Mississippi State has parted ways with pitching coach Scott Foxhall effective immediately, head coach Chris Lemonis announced Monday.

"While this is a difficult decision because of the tremendous respect I have for Scott as a person and a coach, it is in the best interest of our program," Lemonis said. "I want to thank Scott for his contributions to Mississippi State over the last five years, and I am appreciative of all he's devoted to our program. He has played a significant role on our staff during his time here, including helping us win a College World Series Championship. I sincerely wish Scott and his family the absolute best in the future."

Foxhall has served as the Bulldogs’ pitching coach since 2019 and was in the middle of his 29th season coaching college baseball. Mississippi State has had 13 pitchers selected in the MLB Draft under Foxhall’s watch, including three first-rounders in Ethan Small (Brewers, 2019), Will Bednar (Giants, 2021), and Landon Sims (Diamondbacks, 2022).

Foxhall was named assistant coach of the year by the American Baseball Coaches Association in 2021. During that season, Mississippi State’s pitching staff set an NCAA record with 817 strikeouts on their path to the first National Championship in school history.

Throughout 2022 and 2023, Mississippi State's pitching staff has not met expectations. The 2022 Bulldogs had the lowest ERA at 6.05 while also walking the third most batters in the league with 263. Those numbers were even worse in SEC games with an ERA of 7.50 and a conference-leading 172 walks.

In 2023, Mississippi State’s reshaped its pitching staff with six freshmen, two junior college transfers, and four transfer portal additions but the results did not get any better. With three weeks left in the season, Mississippi State pitchers have an SEC-worst 6.62 ERA and 255 walks, while in conference play they’re pitching for a 9.82 ERA and the third most walks with 126.

"Mississippi State is the premier program in college baseball," Lemonis said. "There's no question our expectations are to be the gold standard of the sport. That has and will always be true. No one is satisfied with the results since our run to a national title not long ago. Starting with me as the leader of our program, I can assure you we are going to continue to work, prepare and compete as hard as possible to put a product on the field that meets the standard of Mississippi State Baseball."