STARKVILLE — The last of the inherited talent in the Mississippi State University baseball program has left campus.
Outfielder Brent Brownlee and pitchers Caleb Reed and Nick Routt stuck around through the change from longtime coach Ron Polk to coach John Cohen. There were tenuous times, but the three seniors leave the program in a better place. After the Bulldogs finished with losing records in their first two seasons, the seniors helped lead a resurgence that saw the program make consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.
On Thursday, Cohen took time to reflect about what Brownlee, Reed, and Routt meant to him and to the program.
“I’m really proud of those guys,” Cohen said. “You really wanted to find out when you got here who wanted to grind this thing out and really wanted be good, to buy into every part of what we’re trying to do.”
Even though MSU is expected to have eight returning starters and the majority of its pitching staff back in 2013, Cohen knows the Bulldogs will lose more than three players without Brownlee, Reed, and Routt.
“It’s moments you remember where you say, ‘Wow, Brent and the others have been through some really challenging things,’ ” Cohen said. “There is no doubt in my mind they will gain through those experiences.”
When Polk trashed everything about MSU baseball nearly five years ago and turned what could’ve been a celebratory passing of the baton into a crisis, Brownlee, Reed, and Routt stayed in Starkville to play for a coach who didn’t recruit them.
“I would do anything in the world for those guys because they have shown me at every level they want to be a part of this program then,
now, and forever,” Cohen said. “I can’t tell you the amount of pride and joy I have in reflecting on what those guys have accomplished.”
After Cohen’s first year at MSU, players complained and considered transferring. Some even hated their new coach because of his no-nonsense, physically demanding approach to the game.
“Brent Brownlee was reminding me we did some challenges prior to games and I’d forgotten about these bunting challenges and hit-and-run challenges, and he said they ran 12 down-and-backs in the Palmeiro Center before a game,” Cohen said. “He was right. I remember that. It’s kind of like basketball. If you miss a free throw you go down-and-back. He was like, ‘Coach, that was the most difficult because now when it is your time to bunt and you just ran down-and-backs your focus has to be 10 times sharper when you’re that tired.’ ”
Routt (3-5, 3.80 ERA), who the Cincinnati Reds drafted Wednesday in the 16th round of the 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player draft, went 12-12 with a 4.06 ERA in 50 appearances. He averaged nearly a strikeout per inning pitched, and had 196 strikeouts in 207 innings. He threw five complete games, including a staff-high four
as a freshman when he was named to the PingBaseball.com Freshman All-America team and received Southeastern Conference All-Freshman Team honors.
“I came to Mississippi State to accomplish an individual goal, get drafted, and a team goal: help win a national championship,” Routt said. “We didn’t get the national championship, but the SEC tournament championship was such a great experience and a great memory.”
Reed, a preseason All-America selection by multiple publications, finished his final season with a 2.47 ERA. He closed his career third all-time in appearances (97) and saves (21) despite losing his job as closer to Jonathan Holder, a 2012 SEC All-Freshman team selection.
“I never really saw myself as a Polk recruit or a Cohen guy because in the end it really didn’t matter,” Reed said before the 2012 Tallahassee Regional. “We all came together and decided to leave this place in a better situation than we found it, and that’s the legacy I hope to leave MSU baseball with.”
Brownlee’s final season at MSU was similar to his career at the school. Even though he battled through injuries, the fifth-year senior had a .980 fielding percentage, 11 RBIs, and 12 runs.
Brownlee will marry his longtime college girlfriend and will taken over as a coach at Germantown High School, where his fiancée will teach math and will be the cheerleading coach.
“I told the team during the Southeastern Conference tournament that I’m not looking forward to this season ending because then I’ll have to worry about getting married, buying a house, and worrying about adult things,” Brownlee said. “I’m excited about that next phase of my life and know that what I learned in this process at Mississippi State will help shape my next career on and off the diamond.”
Cohen expects MSU to be ranked in the 2013 preseason top 25 poll for the first time in his tenure and to have a roster filled with more confident faces. He will be able to thank Brownlee, Reed, and Routt for helping the Bulldogs develop that attitude.
“Would you believe four years we’d have a guy (Adam Frazier) coming off Team USA,” Cohen asked. “I want that guy to have confidence. Drawing comparison to my own playing days, our kids were extremely confident because we felt we had all these things that other people didn’t have, like fans (and) like a stadium. I think confidence is a really important thing. Quite frankly, we didn’t have a lot of kids with great confidence when we got here because you didn’t have a lot of reason to be confident.”
n In related news, MSU junior pitcher Chris Stratton was named Thursday to the 2012 Capital One Academic All-America Division I Baseball Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
Stratton, with a 3.81 grade-point average in kinesiology, is a second-team selection and is one of only two baseball athletes from the Southeastern Conference honored. University of South Carolina pitcher Michael Roth and Stratton represent the SEC on the 33-player first-, second- or third-team honor units.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.