Parker Picked As National Freshman Of The Year Finalist
May 27, 2026 | Baseball
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State outfielder Jacob Parker has been selected as one of five finalists to be Baseball America's Freshman of the Year.
Parker has had a phenomenal rookie season for the Diamond Dawgs and was selected to the SEC's All-Freshman Team last week. The Purvis native has appeared in 48 games and drawn 39 starts where he's hit .315 with nine doubles, a triple, 13 home runs, 51 RBIs and seven steals.
Parker's numbers were just as impressive during SEC play where he was MSU's third-leading hitter with a .318 average to go along with six doubles, a triple, seven homers, 23 RBIs and a pair of stolen bases. He earned SEC Freshman of the Week on March 23 and was also selected as a Midseason Second Team Freshman All-American by Perfect Game.
The 6-foot-3, 220-pounder is joined by Texas' Sam Cozart and Anthony Pack, North Carolina's Caden Glauber and Stanford's Teddy Tokheim as finalists for the award. Baseball America will named its Freshman of the Year on June 11.
Rafael Palmeiro is the only Bulldog to be named Freshman of the Year by Baseball America in 1983. J.T. Ginn (Collegiate Baseball, Perfect Game) and Christian MacLeod (Collegiate Baseball) were also tabbed National Freshman of the Year by other outlets.
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