise and things like that, right? But brought it back just because I think it's a really great way to stay connected with our fan base, our recruits, right? And so just felt compelled to bring it back to be able to make that uh that connection.

You've talked about this the rosters kind of meshing with guys you've brought in either from Virginia, transfer port, or whatever in this roster. Are there some players that early have really stood out to you as leaders on this team that have kind of taken that role and stepped up, whether it be guys that came with you or guys that are already here?

I think that'll play out over the next month or two to see that. But somebody like Bryce Chance that you know that Mississippi State means so much to that young man and you can see it in how he goes about his business and the words that come out of his mouth. It's really important to him. Somebody like Ben Davis that certainly could have entered professional baseball and the MOS what it means to those guys is incredibly powerful, right? And so, you see players like that when you're instilling a new culture and do things maybe a little bit differently than have been done before. Seeing them reinforce things and say the right things is incredibly important. And I'll tell you one of the things that the first team meeting we had, I had all the players get up individually and introduce themselves to their teammates, you know, where they were from, position they play. The returning Mississippi State players, I had each of them speak to what the MOS means to them. And I can tell you like being in this room and hearing those 15 young men talk about what it means to them was incredibly powerful. It was awesome that it's part of the fiber of who they are and it was I think really impactful to the other guys that had not worn this uniform yet. And leadership is crucial to being successful. The best teams are player-led teams, and when you have young men that have worn this uniform before, and it means so much to them, they're the guys and other players that we brought in, they'll lead as well, too. And who exactly those guys are, it'll play out over time here.

The fact that you have so many open practices as well as the exhibition, the scrimmages, those games. How much of that is introducing your team to the fans, but also introducing the fans to your team?

It's both, right? We have a lot of young men that have never played a game in this stadium. Okay. And so, the more fans that are in here is good for them, right? And to prepare them for what's going to happen. So, it serves both purposes, right? The outreach to the fans that they can start to learn who the players are and their names and things like that, right? And see how they play, but it's equally as important for our players to have them in the stadium. Another reason I'm so excited about Pensacola, a sold out stadium. Wanted to make sure that one of our two fall games we played at home, the game against Louisiana Tech. I want to try to get as many people in this stadium as possible, not only for the fans to be able to enjoy it, but for our for our young men. So, it serves both purposes for sure.

What have you kind of learned about the weight that that carries, you know, with some of these kids who are looking to maybe play at Dudy Noble Field one day?

It's more than the stadium and the fans. Listen, the stadium and fans is like it's the best in America, right? We all know that, right? But it goes back to people and the pride that not just the players that have worn this uniform, but the fans have in this base in this baseball program. You feel it and sense it every day. And when you talk to recruits out there, some of them you're trying to educate them about that, right? But there's some of them that have grown up knowing what this baseball program and this culture is about, right? And so it's incredibly powerful. It really is. And listen, college baseball recruiting at this level is hard, right? There's a lot of great programs out there. There's a lot of great fan bases, but at its core, Mississippi State baseball is, you know, about all the right things. It's a very much a tough brand of baseball, right? That's what it was been built on. I've loved being around Coach Polk a lot since I've been here and learning from him. And when I think of Mississippi State baseball before I came here, it was always a brand of hard-nosed tough baseball. And that's part of why I was so interested in Mississippi State because that's what I believe in as a coach, right? I believe in playing the game the right way, playing it tough, playing it hard, right? No prima donnas, playing with each other, right? And grinding it out and tough, hard-nosed baseball. And that's how we will play. And that's reflective of what the M overs means part of it.

You've had a few months now to work with Justin Parker. How are you guys kind of integrating maybe both of your philosophies and how's that relationship going?

The relationship with Justin Parker is going fantastic. Let me just talk about this guy a little bit. Okay. The development that he does with our pitchers here at Mississippi State is absolutely elite. This guy is really, really talented. And when I speak about somebody being really, really talented, it's partly what they know and can impart on a young man, but most importantly, it's their ability to connect with young people. He is elite at being able to connect and be on the same page with these young men that pitch here and from a recruiting standpoint. And he does a tremendous job. I've seen it in just over three weeks in preparing them to compete and be ready to compete in this arena, right? Um at the highest level of baseball. So, the relationship's going great. He's a tireless recruiter. But again the most important for a coach isn't always what they know and their knowledge. That's part of it. Most of you can have all the knowledge in the world if you can't make connections with young men. And that is what he's really special at. And I think that's what separates him from other people that hold his job at other institutions. And I'm just thankful, grateful that he made the decision to stay here at state because I think it's a real difference maker for us.

I may be asking for classified information here, but what's the strength of this team? And is there an area you tell your coaches 'this fine'?

Well, that's hard for me to give you an answer to that because I mean we've been doing these short 45 minute workouts like four days a week, right? And so it's been more instilling how do how do we go about base running and little intricacies of the game? So really haven't had a chance to see him compete too much. Certainly when you don't return a shorts stop that's played one inning here at Mississippi State, that's something that needs to be sewed up. We don't return any catching that's caught here at Mississippi State other than Owen, but, he only a couple of innings. So, I would say the middle of the field. I've had a chance to sit in on a number of the bullpens in preparation for us to start fall. There's no question on the mound that we have skill. We just do not have a lot of experience, a lot of innings of guys that have done it in this arena. So that's what we need to utilize this fall for is to prepare them for that. Do we have a lot of guys with good arms and good physical bodies and things like that? Sure, we do. But there's a lot more that goes into winning a game, knowing how to manage an inning and manage a game that only comes from experience. So, you know, we'll see that, you know, the pitching will shake out and I believe Justin Parker will do a great job of molding them and getting them ready. And then we've got to ultimately figure out who's going to be behind the plate, who's going to play at shortstop, right? Um, and other positions as well. One of the great things about a coaching change for the players is starting tonight, all jobs are open, right? Nobody's guaranteed a starting job. They go, you go out there and win it and compete against each other. And that's ultimately going to draw the be the most out of them and get us the most prepared for the season.

To your point about, you know, the guys not having done it yet, you have several freshmen that highly ranked that come in here and have a lot of potential, but they haven't done it yet. What have you seen early from guys like Jack Bauer and Peter Mershon and (Jacob) Parker and some of those guys that have come in here and had make that transition from high school to this level?

Yeah, those young 18-year-old some of them 19year-old freshman um you know immediately the first 10 days is a little bit of a shock to them candidly, right? and they'd probably tell you they'd tell you the same thing because of the pace the pace in which we ask them to work, right? And then after the first couple of weeks happen, it starts to slow down a little bit for them. So, they're all doing great that, you know, we've seen some things that um you know, Parker Rhodess has a really great arm. The guy can pitch, you know, uh just needs to be get experience, right? Uh you know, Jack Bower's got a great arm. I think Jack is pitching. I think both of those guys are pitching um I believe Sunday. Um so, you know, the more times we can get them out there, the more times that we can get at bats for those young freshman, I see a lot of promise in them because there's a lot of skill. Uh but their eyes will be opened starting tonight because now they're competing and winning matters, right? So, just to give you a little bit of uh background on how this works, our scrimmage games, we will scrimmage 15 times this fall. It'll be five three-game series. So, this first series is Friday, Sunday night, and Tuesday. And then I will switch the teams every three game series. All right? And so, to get them used to uh playing a three-game series, even though they're not three days in a row, um the players will get points if their team wins a game. And even though they're switching teams every three games, ultimately the points will accumulate, and we'll have um an end of the semester dinner where the uh top 50% of the players point getters get stakes, the bottom get hot dogs, right? A little incentive. We'll we will also do some really unique things, okay, that you'll say, well, why is that happening? Uh, so I identify two captains for each team, one position player and one pitcher for each team every three game series. They will actually get to make some decisions in the game. Okay, they'll start to understand maybe it's not so easy sitting in this seat, right? So, uh, for example, in this series, the captains get to choose two innings when their team is up offensively in each game that when the inning is over in an inning that they did not score a run, their team did not score a run. They, the captain gets to tell the team, defensive team, and pitcher, stay out there. All right? and twice they get two innings, they get to have bases loaded, two outs. Okay? So, you'll see an inning end and the team will stay out there and it'll be bases loaded, two outs. They only have to face one batter. The guy either strikes out or he puts the ball in play and whatever happens, the inning's over after one batter. Other than if they walk them or hit them, they have to face another one. So, they either have to record an out or they get a base hit or a home run or whatever and the result of that and they get the runs on the board. I do it to put pressure on them twice a game of pitching and hitting with bases loaded, two outs. Uh the reality is to win college baseball games, you got to get clutch hits, but you also have to be able to manage an inning and get that coveted third out. So, we create some situations like that that will happen and those situations will change each three game series that we kind of add to it and it adds a little bit of something extra and exciting for the players that's a little bit different.

There are a handful of college baseball teams that won't put out rosters in the fall, but we've got one right here. So, what makes you just comfortable doing that and uh instead of, you know, keeping a roster hidden, I guess?

Yeah, I can't speak to why those coaches do that. I'm not judging them. I don't know, you know, why. Um, I've always produced it right away when we started fall. And, you know, I produce it because I want the fans that are sitting in the stands to be able to start to learn and get to know who the players are, right? And so, I've got nothing to hide, right? Um, you know, maybe at some point people did it because they had 55 players on the roster in the fall. I don't know. But, um, this is the way I've always done it, and I will continue to do it. I do need to make uh, one announcement. Okay. Um, and this was the uh, right form to do it in. Okay. Um, I want to let you all know that Ace Reese um had surgery on September 10th. Okay. Um, on his left foot to remove a small bone fragment uh from underneath his big toe. All right. Um, it has been bothering him from quite some time, all the way since the middle of the season last year. Um I believe it was the Texas series that he came out of and didn't play the rest of the weekend. Uh that's what this was, right? And uh Ace consulted with uh several orthopedic foot specialists over the last few months and decided that the right thing to do was to get this bone fragment removed. um he will start ramping up activity in the next four or five weeks and will be uh is expected to be full go by December. So, he will not be out there this fall, right? And uh so I just before we got started and people said, "Well, geez, why isn't Ace Reese playing?" Um he had surgery on that big uh on his big toe on his left foot.