STARKVILLE — Mississippi State’s starting rotation will feature a different look next season.
That much was made clear on Friday, when it was announced the Preston Brown, a junior who served as MSU’s Friday night starter for half of the Southeastern Conference season, has chosen to leave MSU’s baseball team and focus on medical school.
Brown, a right-hander from Germantown, Tennessee, was 5-8 with a 4.77 earned run average in 14 starts as a junior. He led MSU in wins.
“”That really wasn’t a surprise for me,” said MSU coach John Cohen. “He’s such a good student. I know medical school is in his future. That’s what he wants to focus on. I really respect that.”
Brown won his first three starts in 2015 before scuffling for the remainder of the season. He was shuffled back in MSU’s weekend roatation halfway through the season, ceding his Friday night spot to senior Lucas Laster. With Brown’s departure and Laster’s graduation, MSU loses two of its three weekend starters from a team that finished 24-30 and came in last in the SEC.
Brown was 4-3 as a sophomore with a 3.00 ERA. That season was derailed by an arm injury that sidelined Brown midway through the season.
“He’s a young man that had to battle through some arm injuries, he really wants to focus on the opportunity of medical school,” Cohen said. “That didn’t blindside us.”
Only rising junior Austin Sexton remains from MSU’s starting rotation for next season. Sexton was 4-4 with a 3.77 ERA in 13 starts.
n Fenter signs: MSU lost its third — and perhaps final — signee to the Major League Baseball Draft on Saturday. Gray Fenter, a right-handed pitcher from Memphis, signed a professional contract with the Baltimore Orioles.
Fenter, a seventh round pick, signed with the Orioles for $1 million.
He joins former MSU signees Austin Riley (Atlanta Braves) and Greg Pickett (Philadelphia Phillies) as MSU signees that opted for the professional ranks. That leaves the Bulldogs with 19 of 22 signees eligible to join next year’s team.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brandon Walker on Twitter @BWonStateBeat
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