There’s some Ole Miss red and blue in the family tree for Aiden Fancher, but he and his family have grown to love Mississippi State through the years and that love grew stronger this week.
Fancher has grown up in the shadows of Starkville and MSU just down Highway 25 in Louisville. Since he was a young boy learning about the sport of baseball, something was drawing Fancher to Dudy Noble Field. While just a sophomore in high school, he got to put that into motion on Thursday when he committed to play baseball for Chris Lemonis and the Diamond Dawgs.
Since having a huge summer on the diamond, Fancher had begun to pick up interest from Ole Miss, Michigan, Tulane, LSU and Virginia but the Bulldogs and Southern Miss had become most serious. Scott Berry offered a scholarship package on Wednesday and Lemonis was soon to follow on Wednesday night.
That’s when Fancher felt a calling to the Dude.
“We talked for an hour,” Fancher said of his conversation with Lemonis. “Knowing that it’s always been a dream to play in the SEC in front of one of the best fanbases in the country, I had some decisions to make.
“Coach Lemonis had an answer for everything and was really high on academics. I got off the phone and knew I needed to pray about it. I was so close with coach Berry at Southern but Mississippi State was home. I woke up that morning and I said I’ve got to go play at State.”
MSU has become home for the last several years for Fancher who has taken in many games with his family. His dad, Slade, spent many days talking about hunting and supplies with former Bulldog baseball players Hunter Renfroe, Wes Rea, Adam Frazier and MSU signee-turned Atlanta Braves star Austin Riley at the Sports Center store in Starkville.
Eventually, those players hunted with young Aiden and his dad and built a bond. This week they seemed as thrilled as him on his decision.
“We became pretty close with them and I always recognized their Camaraderie as a team at MSU. it was all about the team and never about the individual. That really drew me to loving Mississippi State baseball,” Aiden said. “Wes tweeted at me, Adam commented on my Instagram post, Austin Riley and Hunter sent my dad a message (after the commitment). You don’t realize the support you have until you put something out like that. Them supporting me is big time.”
As for his relationship with the current coaches, that has also been built over time. Fancher first began to recognize MSU’s interest this time last year when he began practicing with Winston Academy.
Assistant coach Jake Gautreau got some film on Fancher and was interested. The two stayed in touch off and on over the last year but Fancher’s summer at the Team USA trials really caught Gautreau and Lemonis’ eyes and they got word of more progress from the Louisville native last week during a workout with the Milwaukee Brewers’ organization.
It’s all been from hard work that Fancher has put in. He played his first high school season last year as a freshman and hit .386 for the Patriots with 13 RBIs and a double in just 17 games due to injury. He also pitched seven times with three saves, throwing 9.1 innings and striking out 14 batters.
“My main thing that I focused on is working hard and getting better day in and day out. My dream was to play at Mississippi State and in the SEC. I know that I can do it,” Fancher said. “I’m scrappy and don’t want to let anything fall in the outfield. I just play my game.”
It was a busy summer after Fancher’s freshman year. He played for Mojo baseball then went to the USA baseball trials beginning at Blue Mountain College, then to South Carolina for the second round and North Carolina for the final round. It was there that 220 players were cut down to 34 and Fancher was invited for a private workout. He earned a spot with 11 other players on the 17U team and will be a part of Team USA next summer.
Fancher has been playing in a fall league at East Central Community College each week and has also had some MLB workouts. He worked out with the Brewers as the youngest player with junior college and 2020 commitments and felt he held his own there. This weekend he’s in Destin, Fla., at an East Coast Pro workout.
Everything that has happened has been thanks to the work that Fancher has put in but he’s not taking it for granted. Now that he’s committed and will play his ball in the SEC, he’s ready to work even harder heading into his sophomore year.
“All glory to God, for sure. If it wasn’t for Him I wouldn’t be here,” Fancher stated. “It’s happened so quick. This time last year it was all a dream.”
