Inaugural Diamond Dawg Classic Set For Friday
November 06, 2025 | Baseball
STARKVILLE – Dudy Noble Field will be the place to be Friday night as dozens of Mississippi State greats and thousands of faithful fans descend on the Carnegie Hall of College Baseball for the Farm Bureau Diamond Dawg Classic powered by The Bulldog Initiative.
Two of the biggest legends to ever don the M-over-S, Will Clark and Rafael Palmeiro, return to their alma mater to manage two squads of fellow MSU baseball alums aptly named Team Thunder and Team Lightning.
First pitch for the seven-inning contest is slated for 7:15 p.m. and will be streamed live on SEC Network +. Gates will open at 5:30 p.m. with pregame festivities beginning at 6:35 p.m. Standing room only tickets remain available, and a clear bag policy will be in place.
There are more than 50 Bulldogs that played or are currently playing professionally participating in the event, including 17 that reached Major League Baseball. Among those are seven MLB All-Stars, six first round draft picks and four World Series champions. There will also be 41 players that reached the College World Series during their careers at State including nine members of the 2021 national championship team, 17 All-Americans along with several unannounced special guests.
Team Thunder
Manager Will Clark
Assistant Coach Jeff Brantley
Assistant Coach Scott Clark
Assistant Coach Trent Intorcia
Assistant Coach Chris Stratton
Assistant Coach Bobby Thigpen
2B Thomas Berkery
RHP Ben Bracewell
SS Jet Butler
2B Travis Chapman
OF Brad Cumbest
RHP Todd Doolittle
SS Adam Frazier
RHP Zac Houston
OF Connor Hujsak
OF Reid Humphreys
RHP Keegan James
RHP Preston Johnson
OF Jake Mangum
LHP Ross Mitchell
1B Tyler Moore
1B Mitch Moreland
OF Hunter Renfroe
LHP Nick Routt
OF Jaron Shepherd
C Dustin Skelton
OF Brayland Skinner
RHP Blake Smith
C Wes Thigpen
2B Brandon Turner
RHP Aaron Weatherford
Team Lightning
Manager Rafael Palmeiro
Assistant Coach Jonathan Holder
Assistant Coach Paul Maholm
Assistant Coach Konnor Pilkington
Assistant Coach Jay Powell
Assistant Coach Landon Sims
SS Luke Alexander
1B Tanner Allen
RHP Jacob Billingsley
OF Kellum Clark
OF Jeff Flagg
C Marshall Gilbert
RHP Cole Gordon
C Luke Hancock
OF Grant Hogue
RHP Devin Jones
OF Dakota Jordan
OF Elijah MacNamee
LHP Zach Neff
SS Jonathan Ogden
RHP Peyton Plumlee
1B Connor Powers
RHP Spencer Price
OF Hunter Renfroe
RHP Brandon Smith
3B Russ Sneed
2B Hunter Stovall
3B Nick Vickerson
RHP Colby White
