Bright spots came few and far between for the 2023 Diamond Dogs but one thing they could hang their hat on was the emergence of Dakota Jordan. The freshman starred in left field and in the cleanup spot for the Bulldogs and is considered a highly ranked Draft prospect in 2024, but Jordan is no longer with the Mississippi State program after he entered the transfer portal on Tuesday according to D1Baseball.

Jordan, a Canton, Mississippi native was named a Freshman All-American in 2023 and was a potential face of the program going into 2024. The 6’0”, 220-pound outfielder has a powerful right-handed swing and hit .307 with a .397 on-base percentage, .972 OPS, ten home runs, 40 RBI, 25 walks, and 46 strikeouts in 44 games.

During SEC play, Jordan was the team leader with a .333 batting average and 1.083 OPS, and he blasted eight of his ten homers against conference foes. Jordan famously launched a 489-foot home run against South Carolina - the longest homer by a Bulldog this season - and secured a win over rival Ole Miss with a walk-off single.

Jordan’s loss is monumental for multiple reasons. For one, he has a chance to be one of the top players in the country next season. It also means the Bulldogs are likely to lose all three starting outfielders with Colton Ledbetter and Kellum Clark expected to be selected in the MLB Draft.

Mississippi State returns outfielders Connor Hujsak and Bryce Chance, who have both shown to be productive at the collegiate level, but have also combined for less than 100 at-bats against SEC competition.

Other notable transfer portal losses for the Bulldogs are 3rd baseman Slate Alford, who started 40 games and hit .248 with nine home runs, and Lane Forsythe, who made 36 starts and batted .248 with two home runs. Alford is heading to Georgia and Forsythe remains uncommitted.