For years, Michigan State baseball had been criticized heavily for not making the NCAA Tournament and rarely even making the Big Ten Tournament under head coach Jake Boss.
The Spartans have won 469 games in the Boss era, but they’ve only recorded a .474 winning percentage in Big Ten play during that span. That’s inexcusable for a program like Michigan State that doesn’t exactly have a shortage of funds to turn things around.
So when Boss was extended earlier this week, there were plenty of people, including myself, who were left scratching their heads and wondering what the heck he did to earn an extension.
Michigan State hadn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2012 and have only made six Big Ten Tournament appearances since then. It’s been quite the tournament drought for the program, and after the extension, it felt like that mediocrity was only going to continue in the 2026 season.
So far, most of us have been wrong.
Boss and the Spartans went on the road to face No. 8 Louisville in their first series of the season, and so far, they’re 2-0. Michigan State picked up a 4-3 win over the Cardinals on Friday afternoon to open the 2026 campaign, and then followed that up with a 13-4 win over Louisville on Saturday.
According to 11Point7 College Baseball on X, this was the highest-ranked series win in the Boss era which is an incredible stat considering it’s taking place during the first weekend of the season.
Jake Boss may have gotten a second wind
Signing an extension on Thursday only to turn around and pick up back-to-back road wins over the No. 8 team in the country with a chance at a series sweep over the following 2-3 days is a pretty good sign as a coach. The fanbase was hesitant to celebrate the extension because MSU baseball has been mediocre for years, but maybe he’s finally turning the program around.
It’s too early to tell.
Boss has just two winning seasons since COVID-19, and he hasn’t had back-to-back winning seasons since 2016 and 2017. It’s been a fairly rough road for Boss and the Spartans on the diamond.
Signs of life are there, but let’s hope this isn’t just a flash in the pan.