While year one of the Brian O’Connor era in Starkville ended short of advancing to the College World Series, one of the Mississippi State skipper’s best young players has been named National Freshman of the Year by Perfect Game.
Jacob Parker, a Purvis native who turned down an early start in MLB to play for O’Connor, became the fourth Bulldog and first since Christian MacLeod in 2020 to earn a National Freshman of the Year award. Before that, J.T. Ginn won the Perfect Game honor in 2019.
Parker wrapped up his freshman campaign with three hits – two of which were home runs – and four RBI in Mississippi State’s two-game super regional against Georgia last weekend. He finished the season with a .339 clip from the plate with 18 home runs and 62 RBI.
In the process, Parker broke the program record for most home runs by a freshman and finished second on the team in the category. The outfielder added 10 doubles, one triple, and seven stolen bases.
In addition to his Perfect Game honor, Parker was also tabbed as a Freshman All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, Freshman All-SEC, and the Most Outstanding Player of the Starkville Regional.
Parker could pull in another honor this week when Baseball America announces its Freshman of the Year recipient on Thursday. He is one of five finalists, alongside Texas pitcher Sam Cozart, North Carolina pitcher Caden Glauber, Texas outfielder Anthony Pack Jr., and Stanford outfielder Teddy Tokheim. The only other Bulldog to ever win the award is Rafael Palmeiro, who did it in 1983 before later going on to play 20 seasons in the MLB.