Good morning! The Cape Cod League is being exposed to the greatness that we saw from Hunter Hines this past season, and we couldn’t be happier about it. He leads the league in both home runs (5) and RBIs (18), which is surprising to exactly zero Diamond Dawg fans.

What else did we throw into the Brew today?

🏀 Sir, Your Order Is Ready
⚾️ The Best Kind of Promotion
🐶 And much, much more!

🎥 HAIL STATE PLUS

Straight To Your Ears. In this episode of Dear Ol’ State, courtesy of HailState+, listen in with Justin Parker as the former Bulldog baseball player recounts his time at State, and what he’s up to nowadays.

🎥 Dear Ol’ State: Introducing Pitching Coach Justin Parker

🎶 Listen on Spotify

🍎 Listen on Apple Podcasts

With HailState+ you get to watch wherever you want to watch. Web, mobile, and (later this year) all major OTT streaming apps like AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, Roku, and Android. We got it all.

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Sir, Your Order Is Ready. The Bulldogs now have a taste of what’s to come after the SEC released its conference schedule for this upcoming men’s basketball season. A quick rundown of what to expect:

• State will play in 18 SEC matchups starting on Saturday, January 6th.

• The home slate features three teams who made last year’s Sweet Sixteen (Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee)

• The Bulldogs will face off twice against both Auburn and Kentucky. The last time that happened was in 2019, and resulted in an NCAA Tournament appearance.

• Game dates and times, as well as TV information, will be released at a later date.

The Maroon and White are one of the nation’s leaders in returning talent, with 80% of its points, assists and steals from last season coming back to the court. Following a single-season record from first-year head coach Chris Jans, he, as well as the rest of the team, will be ready for this season.

🎟️ Submit your season ticket deposit now to reserve your seat for the 2023-24 season.

🔼 World’s Best. With just two months to go before the 2023 World Championships, Marco Arop, has found himself at the top of his event. After accumulating 1,401 ranking points, Arop, the former MSU All-American, is No. 1 in the world in the men’s 800-meter race.

This season, he has clocked the second-fastest time in the world with a race of 1:43.30, which was just four-hundredths of a second form his personal-best. Representing Canada later this year, he will be chasing history for his country as no man has won World Championships golf in the 800-meter for the Great White North.

🔼 The Best Kind of Promotion. These are the moments that every ball player dreams of. Jordan Westburg has grinded his way to the top, and was called up to the Major Leagues to become a member of the Baltimore Orioles.

Westburg becomes the 68th member of the Diamond Dawgs to reach the MLB, and is already the second player this season to be promoted. During his time in the Triple-A affiliate for the Orioles, he proved why he deserved a spot with his .295 batting average, 18 home runs and 54 RBIs. While the exact date of his first appearance is still up in the air, best believe we will be seeing some Westburg highlights soon.

🤔 BULLDOG TRIVIA

Major Leaguers. As you just read, Jordan Westburg has found his way onto a major league roster, and will look to do the same thing he’s done during his time in college and in the pro system, ball out.

Our question today — who was the other former Diamond Dawg to be called up to the MLB this season?

Think you know the answer? Scroll on down to the bottom to find out.

📬 STICK WITH US

Did someone send you the Bulldog Brew? Well, the first thing you should do is thank them. The next thing you should do is subscribe here and get it in your inbox every weekday morning just in time for your first cup of coffee!

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: JP France!

France was called up by the Houston Astros earlier this year and made his major league debut with the team on May 6th. He finished his time on the mound after five solid innings where he allowed just three hits and struck out five batters.

Have a great Tuesday, y'all.