A New Era in the Booth: Neil Price Takes Over MSU Baseball Broadcasts

For the first time in 47 years, there’s a new Voice of Mississippi State baseball.

Shortly after last month’s announcement that longtime broadcaster Jim Ellis would be hanging up the headset after an incredible career with the Bulldogs, State fans began wondering who would fill his chair. The answer is a familiar voice—football and basketball broadcaster Neil Price was announced this week as Ellis’ successor.

Ironically, Price was initially hired as State’s football and basketball play-by-play announcer because of his baseball broadcasting experience at the University of Kentucky. Former MSU baseball coach and Director of Athletics John Cohen, who worked with Price at Kentucky for several years, was highly impressed with his work.

After nine years, Price has now taken over all three of the “big” sports on campus, assuming a rare opportunity as the new voice painting the Diamond Dawgs’ picture.

“It’s humbling because Jim set the standard,” Price told Maroon and White Daily. “I’ve known Jim going all the way back to 2005, and he’s always been super nice to me—whether I was working at another school in the conference or here. I’ve got big shoes to fill because, in a lot of ways, he’s responsible for the popularity of the program. He helped build it.

“He is as identifiable as Will Clark, Rafael Palmeiro, Bobby Thigpen, and Jeff Brantley. His name belongs in that group, too. I won’t be that, but it’s a good standard to follow because he did it the right way.”

Price makes long-awaited return to baseball booth

While Price is new to the radio booth at Dudy Noble Field, calling baseball is far from a foreign language for the veteran broadcaster. Price began calling baseball games as early as his junior year of high school and started calling college baseball in 2002 with Middle Tennessee.

His first visit to Starkville came in 2003 when he was covering the Starkville Regional with the Blue Raiders. That trip introduced him to the madness of MSU baseball and its legendary coach, Ron Polk. After spending 13 years at Kentucky calling baseball, he arrived in Starkville as the voice of State football and basketball. Now, he’s getting the chance to return to the sport he loves.

MSU also announced that Coach Polk and former State pitcher Jay Powell will remain in the booth as color commentators throughout the season. That’s welcome news for Price as he reacquaints himself with calling the game, now for a legendary program.

“I hope it’s like riding a bike, and after a while, you remember how to do it all over again,” Price said. “It will be different for me, in a good way, working with Coach Polk and Jay because at Kentucky, I did the games by myself. That will be an adjustment, but when you have two people like that—who know as much about this program and the game as you can ever know—it’s a great situation.

“I think I’ll take the same approach with them as I have with Matt (Wyatt) in football and Coach (Richard) Williams in basketball: set them up to talk about what they know so they can be the stars as much as possible.”

Diamond Dawg legends have helped Price along the way

While Price has already come into contact with many MSU legends over the years through his broadcasting journey, one figure played an integral role in helping him understand the program he now represents.

Cincinnati Reds broadcaster Jeff Brantley, a Diamond Dawg legend, crossed paths with Price several years ago. When Brantley found out that Price would be joining the MSU broadcasting team in 2017, he invited him to a baseball game in Cincinnati for the sole purpose of teaching him the ins and outs of MSU baseball.

People like Brantley, Polk, and others have influenced Price’s decision to take this new role. Their kindness has motivated him to be the best he can be in this venture.

“Here’s a guy who is a legend, and he wanted to help me. I talked to him at the Kentucky game a few weeks ago about this very thing,” Price said. “Any reservation I had about it, I always thought about people like Jeff. You’re not just doing it for the fans—you’re doing it for somebody that has been good to you.

“These are people who have shown me a lot of respect and love, and I feel like I owe them. I want to make sure I do a good job for them because they’ve been good to me. I just don’t forget that stuff.”

For Price, it has always been a dream come true to talk sports for a living, but since arriving at State, he has accomplished even more than that.

From telling the stories of legendary players, coaches, and games to running the on-campus radio station, Price has made countless memories. His voice has earned him recognition, as he was recently named this year’s NSMA Sportscaster of the Year for the state of Mississippi.

Now, Price adds the title of “Voice of Diamond Dawg Baseball” to his résumé—an honor he doesn’t take lightly.

“It’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do, and to be able to do it at an SEC school just makes it that much more special,” Price said. “Growing up, I followed SEC sports, and I was certainly aware of Mississippi State. Baseball has always been a big deal here.”