Mississippi State fans were probably hoping to still be seeing the Bulldogs playing at this point in the season, but an early ending to a disappointing year has allowed Chris Lemonis and his staff to get out on the recruiting trail and pick up a commitment from Samford outfielder Colton Ledbetter.

Ledbetter is the second transfer to commit to the Bulldogs, as Mississippi State added All-AAC First Team pitcher Landon Gartman from Memphis last week.

MISSISSIPPI STATE TRANSFER TARGETS | MISSISSIPPI STATE ROSTER TRACKER

As a freshman in 2021, the Hoover, AL, native played a minor role for a Bulldog club that reached its way to an NCAA Tournament appearance in the Starkville Regional. In 55 at-bats, Ledbetter posted a .271 batting average, .779 OPS, and 5 RBIs.

This season, the 6'1" 201-pound outfielder had a breakout season, earning 2nd Team All-SoCon Honors, and hitting for a .318 batting average, with a .407 on-base percentage in 211 at-bats. The sophomore led Samford with a .640 slugging percentage, 1.047 OPS, and 57 RBIs. The lefty showed some pop in his swing as well, hitting 16 homers which led the team and put him tied for 4th in the Southern Conference. Ledbetter also impacted the base paths, stealing 14 bases in 17 attempts, and walked more than he struck out drawing 30 free passes and fanning just 28 times.

Ledbetter has played all three outfield spots during his career but has primarily served as a left fielder.

One thing that both of Mississippi State's transfer commits have in common is that they've had the chance to compete against Mississippi State. The Bulldogs traveled to Hoover to play Samford back on May 10th, and Ledbetter made his name known to Chris Lemonis as he went 2-3 with a walk at the plate and scored 2-runs on the bases as Samford topped Mississippi State 8-6

With Mississippi State projecting to lose Brad Cumbest in the MLB Draft and Matt Corder and Brayland Skinner both entering their names into the transfer portal, Mississippi State is in dire need of outfielders, and they've kicked off their rebuild in a big way by adding a projected starter in Ledbetter.