STARKVILLE — Jake Mangum thought he would play college baseball in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
The 2015 prospect, whose father, John, played football at Alabama in the late 1980s, committed to Alabama in 2013, but he changed his mind later that year and committed to Mississippi State.
Outside of an uncle by marriage (2004-06 football strength coach Jim Nowell), Mangum didn’t have a family connection to MSU. His grandfather attended Ole Miss for one year before transferring to Southern Mississippi. Mangum said his grandfather never tried to persuade his father where to go to school and ultimately left the decision up to him.
When it came time to make his college choice, Mangum, who is from the Pearl and attended
Jackson Prep, said his father gave him the same freedom. After cheering for Alabama in football and MSU in every other sport., Mangum chose the Bulldogs.
“It just kind of meant more to me to play in state at such a good program like Mississippi State,” said Mangum, whose picked MSU over Ole Miss and Auburn. “Winning a national championship here is our only goal, and that’s the reason why I came here.”
Mangum and No. 2 MSU (23-9-1) will try to take another step toward that goal at 6:30 tonight when they play host to Memphis (12-20) at Dudy Noble Field. Neither team has announced a starting pitcher.
Even though Mangum chose MSU for its history and a chance to win a national championship, the Bulldogs’ 2015 signing class made his decision easier. As a member of the Dulins Dodgers travel baseball team, Mangum developed friendships with several players who planned to attend MSU, including Luke Alexander, Trysten Barlow, Brent Blaylock, Keegan James, Hunter Stovall, and Ethan Small. That team also included MSU commitments Austin Riley and Gray Fenter, but they decided to turn professional last summer after being selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.
During their time with the Dodgers, Mangum and his teammates developed a chemistry he said he wanted to experience at MSU.
“It let us know we were going to play really, really well together, knowing that we all click and we all understand each others strengths and weaknesses so everybody could back each other,” Mangum said.
Mangum leads MSU with a .437 batting average, and is hitting .533 (16-for-30) in his last seven games. Last week against Tennessee-Martin and Florida, he hit .556 (10-for-18) with three RBIs and scored three runs to earn Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week honors.
“He finds ways to get on, he competes,” MSU coach John Cohen said. “When he swings the bat, he hits balls hard. There’s just not a lot of average fly balls or ground balls for that matter, either.”
Mangum, who was playing right field, has started the last eight games, including the last four in center field. Jacob Robson, MSU’s regular center fielder, has been sidelined with a hand injury he suffered April 1.
Robson, who Mangum called the “best center fielder in America,” is MSU’s second best hitter (.372), but the Bulldogs didn’t miss a beat against the Gators.
“He’s been awesome. He’s been lights out,” MSU junior outfielder Cody Brown said. “To come in as a freshman and play in the SEC the way he has, that’s really special. No one works as hard as he does. We have a lot of hard working guys, but he’s really come in and made a name for himself, and that’s really big moving forward as a team.”
Junior first base Nathaniel Lowe said Cohen has compared Mangum to former Bulldog Adam Frazier, who is playing with the Indianapolis Indians, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ AAA affiliate. Frazier, a 5-foot-10, 175-pound shortstop, didn’t try to do too much when he was at the plate. That is what the 6-foot, 185-pound Magnum has done. With five doubles, one triple, and one home run, Mangum leads the team in slugging percentage (.577) and on-base percentage (.500).
“He has a good plan every time he goes up there and sticks to it,” MSU junior third base Gavin Collins said. “He’s always asking people for information, trying to get information.”
As Mangum gets ready for Memphis and No. 4 Texas A&M as a part of Super Bulldog Weekend this weekend, he said he never has thought about where he would be if he stuck with his original plan and attended Alabama.
Thinking about the alternative doesn’t appeal to him because he’s happy with his decision.
“I love Starkville. It really is home to me,” Mangum said. “This baseball program is just second to none, and I’ve enjoyed every second of it. I’ve never looked back.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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