Good morning, Bulldogs! Adam Frazier = Professional Hitter.

What else do we have brewing today?

🎾 Tough test
⚾️ Ring of Honor
🐶 And much, much more!

As a father of three, I can attest there isn’t much as gratifying in life as seeing your children succeed. The happiness and pure joy they have when they are excelling at something they love – there’s just nothing like it.

It’s why earlier this week, when I saw video of John and Stacy Mangum talking about their son and Bulldog legend Jake FINALLY making it to the big leagues, I couldn’t help but be a bit emotional. Their boy’s journey was their journey, too. And how sweet it was that they finally got to see Jake on baseball’s biggest stage after years of youth league, high school ball, college and more than half a decade battling in the minors.

None of us could ever be as proud of Jake as the parents that raised him. However, I think I speak for Bulldogs everywhere when I say Jake’s story has all of our chests poked out a little more these days because one of our own has overcome every single obstacle to make his dreams come true, is making the most of his opportunity and is doing it all like the classy guy he’s been ever since he stepped on campus at MSU as a true freshman about 10 years ago.

There’s always been something special about Jake Mangum. I saw it in his first year in Starkville when he led the Southeastern Conference in batting average on the way to helping the Diamond Dawgs win the league championship, and I saw it all the way through his senior year when he wrapped up his college career with the most hits in SEC history.

But it’s not the numbers and the trophies that make Jake special. Batting .408 as a true freshman was unbelievable. Getting 383 career hits is literally almost unheard of. Only three others in college baseball history have ever had more.

What makes Jake great isn’t his digits, it’s his demeanor. It’s his mindset. It’s his makeup. It’s like he’s been wired to not only be great but also elevate the performance and attitudes of those around him as well.

I’ll never forget a long chat I had with Jake in the spring of 2018. Mississippi State was off to a 2-7 start in SEC play. Things weren’t looking good. He and I were about to give each other our see-you-laters when Jake provided me with one final thought: “Hey Joel, don’t give up on the Dawgs.” Against all odds, that season ended at the College World Series – no doubt in large part because they were led by a dude who simply doesn’t have give up in his DNA.

That’s what makes Jake Mangum so unique. He literally will not quit.

I’ll give you another Jake memory. It’s not one that’s as popular as his many heroics against Ole Miss or his final Dudy Noble hit against Stanford or his record-breaking bloop knock against Georgia. However, it illustrates exactly the player and person Jake is.

I don’t remember the date. I don’t recall the opponent. But Jake hit a harmless pop up in the infield. I was watching the ball and as it settled into the fielder’s glove, Jake had already high tailed it around the bases and was nearly at third. The guy busted his rear end 270 feet around the bases on a routine pop out, just on the off chance an error was made.

From that day on, one of my favorite things to do was watch Jake anytime he made contact at the plate. And you know what? Not one single time did I ever see Jake take his foot off the gas. Every ground ball, fly out – everything – he ran it out. He gave it all he had. Again, he just won’t quit.

It’s a good thing battling is in his blood, because Jake has certainly had opportunity after opportunity to quit the last five or six years. He’s played for three different professional organizations. He’s been traded twice. His minor league days were hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as a few bumps and bruises.

Even when things were going well, for whatever reason, it seemed the big leagues were just out of reach. Last year, Jake led the International League with a .317 batting average but never got the call to The Show.

This past offseason, Tampa Bay added Jake to its 40-man roster, but he still didn’t break camp with the Rays for Opening Day, despite hitting .429 in spring training.

To me, and to many of us in our incredibly biased opinions, it didn’t make a lot of sense. But I’ll tell you how Jake took it because I’ve heard him say it time and time again, including as recently as over the offseason.

“I’m just going to keep controlling what I can control.”

It’s what he’s seemingly done all his baseball life. Jake just stays in the moment and doesn’t let up, confident it’ll all work out.

The perseverance paid off last Friday. After Josh Lowe (the brother of another Diamond Dawg great – Nathaniel) was hurt in the Rays’ first game of the year, Tampa Bay needed help. They turned to Jake. At long last, Jake Mangum was headed to the majors.

He’s already The Mayor of Starkville, and all Jake has done since last weekend is take over Tampa, too. Through the first three games of his MLB career, Jake collected seven hits to tie for the Rays’ team lead. He had a four-hit game on Monday. He had three more hits on Tuesday. Oh, by the way, he also drove in four runs, scored three and stole three bases in that span as well.

Starkville is now sharing Mangum Madness with the Sunshine State.

Back here at home, everyone is watching on with jubilation as one of ours has quickly put himself among the biggest storylines in the early going of this baseball season.

Where will all this go from here? Who knows? But putting any sort of limit on Jake Mangum wouldn’t be wise because until he hangs up his cleats for the final time, whenever that may be, he just won’t ever quit.

We’re so proud of you Jake! Hail State and Rays Up!

(Coleman’s Corner is brought to you each Thursday by Mississippi State athletics senior writer Joel Coleman. A 2007 and 2009 graduate of Mississippi State, Coleman has worked inside and around MSU sports for nearly two decades with prior stops also including the Starkville Daily News and Sports Illustrated.)

🎙️ DEAR OL’ STATE

Dear Ol’ State: No. 12 State Tennis Team Surging Down The Stretch. Ahead of the final two regular season matches of the season, Mississippi State head men's tennis coach Matt Roberts and senior Dusan Milanovic join Joel Coleman to discuss how the Bulldogs are surging down the stretch and eyeing big things in the weeks ahead.

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Tough Test. Mississippi State men’s tennis, up all the way at No. 12 in this week’s ITA team rankings, hosts No. 13 Texas A&M today at 3 p.m. The Aggies are 15-6 overall this season and sit just ahead of the Bulldogs in the SEC standings at 8-2 in league play.

🔼 The Honor Is Yours. Mississippi State will induct the seventh class of the Ron Polk Ring of Honor in a ceremony on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. in the Adkerson Plaza at Dudy Noble Field — Mitch Moreland (2005-07), Ted Milton (1969-72) and the late Mike Proffitt (1969-72) will be enshrined among other Diamond Dawg legends as members of the 2025 class!

🤔 BULLDOG TRIVIA

Surging In Singles. Who leads Mississippi State men’s tennis in singles wins this season?

Got a guess? 

Scroll to the bottom of the Bulldog Brew to see if you know your stuff!

🤝 SHARE THE BREW

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📆 LOOKING AHEAD

Thursday, April 3
🎾 Men’s Tennis vs. Texas A&M @ 3 p.m. | Live Video

Friday, April 4
⛳️ Men’s Golf at Mason Rudolph Championship — Franklin, Tenn.
👟 Track & Field at Pepsi Florida Relays — Gainesville, Fla.
🎾 Women’s Tennis at Texas A&M @ Noon
🥎 Softball at Tennessee @ 5 p.m. | SECN
⚾️ Baseball vs. South Carolina @ 6 p.m. | SECN+ | Listen

Saturday, April 5
⛳️ Men’s Golf at Mason Rudolph Championship — Franklin, Tenn.
👟 Track & Field at Pepsi Florida Relays — Gainesville, Fla.
🎾 Men’s Tennis vs. Auburn @ 1 p.m. | Live Video
⚾️ Baseball vs. South Carolina @ 2 p.m. | SECN+ | Listen
🥎 Softball at Tennessee @ 3 p.m. | SECN
⚽️ Soccer vs. Jackson State @ 5 p.m. (EXH)

Sunday, April 6
⛳️ Men’s Golf at Mason Rudolph Championship — Franklin, Tenn.
🎾 Women’s Tennis vs. Texas @ 11 a.m. | Live Video
🥎 Softball at Tennessee @ 12:30 p.m. | SECN+
⚾️ Baseball vs. South Carolina @ 1 p.m. | SECN+ | Listen

🐶 Click here to see the full Mississippi State Athletics Calendar

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: It’s a three-way tie between Niccolo Baroni, Roberto Ferrer Guimaraes and Benito Sanchez Martinez with 20 singles wins!

🐶 Have a great Thursday, y’all!