Mississippi State outfielder Jacob Parker is a great early pick for the 2027 Golden Spikes Award, which goes to the best player in college baseball.

The Purvis, Mississippi native just had a fantastic freshman season with the Bulldogs and is due for an equally massive sophomore season. Parker has a real chance to plant his flag as college baseball's best player.

Elite freshman season with Mississippi State

Coming out of high school, Parker was a three-time Max Preps All-American and the number one outfielder from Mississippi in the 2025 high school class.

He garnered some attention from Major League Baseball teams as well. In the 19th round of the 2025 MLB Draft, the Arizona Diamondbacks selected Parker 573rd overall. Parker proceeded to forgo his chance to play professionally straight out of high school. Instead, he embarked on a college baseball career with the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

The decision turned out to be a good one. In his first season with Mississippi State in 2026, Parker showed he was not only a great freshman, but also one of the Southeastern Conference's best players.

He had a .339 batting average, a .449 on-base percentage, 18 home runs, and 62 RBIs. Parker also flashed some speed on the base paths with seven stolen bases in 2026.

The accolades flooded in for the Mississippi State freshman. He was the Perfect Game National Freshman of the Year and also a D1 Baseball and Baseball America freshman All-American. Parker was also a part of the SEC's All-Freshman team.

The freshman outfielder made his presence felt in the postseason. He was a part of the Starkville regional All-Tournament team. In that regional at Dudy Noble Field, he had seven hits, seven RBIs, and three home runs. Parker had a four-hit game in the regional championship-clinching win over the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns on May 31.

Parker was also solid for the Bulldogs during the Athens super regional. He finished with two home runs and had four RBIs in two games against the Georgia Bulldogs.

An important thing to take note of is that Parker's birthday is August 8, 2006. He is currently 20 years old and will not turn 21 years old before the 2027 MLB Draft. Therefore, he is not a draft-eligible sophomore.

Mississippi State, which made it to a super regional in Parker's first year, has a bright future with the outfielder playing for them. Parker's future is also bright at a college baseball program that breeds talent and success.

For more NCAA news: https://worldbaseball.com/news/category/ncaa