Just one month after Peyton Fowler landed a major opportunity with Mississippi State, he wasn’t so sure about his future.
The Meridian Community College pitcher got an offer from pitching coach Justin Parker in the middle of the season, but head coach Chris Lemonis was fired in April and that created uncertainty. While Parker did an admirable job and took the Diamond Dawgs to postseason, there was no guarantee that the new coach would keep him on staff.
Brian O’Connor would be the choice and Parker would soon be named his pitching coach. Fowler then began to look towards his future with State from there.“Whenever Lemonis got fired, the coaching staff sent us all a text and told us they’d keep us in the loop. I reached out to coach Parker, and he told me he’d let me know and then, boom, coach O’Connor was hired,” Fowler said. “Coach Parker texted me a week after and told me that he was staying and that was huge for me. I don’t think we could have hired a better coach than coach O’Connor and I’ve talked to coach (Kevin) McMullan and coach (Matt) Kirby and those guys are great as well.”
Visit to Starkville amazes talented pitcher
After the first wave of roster management was taken care of by O’Connor and the staff, they brought in high school and junior college commitments to get a firsthand look at the new staff. Fowler was blown away with his future coach.
On top of that, it was a chance for him to see Starkville and Dudy Noble Field. It reaffirmed his feelings about the place.
“I got a chance to meet coach O’Connor and it was awesome. He’s a really good dude and a really good person. He told me he liked my competitiveness,” Fowler said. “The visit was just surreal. We had a chance to eat on top of the Lofts which was an amazing view. The visit was just great and it felt more real because we’re so close to the time we’re on campus. I was so impressed with how kind and genuine the whole staff was.”
Just one month after Peyton Fowler landed a major opportunity with Mississippi State, he wasn’t so sure about his future.
The Meridian Community College pitcher got an offer from pitching coach Justin Parker in the middle of the season, but head coach Chris Lemonis was fired in April and that created uncertainty. While Parker did an admirable job and took the Diamond Dawgs to postseason, there was no guarantee that the new coach would keep him on staff.
Brian O’Connor would be the choice and Parker would soon be named his pitching coach. Fowler then began to look towards his future with State from there.
“Whenever Lemonis got fired, the coaching staff sent us all a text and told us they’d keep us in the loop. I reached out to coach Parker, and he told me he’d let me know and then, boom, coach O’Connor was hired,” Fowler said. “Coach Parker texted me a week after and told me that he was staying and that was huge for me. I don’t think we could have hired a better coach than coach O’Connor and I’ve talked to coach (Kevin) McMullan and coach (Matt) Kirby and those guys are great as well.”
Visit to Starkville amazes talented pitcher
After the first wave of roster management was taken care of by O’Connor and the staff, they brought in high school and junior college commitments to get a firsthand look at the new staff. Fowler was blown away with his future coach.
On top of that, it was a chance for him to see Starkville and Dudy Noble Field. It reaffirmed his feelings about the place.
“I got a chance to meet coach O’Connor and it was awesome. He’s a really good dude and a really good person. He told me he liked my competitiveness,” Fowler said. “The visit was just surreal. We had a chance to eat on top of the Lofts which was an amazing view. The visit was just great and it felt more real because we’re so close to the time we’re on campus. I was so impressed with how kind and genuine the whole staff was.”
Parker identified Fowler and saw a player that had a needle pointing directly up in his development. After playing his high school baseball at Germantown, Fowler slipped under the radar and went to Meridian Community College.
