This week, Mississippi State infielder Gehrig Frei announced that he will be returning to Starkville for the 2026 college baseball season.
He made the announcement on his personal social media accounts on Thursday, August 14.
The 2025 college baseball season was Frei’s first one with Mississippi State. He transferred to the school after playing for the North Alabama Lions.
While at North Alabama, he was a part of the All-Atlantic Sun Freshman team in 2023 and named to the All-Atlantic Sun Third team in 2024.
Last season, he had a .340 batting average, a .397 on-base percentage, 10 doubles, eight home runs, and 17 RBI.
Frei was one of Mississippi State’s top hitters along with Ace Reese and Noah Sullivan.
Reese is also returning to Mississippi State for next season. This means that the Bulldogs have two of their best hitters back for 2026 in head coach Brian O’Connor’s first year.
Frei also played a big part in the Bulldogs finishing as the second-best hitting team in the SEC.
Mississippi State had a .304 team batting average. The Arkansas Razorbacks had a .309 team batting average and were the only team in the conference that was better.
This past season, Mississippi State finished the year 36-23 overall and were 15-15 in SEC play.
They made the NCAA Tournament and were the three-seed in the Tallahassee regional. Their season came to an end in the regional final at the hands of the Florida State Seminoles.
More NCAA News: https://worldbaseball.com/league/ncaa/
PHOTO: Mississippi State infielder Gehrig Frei (34) bats during an NCAA regional baseball game against Northeastern on Friday, May 30, 2025, in Tallahassee, Fla. (AP Photo/Gary McCullough)
