After a lackluster year on the mound, starting pitching was a point of emphasis for Mississippi State. On Wednesday, they landed some help with the addition of Miami’s Karson Ligon.
Ligon, a 6’2” right-hander, started 25 games during his two seasons with the Hurricanes and owns a career 4.86 ERA. Ligon entered the transfer portal back on June 29th and saw a whirlwind of teams reach out. Soon after, he cut his list to four favorites: Georgia, South Carolina, Florida State, and Mississippi State.
"The portal was crazy, man. I wasn't expecting as much interest as I got," Ligon said. "I ended up narrowing it down after four or five days to four schools I wanted to go see and Mississippi State was one of them. It was the last one I saw, and I left there and pretty much had that feeling that I really wanted to go there."
The relationship with new Bulldog pitching coach Justin Parker was also key, and the two hit it off immediately during the car ride from the airport.
"I had a really good chance to get to know him because we had a about a two-hour car drive from Birmingham, he had to pick me up at the airport," Ligon said. "I really got to know him that day and he told me he sees tons of potential in me. He thinks I'm already a great pitcher but he went over a few things in the lab with me, broke down some video, some things that he sees I can get better at. Small tweaks, maybe get a few more miles per hour on my fastball, clean up some things to keep my arm healthy, make my breaking ball sharper, and my changeup more consistent. He sees the vision that I was seeing. He was saying pretty much everything I want to hear from a pitching coach so I knew it was the place for me."
When Ligon stepped foot on campus, he came away impressed with everything from the people involved with the Bulldog program, and of course, the facilities.
"I really can't complain about anything that I saw. Everybody was first class with me and definitely well prepared for my visit. It just showed that they cared and that they spent a lot of time putting this all together for me," Ligon said. "The facilities pretty much speak for themselves. They're probably the best facilities I've ever seen, and the best facilities in college baseball without a doubt."
"The stadium was like something like I've never seen before. All the personality that it has is pretty awesome," Ligon said. "The pitching lab was also great. I've never really been a part of any team that's been looking into analytics or data, so that's gonna be a new thing for me. It's definitely a place I think I can get a lot better because I've never really done anything like that. It's gonna be a like a whole new world I'm going into."
A former top 100 recruit, Perfect Game ranked Ligon as the #83 prospect in the 2021 recruiting class. He was a member of the ACC All-Freshman Team in 2022, making 16 appearances and 15 starts and posting a 6-6 record, 4.90 ERA, 67 strikeouts, 32 walks, a 1.51 WHIP and .274 batting average against in 75.1 innings.
The Sarasota, Florida native’s sophomore campaign was one that was plagued by injuries. For the season, Ligon logged 50.2 innings in ten starts with a 4.80 ERA, 37 strikeouts, 20 walks, a 1.26 WHIP and a .237 batting average against. He carried a 4.25 ERA through seven starts and capped it off with eight shutout innings against Florida State on March 31st, but missed the following three weeks with arm soreness.
Ligon returned on April 23rd and helped the Hurricanes to a win over Georgia Tech with two runs allowed in four innings. He missed the following month with shoulder inflammation and wouldn’t get through three innings in his starts against Wake Forest and Texas in the ACC and NCAA Tournaments.
"I feel good, man. I finally got some rest. I hadn't really gotten any rest during the season, at least not enough to get back to where I need to be. My arm feels back to normal. I've been working with a physical therapist day-in and day-out, really stretching and strengthening my shoulder," Ligon said. "I think if you were to watch back some of my outings early in the season when I was healthy, you'd have no doubt that I'm gonna go and perform. With just another year and being able to work with Coach Parker, I don't see why I wouldn't even perform even better than what I was doing. I feel very confident that this year is gonna be a huge year for me and for Mississippi State."
On the mound, Ligon features a fastball that sits 90-93. He also works in a changeup that he describes as his best pitch and a slider that has taken a jump this past year. Sixty-Four Analytics ranks Ligon as the 97th best player in the transfer portal and the #42 pitcher.
"I'm never gonna leave anything behind. That last pitch is going to be everything I have and same as the first pitch," Ligon said. "My changeup when it’s going is definitely my best pitch. My fastball needs some work, some adjustments with coach Parker, but when it's on it's really on. My slider has made some huge jumps this past year and it's gonna be a huge out pitch for me this next year. I'm more of a three pitch guy but we've talked about maybe adding a fourth pitch. Maybe a two-seam or maybe a sweeper."
Ligon will be draft eligible next summer, and he's confident that after a year with the Bulldogs, everything will fall in to place.
"If I go out and perform and get us back to where we need to be, everything is gonna fall in to place for me draft-wise. The draft is the least of my worries," Ligon said. "If I go out and perform, and get us to the stage we need to get to in Omaha, then that's gonna improve my draft stock as it is, and if I'm gonna be a big part of that team, that's gonna make me a very high draft pick."
Ligon is the second pitcher in Mississippi State’s portal class, joining Young Harris College lefty Nate Lamb. The Bulldogs also added Memphis third baseman Logan Kohler and Pitt catcher Johnny Long III.
