2021 College World Series Friday, June 18, 2021 Omaha, Nebraska, USA Mississippi State Bulldogs Coach Chris Lemonis Press Conference programs in the country all year.

THE MODERATOR: Coach, if you could start with an So we have our work cut out for us. We're confident. We opening statement. know we can play with anybody. But when you get here, everybody's good and everybody's hot. COACH LEMONIS: We've had a good couple days here in Omaha. A fun past two weeks in Starkville, our Regional, Q. Went with Will for Game 1. How confident are you our Super Regional. The atmosphere was unbelievable. with him towing the rubber with that lineup to start off? Getting the opportunity to come back to Omaha, especially after last year, the kids are excited. We have some guys -- COACH LEMONIS: We feel great anytime we have Will on Tanner Allen acts like it's just normal, that's what you're mound. He's one of the top pitchers in the country. He's supposed to do. had a great year. Probably coming off not a great start, anytime he's not had a great start, come back has been But for most of our guys, we're a pretty young team. pretty good. He's probably harder on himself than anybody They're pretty bright eyed and big-eyed right now. And else. Such a competitive kid. It's going to be a great walking into the ballpark today is a dream for so many game. You'll see two of the best pitchers in the country baseball players. tow the rubber on Sunday night. It will be exciting; it will be a lot of fun. I said it last week, when we won the Super, watching our kids dog pile is such an awesome experience. And seeing Q. Even Tanner said there could be nerves when you those guys get the opportunity to go to Omaha. For me, first start and first play at Omaha. How do you keep it I've been a handful of times. But for them to go the first light for some of these younger players? What are time, man, it makes it all worth it. some of the things you do to make sure they can stay loose? Q. This schedule has kind of come full circle. You started out with Texas. Now you see them at Omaha. I COACH LEMONIS: In our environment that we play in all don't know if you've been able to see any recent film the time, you know, as great as our fan base, as great as on them, but just your impressions on them from that our stadium, there's a lot of pressure being a Mississippi season opener to now, how they changed or improved State baseball player. I think our kids have to deal with or anything that sticks out to you about the that all year long. And getting here there is that piece of it, Longhorns? but I think our kids are pretty used to it. We try to play a little light. COACH LEMONIS: We're playing a lot better team than we faced day one of the season. That was kind of a crazy Like I've told our coaches this week, cheer them on and for week, because we had the ice storms and had to share a us to be able to make them feel good about playing the flight with Ole Miss. And I know Austin had been hit real game. That's the biggest thing for us. Then we like to take hard. We'll play a well-coached team, blue blood of college pictures and video shoots and crack up and have a good baseball. They've always been really great. They're great time. I've been harassed a couple of days since we tried pitching and defense, and they're very athletic. So they'll that the last couple of days, we try to keep it loose. We're make you make plays on them; they'll steal bases. Guys not an uptight team. Watching them flying here, they're in that hit it out of the park. But we're going to play. suits. And I have a hard enough time if I give Tanner Allen a shirt two days prior, he'll cut the sleeves off of it. So I saw David earlier. I congratulated him because that first we're one of those teams, shorts and T-shirts and weekend was tough. And then you look up and from about everything else. Probably not real formal. two or three weeks in, they were one of the top five

108921-2-1001 2021-06-19 02:43:00 GMT Page 1 of 3 Q. [Inaudible] to get to this point. year. I like our group. We're tough. They have responded every time. And we're excited to play. COACH LEMONIS: Since we went to COVID, I finished every day and golfed every day and tried to keep sanity. Q. You talk about the players bringing you there, but So it's such a blessing to be back and just to be playing of course it takes a coach like yourself to kind of and we've had the ability to play in front of a lot of fans, a develop, how to keep them consistent over the stretch. sense of normalcy for the kids to be in the program, a How do you sum up your philosophy for developing chance to be here. This is the pinnacle. You're a college talent and grooming it to be competitive year after baseball player, you're a high school baseball player, youth year, and I guess building some of these guys to go to baseball player, you dream about being here. It's a lot of the next level? fun to be back. COACH LEMONIS: That's something we take a lot of Q. What do you remember about Ty Madden? I know pride in, the recruiting process, which is the major step of it's a different team. Not that much of a start, but lately getting to Omaha is the recruiting process. And that's what have you seen from him and what makes him a probably where I get most recognition in my career, as a dangerous pitcher? recruiter. And then we have an unbelievable staff and we have an unbelievable facility set up for player development. COACH LEMONIS: I had a chance because when we matched up I saw a lot of their Super Regional knowing we Jake Gautreau is our hitting coach and Scott Foxhall is our were matched up. I saw a lot of his game last game. pitching coach. You have Kyle Cheesebrough. And we Power, that's what I remember. He blew balls by us. Then have -- we had two first-round middle infielders last year watching him as the years went on. The breaking ball, that weren't drafted out of high school. I don't know if that's lights out. If he gets on that roll, goes to it a lot, and can ever happened. And guys just get better here. We have a get you to swing and miss a good bit. So we're going to great strength and conditioning and nutrition program. have our work cut out for us. Those pieces, that's what we're selling in the recruiting world. And our philosophy is we like athletic players and We'll have to grind and work pitches and get some big hits. we feel like we get them in our environment, and if they're Somebody's got to get a big hit in that game because it's really willing to work and sacrifice, we feel like they'll have going to be a lot of power arms. long careers after Mississippi State.

Q. You took this team to Omaha a few years ago and Q. Want to get your thoughts on the scouting report of now obviously you're back. You got some of those the Texas bullpen. They have four really young guys. guys, but a little bit of new. Do you think your chances A number of them can reach up to 97, 98 miles. What of winning it all this year compared to that year are did you see from them in the last few games? How do heightened or is it kind of tough to say? you think this will be being their first time going to Omaha and really in this playoff playing against you? COACH LEMONIS: Well, first of all, they took me. So when you come here, it's because of the players. So we've COACH LEMONIS: I'd rather have freshmen with mid-90s, been talking about that for the last couple of weeks. It's a breaking balls than seniors at 88. I can tell you, they're player's time. And these two teams are very different but talented. We've watched them. We've watched some of there's a lot of similarities. And so it's hard to tell. Every the TCU series earlier in the year just as a fan and I'm time is new for that individual team. So even though we've really impressed. By this time of the year, when you go been here three times for this group, us being here, it's our through all these stressful weekends, the freshman piece is first. And I know Tanner's been here, Rowdey's been here. kind of -- they're more sophomores than they are freshmen But Cameron James was here, he watched his brother when they pitch in these environments. Obviously play until '18 and '19. But he's never been between the everybody in Omaha new for the first time has pressure. lines. It's going to be new for all of us, but I like our But it's power arms. It's really -- it's really impressive. chances. Q. You talked about that recruiting piece. And I know We've had a great season but we haven't had a perfect you recruit to a fit with a lot of these guys. You might season. We've had tough days and tough weekends and a not be going after a guy that is throwing 96 from the tough tournament and our team has had to be really left side or something. And that's kind of -- resilient. And I think that pays off. We've won a lot of -- it's amazing how many close games we've played, big walk-off COACH LEMONIS: I like that guy a lot. Sorry to cut you hits we've had and that type of resiliency at the end of the off.

108921-2-1001 2021-06-19 02:43:00 GMT Page 2 of 3 Super Regional, conference tournament, watching those Q. Houston Harding is not that guy. They call him a type of things instead of looking back at the first game. bulldog, high school player and all that. What did you They all blend together. So for me to go back to that first see from him in recruiting that you liked and how has game, man, it's really tough. he lived up to what you wanted whenever you recruited him? Q. The last couple of starts for Christian, he's given up, I believe it was, four and six runs. But I remember COACH LEMONIS: If you can measure it in recruiting, the after each of those games you weren't too concerned number one tool you're looking for is toughness. And that's with him, just had a couple of pitches that obviously what Hootie has. He has great stuff across the board. But went -- how confident are you in him heading into this he's a tough kid and he's always won. And so you can see and how would you kind of assess where he's at? the ways that we have used him this year. At the beginning of the year, I mean the first weekend of the COACH LEMONIS: It's kind of funny, like the Notre Dame season Will Bednar gets a crick in his neck and Houston game, he gave up some runs in that game. He wasn't has to start, didn't know he was going to start. And we put happy. But his stuff was actually better than it had been in him in situations and he's prevailed just because of a couple of weeks. And he did give up the home run. We toughness, can come out there in the middle of a storm made the errors in the first to put him behind and put the and calm everything down and make pitches and get guys pressure on him, which was unfortunate. out. So he's not 96, but it's still good stuff. And it's a plus change-up and it's a will to compete. But he's a fly ball pitcher and he's given up probably -- if you had to critique him, he's given up too many home runs Q. Can you take any experiences with you from on the year. But this ballpark's made for fly ball pitchers. playing in Myrtle Beach and also the Citadel with you So I feel good about him running out there. He strikes out into Omaha this weekend, just growing up and things guys. He gives up some balls in the air, and usually the like that? balls aren't flying out of here. They weren't today.

COACH LEMONIS: I was a baseball fanatic growing up. And you never know, maybe the wind turns or something. My time in Myrtle Beach was special. My high school But it's a big ballpark. And when he does get hurt it's in the coach graduated from The Citadel. I moved from Houston, air, and I feel better about him pitching here in this ballpark. Texas -- I was admitted to University of Texas, I was going to try to walk on. That wouldn't have happened in the FastScripts by ASAP Sports heyday. My high school coach talked me into going to The Citadel. It was a path for me -- I got to be part of great teammates, great pals and part of my coaching tree I got to coach with Dan McDonnell. All that goes back to my time at Myrtle Beach and my background there. But it was a pretty cool, when you were going to move in the middle of your high school career, to be able to move to Myrtle Beach; it was all right.

Q. I'm just curious, how do you balance taking away what you saw from this Texas team in Game 1 knowing they aren't the same team that they were back then that they are now?

COACH LEMONIS: We're spending a lot more time on what's happened in the last month than what they did the first weekend. The first weekend of the season, I'm telling you, a lot of us didn't even practice that first week. And Austin was worse than anywhere.

So we're looking at our scouting reports. We had put together really good scouting reports before that weekend. But so many things have happened over the years. So we're spending a lot more time watching the Regional,

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