Noah Sullivan brings old school mentality to State roster

There’s something old school about Noah Sullivan.

It could be the mustache that Sullivan sports, but it is also the fact that he has done a little bit of it all during his career. In three years at USC-Upstate, Sullivan was tasked with performing in a variety of roles as a position player, hitter and a pitcher.

Transferring to Mississippi State hasn’t changed that much, outside of the fact that Sullivan won’t be counted on quite as heavily as he was at his last school. With the Diamond Dawgs, he’s going to do whatever the team needs him to do to succeed.

“Whatever it takes. Wherever I’m needed – whether that’s in the middle of the order, at the top or at the bottom, it doesn’t matter,” Sullivan said. “On the pitching side, whatever they decide what the best fit is for us and will help us win the most games.”

Sullivan coming off breakthrough season with USC-Upstate

Sullivan was just about everything for his USC-Upstate team. In three seasons, Sullivan batted .313 with 152 hits, 22 home runs, 20 doubles, 113 RBI and 78 strikeouts in 486 at bats. He battled through an injury as a sophomore in 2023, but came back last year to have a career season with a .324 average, 66 hits, 17 homers, eight doubles and 56 RBI with 37 walks to 31 strikeouts.

He earned Big South Freshman of the Year honors and was a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American in year one. Last season, he was named first-team All-Big South in his return after dealing with his injury in year two.

On the mound, Sullivan was an incredible 15-1 for three years having 29 appearances with 17 starts. He had a 3.95 ERA with 120.2 innings pitched, 40 walks and 93 strikeouts. Though he started last year for USCU, he’ll be used when needed on this deeper State staff.

“He’s probably not a guy you use every other day. He’s a guy that may give you a three-inning stint, but you’re getting a mature, older guy,” Lemonis said of Sullivan. “I think the only loss of his career, if I’m not mistaken, was Kentucky and he lost to them last year. He’s just had a lot of success. The stuff is good. We got guys with a little better stuff, but the makeup and pitchability is really high. It’s just toughness on the mound.”

Sullivan prides himself in competing on the mound and reiterated that his stuff isn’t going to best some of the Bulldogs’ top pitchers. He expects that if his name is called this year, it will be in the bullpen and he’ll be ready to go to battle if he gets the ball.

Where Sullivan can help the Bulldogs the most is at the plate. He’s hoping to translate a great junior season last year to life in the SEC and could factor into State’s plans as the Designated Hitter. So far, he’s gotten great feedback from longtime assistant Jake Gautreau and the coach has let him get comfortable in his own skin.

“Coach Gaut is really good at being hands off. He knows how to push the right buttons and when to step back and just watch,” Sullivan said of Gautreau. “The biggest thing has been finding the mental aspect. He’s been really good with that and fine tuning some small things but still letting me be who I am.”

What Sullivan has been is a model of consistency. He puts together competitive at bats and, last year, took leaps in the power department. It’s gotten the talented hitter a leg up on being a constant inside the State lineup.

Being a piece of that unit is nothing to take lightly as the Bulldogs believe they will have an offense that will be deeper and more productive than the last three seasons. Sullivan could be a guy that plays a major factor in it as State gets set to start the season in a few weeks.

“Up and down the lineup, one through nine and even guys that might not be playing every day, are some of the best hitters in the country,” Sullivan said. “We have a really good lineup, we have a really deep lineup. Freshman, seniors it doesn’t matter who we have out there. We have a really good lineup.”