College World Series: 3 things to know about Mississippi State baseball's Ethan Small

If college baseball fans haven't seen Mississippi State red-shirt junior Ethan Small pitch, it's advised they tune into Sunday night's game at 6:30 on ESPN2. 

Small is one of the best hurlers in the country with a 10-2 record and a dazzling 1.76 ERA. He's been Mississippi State's starter since the first weekend of the season, and he's been a true ace the entire time. 

Here are three things to know about State's star pitcher. 

1. He has multiple pitcher of the year awards 

Small was named the SEC Pitcher of the Year last month. Just this week, he was named the College Baseball Foundation's National Pitcher of the Year. 

Small became the first MSU Bulldog in program history to receive the latter honor. He's the second Bulldog to get the former, joining Chris Stratton (2012). 

2. He's headed to the Milwaukee Brewers 

Small became the 15th first-round pick in Mississippi State history when he was selected 28th overall by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 2019 MLB Draft. 

Though he still has a year of eligibility left, a slot value of roughly $2.5 million will likely entice Small to leave campus early and turn professional. 

3. His stats are nationally renowned 

Small leads the country in strikeouts with 168. His strikeouts per nine innings of 18.67 is also tops in the nation. 

His WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) of 0.85 is the second-best figure in the NCAA. 

Small heads into Omaha coming off a career-high pitch count of 117 in his 6.0-inning performance against Stanford in the Starkville Super Regional. 

Contact Tyler Horka at thorka@gannett.com. Follow @tbhorka on Twitter. To read more of Tyler's work, subscribe to the Clarion Ledger today!