Mississippi State wore 8 uniform combinations in 2021; this was one more than the 7 worn in 2020, one fewer than the 9 worn in 2019, and equal to the 8 worn in 2018.

National Champion Mississippi State's 2021 Baseball Uniforms
​In 2021, Mississippi State wore 2 hats, 7 jerseys, 6 pants, and 8 total combinations. In a remarkable accomplishment, every single uniform element finished with a winning record. Both hats, all 7 jerseys, all 6 pants, and all 8 combinations finished the season with more wins than losses. Aside from the National Championship, that might be the most impressive feat that this team accomplished; not only did they win, but they won consistently, with no major losing streaks or fatal flaws.

In the 11 seasons for which I have the data (2011-2021), this is the first time that Mississippi State has achieved this milestone. The 2019 team came close, as no uniform elements had a losing record that season, but the gray pinstripes were right at .500 with a 4-4 record. I imagine the feat was accomplished several times in the early Polk years; for example, the 1985 team finished 50-15, the 1989 finished 54-14, and the 1990 team finished 50-21. Those those teams only had 2 or 3 different uniforms, so mathematically, it's pretty likely that each uniform had winning record those seasons. To have as many uniforms as State had this season and maintain a winning record in all of them is a really impressive feat, and one that we may not see repeated for a while.

Ranking the 2021 National Champions' Uniforms
In the past I've done a series of polls to determine fans' favorite uniforms in various sports, but for baseball this season, I decided to take a different approach- and I think it turned out pretty well.

A week after the National Championship victory, I asked my Twitter followers to provide their personal rankings of Mississippi State's 7 baseball jerseys. From the 31 validly formatted replies and quote tweets that I received, plus my own personal rankings, I tallied up the votes and created the official fan ranking of the 2021 National Champions' uniform lineup.

General Thoughts on the 2021 Uniforms / Looking Forward to 2022.
In addition to being the 2021 National Champions, Mississippi State also has the best uniform lineup in college baseball. That is a claim that I've made for several years now- but it's more true now than it has ever been. The attention to detail and consistency from Coach Lemonis and Director of Baseball Operations Roger Rodeheaver is second to none; these guys really care about getting every small detail right, and we are incredibly lucky to have them here at Mississippi State. It's absolutely no surprise that this staff was the one to bring Mississippi State its first team National Championship in any sport- they approach everything they do with professionalism, right down to less important aspects like uniforms that many coaches would completely disregard.

​The consistency of this year's uniform set is really the most impressive thing about it- it's a level of consistency that you rarely see in college uniform sets, where uniforms come and go from year to year. All 5 non-pinstripe jerseys feature double stripes and the M over S logo on the sleeves. These jerseys were introduced over the course of three seasons, so it's not like it was one rebrand that was designed at once; it displays a consistent eye for detail that's been maintained each offseason when designing new uniform additions. The two pinstripe uniforms feature an identical design with the M over S logo on the left chest and state outline on the back; this addressed the lack of jerseys with the M over S on the chest that I noted in the 2020 season recap. All seven of the Bulldogs' 2021 jerseys feature the iconic M over S logo on either the left chest or right sleeve. From a branding perspective, you can't ask for anything better.

Looking forward to 2022, I would expect a few changes as always, but I expect a large part of the Bulldogs' 2021 uniform lineup to remain intact. There are two changes that I think are very likely for 2022:

Adding Player Names to the Maroon 85s
Player names were added to the white 85s this season, and I think it worked well and looked great. The maroon 85s were the only non-pinstripe jersey in 2021 to not feature player names, so bringing them in line with the rest of the set in that regard is something that I expect to happen.

Removing the Black Pants From the Lineup
Mississippi State first wore black pants for one game in 2015 before bringing them back on a more consistent basis in 2018. They were worn to an undefeated 10-0 record in 2019, but their 4-3 record in 2021 was much less fortunate, especially considering that they finished the season on a 3-game losing skid, including a 9-1 loss in a Super Regional. It's hard to imagine the all-black look sticking around after that; options going forward are to completely ditch black, keep the current black jerseys but pair them with white/gray pants, or to re-design the black jerseys with white/gray pants in mind. Or- it's possible that they continue to roll with the current look despite its lack of success this season. I just don't find that very likely- the all-black look has always been a polarizing one, with many only tolerating them because the Bulldogs won in them so frequently. With that notion gone, the likelihood of it sticking around is slim at best.

I expect all of the Bulldogs' other looks- the white 85s, cream script "State", gray script "State", white "M over S" pins, and gray "M over S" pins- to stick around unchanged for another season. Before we know it, that season will be here, and Mississippi State will take the field as the reigning National Champions for the first time ever. What a glorious time it will be.

After years of waiting, watching team after team find success but fall just short, it finally happened. The one thing for which Mississippi State fans have been longing- the one thing that Mississippi State's storied baseball program lacked- it finally happened. Mississippi State has won a National Championship. After dropping Game 1 of the 2021 CWS Championship Series, the Bulldogs absolutely demolished Vanderbilt in Games 2 and 3 to claim the first national championship in school history, in any sport. It was a joyous and emotional experience for all Mississippi State fans across the globe. I was lucky enough to be able to attend all 13 of the NCAA Tournament games, including all 7 played in Omaha; watching Mississippi State win a National Championship was an experience I'll never forget.

As the #4 National Seed, Vanderbilt was the designated "home" team for Games 1 and 3, while the #7 National Seed Bulldogs were the "home" team for Game 2. As a result, the Bulldogs wore the gray script "State" jerseys as the "away" team in Game 1, the classic white 85s as the "home" team in Game 2, and the classic maroon 85 jerseys and white pants as the "away" team in Game 3. In Mississippi State's only prior National Championship Series appearance in 2013, the Bulldogs wore white pinstripes in Game 1 and maroon 85 jerseys with gray pants in Game 2, so all three looks worn in this year's series were making their National Championship Series debut.

The gray script "State" jerseys were making their second appearance in Omaha and third appearance in the 2021 NCAA Tournament. They'd previously been worn in the regional championship-clinching victory over Campbell and the 2-1 win over Texas in the CWS opener. The loss to Vanderbilt in the opening game of the finals series was the Bulldogs' first of the NCAA Tournament in gray; it was only the second time that the Bulldogs had ever worn the look in a loss, with the other being against Tennessee in the SEC Tournament. The gray script "State" jerseys, which despite only being in their second year of service are one of State's best looks, finished the 2021 season with a 7-2 record and 2-1 record in the 2021 NCAA Tournament; dating back to 2020, the look is now 8-2 overall. The Bulldogs finished 2021 with an 8-2 record in gray pants, wearing them exclusively with the gray script "State" jerseys, with the exception of the season opener, in which they were paired with the maroon 85 jerseys.

The classic white 85s have long been a staple of Mississippi State's uniform lineup. On Tuesday, they made their long awaited debut in the National Championship Series as they were worn in State's first ever CWS Championship Series victory. Mississippi State defeated Vanderbilt 13-2 while wearing their most classic home look to advance to within one win of a National Championship for the first time ever. The white 85s have been my favorite Mississippi State baseball uniform for a long time, so it was really cool to see them finally worn on college baseball's biggest stage, especially in such a huge win. With the victory in Game 2 over Vanderbilt, the classic white 85s finished the 2021 season with an 11-2 overall record, including a 4-0 record in the NCAA Tournament and a 2-0 record in Omaha. The Bulldogs were absolute money in the white 85s this postseason; if there was any doubt as to whether or not this look was going to be around for a long time, there shouldn't be any longer.

With a national championship on the line on Wednesday, there was really only one uniform option for Mississippi State- the most iconic look in Mississippi State Baseball history and one of the most iconic looks in college baseball history: maroon 85 jerseys and white pants. With the dominating 9-0 victory, the maroon 85s became THE uniform worn when Mississippi State finally hoisted the National Championship trophy, which is just so incredibly fitting. Wednesday's championship-clinching victory was the 20th College World Series game in which Mississippi State had worn maroon jerseys, and the 14th in which they had worn the "maroon 85" design. There wasn't a more appropriate look for the Bulldogs to have finally won the championship in; you couldn't have drawn it up any better from a branding perspective. The maroon 85 jerseys finished the 2021 season with a 14-5 record, including 13-5 when paired with white pants, 4-1 in the NCAA Tournament, and 2-1 in Omaha.

What a run it was for Mississippi State in 2021. The Bulldogs were a top-10 team seemingly all season, and they capped it off by bringing home the first National Championship in school history. I absolutely love this graphic put together by the athletic department: Mississippi State has the best fans, best ballpark, best atmosphere, best fits, best player, best coaches, and the best team in college baseball. I'll let the subject matter experts in each category hash out the accuracy of those statements (though I don't think you'll find any inaccuracies)- but I do know this: we do indeed have the best fits. The way that Coach Lemonis and staff have cultivated a classic look with consistency and uniqueness throughout is almost as impressive as the great teams that they've put on the field. In addition to being the reigning National Champions, Mississippi State has the best uniforms in college baseball, and that's not changing anytime soon.

For graphics like the one above regarding Mississippi State's Postseason Baseball Uniform History, check out the page dedicated to just that.

That does it for the weekly recaps of this historic season; I'll have a season recap out later this month detailing this season's uniform changes and storylines. I have a feeling it will be the most exciting one ever to write. Dawgs in 3. Dawgs Win Again. Hail State.

For the second time in program history, Mississippi State baseball is headed to the National Championship Series!! In their third consecutive trip to Omaha, the Bulldogs beat Texas, beat Virginia, lost to Texas, and then beat Texas again to advance to the Championship Series against Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs became the first and only team to clinch a National Championship berth on the field since 2019.

Mississippi State's run began on a Sunday Night, as the #7 National Seed Bulldogs took on the #2 National Seed Texas Longhorns. Will Bednar (15 K) and Landon Sims (6 K) combined to break the College World Series record for strikeouts as Mississippi State won 2-1 to advance to the winner's bracket. As the road team, Mississippi State wore the gray script "State" jerseys in the win. The look improved to 7-1 on the season, 2-0 in the NCAA Tournament, and 8-1 overall with the victory. Will Bednar improved to 5-0 when wearing the gray script "State" jersey; Willy B has absolutely shoved on the road this season, and that record is a great reflection of that.

After Sunday's win, the Bulldogs improved to 4-0 in opening round games at TD Ameritrade Park; State has advanced to the winner's bracket in four consecutive CWS trips, wearing a different uniform color each time: maroon (2013), white pinstripes (2018), black (2019), and gray (2021).

On Tuesday, Mississippi State took on Virginia in a winner's bracket matchup. The Bulldogs lost the coin flip and were once again designated the "away" team. With Friday Night pitcher Christian MacLeod on the mound, the Bulldogs elected to go with the classic maroon 85 over white look that MacLeod had worn in a majority of his starts. Even though MacLeod's start didn't go as planned, the Bulldogs still fought back and got the win, with a stellar performance from the entire bullpen and a 5-run 8th inning. That 8th inning included: a 2-run bomb from freshman Kellum Clark that broke up a no-hitter, a 3-run go-ahead bomb from SEC Player of the Year Tanner Allen, who had been hitless in Omaha up to that point, and an RBI single from the NCAA active hits leader, Scotty Dubrule, which provided some vital insurance. With the win, the Bulldogs improved to 13-4 in the classic maroon 85 jerseys in 2021, including 12-4 when paired when white pants and 3-0 in the NCAA Tournament.

On Friday, the Bulldogs once again faced Texas, needing to win one to get to the Championship Series but having to lose twice to be eliminated. On a rainy night in Omaha, the Bulldogs tied up the game in the 8th, but quickly gave the lead back up and, after a lengthy delay, dropped a game in Omaha for the first time. As they have in every single Friday game this season, the Bulldogs wore the classic maroon 85 over white look in the loss. It was only the second time this season that the Bulldogs had worn the same uniform in back-to-back games; the first was when the white 85s were worn in both games of a doubleheader against Texas A&M. With the loss, the maroon 85s dropped to 13-5 on the season, 12-5 when paired with white pants, and 3-1 in the NCAA Tournament.

In a winner-take-all bracket championship game against Texas on Saturday, Mississippi State was the designated "home" team, and as such broke out the classic white 85s for the first time in this year's College World Series. It was the first time that Mississippi State had worn the white 85s against Texas since, well, 1985. That game was famously disastrous for the Bulldogs; Saturday's matchup was an opportunity to finally avenge that loss. The Bulldogs took advantage of that opportunity, ending Texas's season and advancing themselves to the National Championship on a walk-off hit from Tanner Leggett. The win improved the white 85s to 10-2 in 2021, including 3-0 in the NCAA Tournament. It was only the second time ever that the Bulldogs had won a College World Series game in solid white jerseys; the other was the opening win in 1985 against Oklahoma State.

One of the biggest takeaways from this week? Landon Sims is Texas's father. Sims pitched against the Longhorns in the season opener, the CWS opener, and in the winner-take-all CWS bracket championship game that ended the Longhorns' season. Sims's line in those three appearances: 9.2 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 15 K, 2 W, 1 SV. Absolutely dominant. The man started their season off with an L, handed them their first L in Omaha, and then ended their season. He even did so in three different uniforms (maroon 85 over gray, gray script "State", and white 85s). An absolute legend.

Next, Mississippi State will take on Vanderbilt in a three-game series with the National Championship on the line. It will be the Bulldogs' second National Championship Series appearance; they previously faced UCLA in 2013. The matchup with Vanderbilt is a rematch of the 2018 Nashville Super Regional, which the Bulldogs won in 3 games and is often considered the greatest Super Regional of all time. It is also of a rematch of a series played earlier this season, as the Commodores won 2 out of 3 against the Bulldogs in Nashville. In their win in game 2 of the series on Saturday, Mississippi State handed Jack Leiter his first career loss; Leiter will be on the mound opposite Christian MacLeod on Monday.

After a year off, one of my favorite yearly traditions returned in 2021: College World Series Roundels!

This is something I've done every year since State's 2013 National Championship appearance; 2021 is the 8th year of the series, and the 4th in which I've had the privilege of including Mississippi State. You can check out the full collection below:

2021 College World Series Roundel Logos

For the third consecutive postseason, Mississippi State baseball is headed to the College World Series! The Bulldogs battled Notre Dame in the 2021 Starkville Super Regional, dogpiling at the end of a winner-take-all game 3 as they clinched the 12th trip to Omaha in program history.

In addition to being their third straight, it was the Bulldogs' fifth Super Regional championship in program history, bringing them to an even 5-5 in their 10 Super Regional appearances. In all 10 of Mississippi State's Super Regionals, the winner of game 1 has won the series and advanced to Omaha. Seven of the ten ('00, '01, '07, '13, '16, '17, and '19) have been completed in 2 games; the 2011 Gainesville Super Regional was won by Florida in 3 games, while the Bulldogs won both the 2018 Nashville and 2021 Starkville Super Regionals in 3 games. The 2021 Super Regional was the fourth to be held in Starkville; it was the third Starkville Super Regional won by the home team, and the first to go a game 3.

The Super Regional got off to a great start on Saturday afternoon, which a back-and-forth affair that ended with a 9-8 Bulldog victory. The game featured an excellent uniform matchup, with the Irish in their green jerseys and hats and the Bulldogs in their classic white 85 look. It was the first time that State had worn white in a Super Regional since game 2 of the 2017 Baton Rouge Super Regional, and the first time that the Bulldogs had won a Super Regional game in white since game 1 of the 2007 Starkville Super Regional against Clemson. With Saturday's victory, the white 85s improved to 9-2 in 2021 and picked up their second win of the 2021 postseason.

In Game 2 on Sunday, Mississippi State did something that it had not done since March. It broke out the Sunday Blacks, looking to clinch a trip to Omaha while wearing All-Black for the third consecutive postseason. The Bulldogs had started off 2021 with 4 consecutive wins in All-Black before back-to-back losses to LSU and Arkansas put the look back in the closet. Entering Sunday's game, All-Black was 4-2 on the season, 2-0 all-time in Super Regionals, and 5-1 in NCAA Tournament games. You can now tack on an extra L to all of those records, as Notre Dame controlled Game 2 from start to finish, evening the series with a 9-1 victory.

The All-Black look still holds an impressive overall record at 25-7 all-time and 16-4 in its current iteration. Still, after three straight losses including a Super Regional drudging, they certainly won't be back this season and may not return again, at least in their current form. I don't necessarily expect it to go away forever- after all it was worn in two Super Regional victories and another in Omaha during 2018 and 2019, so at the very least it may re-appear as a "throwback" down the line. But it seems that its days of being the every-week Sunday look are over- which I'm all for, as it means more appearances for the Bulldogs' other incredible uniforms.

On Monday, Mississippi State was back school colors tonight, breaking out the classic maroon 85s for the winner-take-all game 3. The Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead and held on the rest of the way, finishing with an 11-7 victory and another Omaha dogpile! It was the Bulldogs' first Omaha dogpile in maroon jerseys since the 2013 Charlottesville Super Regional; in the Super Regional era, Mississippi State has now clinched three Omaha trips in maroon ('07, '13, '21) and two in black ('18, '19). With Monday's victory, the classic maroon 85s improved to 12-4 in 2021, including 11-4 when paired with white pants.

The next time that the Bulldogs take the field, they'll be wearing the College World Series patch. There's no better sight. See you in Omaha!

For the fifth postseason in a row, Mississippi State has advanced to a Super Regional. The Bulldogs defeated Samford, VCU, and Campbell to sweep the 2021 Starkville Regional and advance to the 2021 Starkville Super Regional, in which the #7 national seed Bulldogs are set to take on the #10 national seed, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

In the opening game against Samford, the Bulldogs wore the classic maroon 85 jerseys with white pants, as they have in every single Friday game this season. Wearing maroon in the opening game of the regional was a return to form of sorts after wearing white in the opening game of the 2019 regional; the 2021 regional joins 2005, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018 as regionals in which the Bulldogs have worn maroon in the opening game. With the 8-4 win over Samford, the maroon 85 jerseys improved to 11-4 on the season, including 10-4 when paired with white pants.

For the winner's bracket matchup with VCU, Mississippi State won the coin toss and was the designated "home" team; as such, they broke out the classic white 85s for the Saturday Night affair. Though the inverted version of the white 85 design was worn in the 2016 and 2017 regionals, this marked the first time that the Bulldogs had worn the traditional, non-inverted white 85s design in a 4-team regional. The classic look had most recently made an NCAA Tournament appearance against Vanderbilt in Omaha in 2019. As the Bulldogs out-slugged VCU by a score of 16-4, the white 85s improved to a stellar 8-2 on the season.

On Monday against the Campbell Fighting Camels, the Bulldogs were the designated "away" team. As a result, they wore the gray script "State" jerseys, which were making their NCAA Tournament debut. In fact, it was the first time that Mississippi State had ever worn solid gray jerseys in a 4-team regional game. The last time that the Bulldogs had worn solid gray in the NCAA Tournament was in the 1997 CWS against Alabama. Since then, the only gray jerseys that State had worn in the NCAA Tournament were the gray pinstripes, which were worn in vest form in the late '90s / early '00s and in regular form more recently, being worn in a total of 6 postseasons games in 2016 and 2018 to a 4-2 record.

With the regional-clinching victory over Campbell, the gray script "State" jerseys improved to 6-1 on the season and 7-1 all-time, dating back to their debut last season at Long Beach.

Overall, just as they have all season, Mississippi State's uniforms looked absolutely incredible this weekend. The Bulldogs have the best and most complete uniform set in the country, and that was on full display this weekend. The classic maroon and white 85s and the gray script jerseys are some of the best that the Bulldogs have to offer; it's just awesome that we are able to roll out consistently great looks, especially when postseason play rolls around.

Mississippi State's five consecutive regional championships account for the nation's longest currently active streak. The streak began in 2016, when the Bulldogs swept the Starkville Regional, defeating Louisiana Tech in the regional final while wearing the inverted white 85s. The inverted white 85s were also worn when the Bulldogs clinched the 2017 Hattiesburg Regional with a win over Southern Miss a year later. The gray pinstripes were worn in the 2018 Tallahassee Regional as State eliminated Oklahoma to advance to a Super Regional. In 2019, the Bulldogs wore their all-black look in a Sunday Night victory over Miami to complete the sweep of that year's Starkville Regional. Finally, the gray script "State" jerseys were worn in Monday's win over Campbell to sweep the 2021 Starkville Regional.

In each of the five regionals, Mississippi State has played and defeated each of the other three teams in the regional. The 2016, 2019, and 2021 Starkville Regionals were all sweeps in which the loser of the opening 2/3 game fought their way back to the regional championship, just to lose to the Bulldogs. In both of the two road regionals, 2017 in Hattiesburg and 2018 in Tallahassee, State actually lost its first game and had to four straight elimination games to advance, eliminating each of the other three teams along the way.

In total, the Bulldogs have won regional games over fourteen different schools over the past five postseasons: SE Missouri State, Cal State Fullerton, Louisiana Tech, Illinois-Chicago, South Alabama, Southern Miss (x2), Florida State, Samford (x2), Oklahoma (x2), Southern, Central Michigan, Miami, VCU, and Campbell. The only two teams to hand State losses during that stretch are South Alabama and Oklahoma, both of whom were later eliminated by the Bulldogs in the subsequent days. Currently, Mississippi State has a 10-game winning streak in regional games, dating back to Elijah MacNamee's walk-off win over Florida State in 2018. The Bulldogs will officially take that streak into 2022- and hopefully will extend it even farther into the future.

For more on Mississippi State's postseason baseball uniform history, check out the page dedicated to that very topic.

Mississippi State's 2021 SEC Tournament appearance was one to forget, as the Bulldogs were run-ruled twice and swiftly exited the tournament.

As the 3 seed in the tournament, the Bulldogs received a first round bye and played their first game on Wednesday morning, facing 6 seed Florida, who had beaten 11 seed Kentucky the morning prior. As the "home" team, the Bulldogs wore the classic white 85 jerseys against the Gators. It was the second straight SEC Tournament in which the Bulldogs had worn the white 85s in the opening game; the classic look was also worn in the late-night 17-inning win over LSU in 2019. With the loss to Florida, the white 85s suffered their second loss of the season, falling to 7-2 overall.

In an elimination game on Thursday morning, the Bulldogs faced 2 seed Tennessee, a fellow 20-win regular season team who had been upset on Wednesday. State was the "away" team against the Volunteers, and as such wore the road gray script "State" jerseys. As the Bulldogs lost to Tennessee and were eliminated from the tournament, the gray script "State" jerseys suffered their first loss ever, falling to 5-1 on the season and 6-1 all-time.

The 2021 SEC Tournament broke a streak of at least 13 tournament appearances in which State had worn maroon jerseys. Similarly, it was the first in over 10 appearances in which the Bulldogs had worn light gray jerseys. For more SEC Baseball Tournament uniform history, check out the Postseason Baseball Uniform History page.

Mississippi State has been one of the nation's top college baseball teams throughout the entire 2021 season- that continued to be the case as the regular season came to a close this weekend with the Bulldogs sweeping Alabama in Tuscaloosa to finish with a 20-10 record in SEC Play and a 40-13 record overall.

The Bulldogs' last home game of the 2021 regular season was a midweek bout with Jacksonville State on Tuesday. Though it was shortened by rain, the game did reach the 5 inning threshold to count as an official game, with State claiming the win by a score of 6-1. The win improved the cream script "State" jerseys' record to 6-3 on the season.

For the second time in three seasons under Chris Lemonis, Mississippi State finished 2021 with a perfect record in midweek games. The Bulldogs' 11 midweek wins were split among four different uniforms, with 4 wins in the cream script "State" jerseys, 3 wins each in the white 85s and white M over S pinstripes, and 1 win in the gray M over S pinstripes.

The series in Tuscaloosa was the Bulldogs' first road Thursday-Saturday series of the season; just as they had in their two home Thurs-Sat weekend series, they kept their Friday uniform the same, bumping the usual Saturday uniform up to Thursday and shifting the usual Sunday uniform to Saturday. For a road series, this meant bumping up the gray script "State" jerseys to Thursday, keeping the maroon 85 jerseys with white pants on Friday, and shifting the gray M over S pinstripes to Saturday.

As the Bulldogs swept the series, all three of those uniforms got a nice bump to their season records. The gray script "State" uniforms are still​ undefeated, with a 5-0 record in 2021 and a 6-0 all-time record that dates back to last season's series at Long Beach. The maroon 85 jerseys improved to 10-4 on the season, including 9-4 when paired with white pants. The gray M over S pinstripes broke a two-game road SEC game 3 losing streak, improving to 3-2 to finish the regular season with a winning record.

With the gray pinstripes getting back over .500, every single one of the Bulldogs' 2021 uniform elements finished the 2021 regular season with a winning record. That's every combination, every hat, every jersey, and every pair of pants. Which really illustrates just how special this baseball team has been.

Finally, with the 2021 regular season coming to a close, it's time to assign jersey number models for the Bulldogs' 8 combinations. Throughout the regular season, both on the Hail State Unis Database and in my season-to-date graphics, every uniform has been using the #21 jersey- that of hitting coach Jake Gautreau. Now, it's time to spread the love among the Bulldogs' top contributors.

• White 85: #4 Rowdey Jordan
• Maroon 85 over White : #23 Landon Sims
• Maroon 85 over Gray: #28 Christian MacLeod
• Black 85 over Black: #6 Kamren James
• Cream Script "State": #3 Scotty Dubrule
• Gray Script "State": #24 Will Bednar
• White M over S Pinstripes: #5 Tanner Allen
• Gray M over S Pinstripes: #19 Logan Tanner

Mississippi State entered the weekend squarely in the race for the SEC regular season championship. They left it with one less thing to worry about. Missouri, who had the worst record in SEC entering the weekend, stunned Mississippi State by competing hard in all three games and winning two of them to take the series.

The Bulldogs' midweek matchup with UT Martin was rained out, so the weekend series against Missouri was their only baseball activity of the week. The Missouri series was State's second Thursday-Saturday series of the season. They wore the exact same uniform rotation that they had in the first (an early April sweep of Kentucky): white 85s on Thursday, maroon 85s with white pants on Saturday, and white M over S pinstripes on Saturday.

With the series-opening win on Thursday, the white 85s improved to 7-1 on the season. The classic look has been one of the Bulldogs' most successful this season; only the gray script "State" jerseys (4-0) have a better winning percentage.

After the loss on Friday, the maroon 85 jerseys dropped to 9-4 on the season (8-4 when paired with white pants). The rubber match loss on Saturday was the first ever in this year's new white M over S pinstripes, which fell to 5-1 on the season.

Mississippi State took a tour of the Palmetto State this week, taking on The Citadel in a midweek game before playing South Carolina in a road SEC weekend series. The road trip was a successful one, as the Bulldogs cruised against the Citadel and won the first two against the Gamecocks to claim the series, finishing the Palmetto State tour with 3 wins.

State’s first and only road midweek game of 2021 was on Wednesday at The Citadel, the alma mater of Head Coach Chris Lemonis. Lemonis’ homecoming was an all-around success, as State rolled to a 10-2 victory.

The gray pinstripes were the Bulldogs’ uniform of choice for the road midweek matchup; had the Bulldogs not decided to ditch the all-black look on Sundays, this probably would’ve been the debut game of the updated gray pinstripes. As is, it was their third appearance of the season, and the win got them back above .500 to 2-1 on the season.

In the weekend series at South Carolina, State went with the exact same uniform rotation that they had in their last two road SEC series (at Auburn and at Vanderbilt). That rotation consists of three elite looks: maroon 85 jerseys with white pants on Friday, gray script “State” uniforms on Saturday, and gray pinstripes on Sunday.

Friday’s win improved the maroon 85 jerseys’ record to 9-3 in 2021, including 8-3 when paired with white pants. Saturday’s series-clinching victory extended the gray script jerseys’ undefeated streak; they’re 4-0 in 2021 and 5-0 all-time, dating back to their debut last season at Long Beach.

The gray pinstripes dropped back to .500 on the season, at 2-2, after Sunday’s extra-innings loss. Worn on both Wednesday and Sunday this week, the gray pinstripes become the first uniform of 2021 to be worn on multiple days in the same week. Last weekend’s doubleheader against Texas A&M, in which the white 85s were worn in both games, was the first time in 2021 that a uniform had been worn in more than one game in the same week.

With as many great baseball uniforms as Mississippi State has, there’s been so many opportunities to spread the wealth, and that’s a great thing. But it was cool to see the gray pins get some extra love this week, even if the second appearance was in a losing effort. We’ve now seen the gray script and gray pinstripes 4 times each this season; they should both be worn once more in the regular season, at Alabama in two weeks, bringing the total for each up to 5. Both gray uniforms are equally great in my opinion, so I’m very happy to see them both getting a solid amount of game action.

Mississippi State returned home to Dudy Noble Field this past weekend, taking on the Texas A&M Aggies. Since the Aggies joined the SEC in 2012, this series had generally been dominated by the road team, with State taking three of four series in College Station (13, 17, 19) and A&M winning all three series in Starkville (14, 16, 18). This season, however, with the Aggies struggling and the Bulldogs a top-5 team in the nation, seemed like a prime opportunity for State to finally win the battle of the SEC West's two maroon and white teams as the home team. That is exactly what happened, as the Bulldogs won on Friday Night and then swept a Saturday doubleheader to sweep the Aggies three games to none.

With finals taking place earlier this week, there was no midweek action, so the series with A&M was the only baseball activity of the week for Mississippi State. On Friday Night, the Aggies got up early, but State fought back to force extra innings. In what ended up being a 12-inning, nearly 5 hour long ballgame, Tanner Allen had the walk-off homer to give the Bulldogs the victory. The maroon 85s improved to 8-3 on the season with the win; they're 7-3 when paired with white pants.

With rain forecast for Sunday, a doubleheader was scheduled for Saturday afternoon to finish up the series. This was the first doubleheader of the season for Mississippi State. It was actually the first doubleheader in nearly two calendar years; the last one was on May 4, 2019, coincidentally at Texas A&M. Unlike that doubleheader, which was a split, this one was all Mississippi State, as the Bulldogs won 3-2 and 10-5 to complete the sweep.

Historically, Mississippi State has gone back-and-forth on whether or not to change uniforms in-between doubleheader games. Years where they always kept the same uniform on for both games include 2011, 2014, 2016, 2019 and 2021. Years where they always changed jerseys and/or pants in-between games are 2012, 2017, and 2018. In 2013 and 2015, there were some instances where they did change and some instances where they didn't. The shortened 2020 season did not feature any doubleheaders.

To simplify it even further: under John Cohen, it was pretty much a toss-up as to whether or not uniforms would be changed in-between doubleheader games. Under Andy Cannizaro and Gary Henderson, there would always be a change (with two exceptions- both of which were in the 2017 postseason). Under Chris Lemonis, the Bulldogs have always worn the exact game uniform for both games of a doubleheader.

That was the case in Saturday's doubleheader, as the Bulldogs wore the classic white 85 uniforms in both games. With the two victories, the white 85s improved to 6-1 on the season. They have now been worn in more victories (6) this season than any other uniform except for the maroon 85s (8).

This upcoming week, the Bulldogs travel to South Carolina, where they will take on The Citadel, alma mater of Coach Lemonis, in a midweek matchup before taking on the South Carolina Gamecocks in an SEC weekend series. I'm intrigued to see what uniforms the Bulldogs go with for the matchup with The Citadel, as it is the first (and only) road midweek game of the season. It could be an opportunity for the black jerseys to re-appear, or we could simply see one of the weekend uniforms twice in one week.