Less than a month ago, Gehrig Frei was in the opposite dugout of Mississippi State as his North Alabama Lions were facing off against the Diamond Dawgs at Dudy Noble Field.
The starting third baseman had a hit in an 8-4 loss to State, but he couldn’t help but get emotional having the chance to play in Starkville. Just a few weeks later, Frei is going to have a chance to play 30 plus games there next season.
Frei announced on Saturday afternoon that he intends to transfer from UNA to State to play his junior season with the Bulldogs. He didn’t even need another visit to campus to decide.
“I didn’t get to visit, but the Dude speaks for itself,” Frei said. “It was awesome getting to play there. You don’t experience anything like that in mid major baseball. The baseball environment and culture was just incredible and it’s something that I wanted to be a part of.”
Frei’s relationship with Landon Sims helps sell Bulldog program
While Frei hasn’t been a part of the Bulldog program his first two seasons, he didn’t need much of an introduction.
Former State great Landon Sims went to the same high school as Frei and the two grew up together as they graduated from South Forsythe. While Frei was finishing up his high school career in Georgia, he followed State’s entire run to Omaha and the National Championship as he watched Sims put together one of the great seasons for a Bulldog reliever.
When he entered the transfer portal, MSU was one of the first schools to contact him. He would turn down several SEC opportunities and that included the homestate Georgia Bulldogs.
“It’s been crazy. It’s been stressful, but also exciting,” Frei said. “The amount of phone calls I’ve been on this week has been insane and it’s hard to find time to do anything else. I’m also playing summer ball so I’ve had to balance that out as well.
“(State) contacted me basically right when the portal opened. I talked to coach (Jake) Gautreau and he’s an awesome guy. The next morning, coach (Chris) Lemonis and I had a zoom call and he was great. I fell in love with Mississippi State right then and there.”
Frei brings total package in offensive approach
Frei comes to Starkville after leading UNA in batting average (.320), OPS (1.017), hits (66), runs (51), home runs (15), RBI (49), slugging percentage (.597) and hit by pitch (11). He also walked 25 times on the season and was the most difficult hitter to strike out with 26 K in 206 at bats.
Frei’s home runs, RBI and total bases were the most by a Lion batter since the team moved up to Division I two years ago.
When he gets to Starkville, third base is likely the destination as he will replace Logan Kohler who started most of the year at the hot corner after transferring from Memphis. Frei believes he can play multiple spots and he’s willing to do whatever he can to help.
“I can really play wherever they need me if need be,” Frei said. “I’m going to hit the ball out of the ballpark and get on base. I’m not going to strikeout a whole lot. I’m going to play hard every day and compete. I’m going to try to be the hardest guy to get out.”
As Freid plays his summer ball in Vermont, he can hardly wait to get to campus to start working with his new team.
He’s number one of several transfer portal players the Bulldogs are expected to bring in after the roster begins to take shape for 2025. After two seasons away from the postseason, the Bulldogs made a return this season and Frei believes that it’s just the beginning of State’s resurgence.
“I’m excited for it” Frei said of his new journey. “I know that we’re losing some guys, but the staff here is going to get a lot of guys in and I’m excited for what we can do.”
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