STARKVILLE — Logan Kohler was rounding first base as the ball cleared the fence in right-center field, and he didn't try concealing his emotions.

He’s a third baseman who came to Mississippi State to provide defensive stability at the hot corner while adding a left-handed power threat to the lineup. So when it’s April 28, your team is playing in a rubber match at Vanderbilt’s Hawkins Field and you launch your first home run of the season, emotions tend to surface quickly.

They did for Kohler, who raised both arms and looked to the sky as the ball traveled 412 feet off his bat. A smile covered his face as he ran toward home where his teammates awaited.

“It’s been a rough year, obviously,” Kohler said. “Just keep chugging along, keep working and good things will happen.”

That trip around the bases carried the accumulation of a frustrating debut season donning the maroon and white.

That jubilation was expected to be a common feeling. Instead, Kohler has dealt with injury – a far-too-familiar obstacle for him – and struggled at the plate. Through it all, coach Chris Lemonis has praised the work Kohler has put in behind the scenes – a trait Tom Kohler credits to the elite talent his son grew up around.

For someone who shared a middle infield with Royals superstar Bobby Witt Jr., he's seen what it takes to succeed. That work is paying off as No. 15 Mississippi State (32-16, 14-10 SEC) opens a series at No. 3 Arkansas (40-9, 17-7) on Friday (6:30 p.m., SEC Network+).

Overcoming injury has been part of Logan Kohler’s journey

Kohler was twice an all-district selection as a quarterback at Little Elm High School – which is no small feat for a school near Dallas. However, his time on the gridiron came with numerous hand injuries.

While serving as the punter, a blocked kick once broke his finger. In another instance while playing receiver in a scrimmage, he broke his hand going down for a ball.

“Unfortunately, we know the orthopedic surgeon on a first-name basis,” his dad joked.

Injuries didn’t keep Kohler from building a decorated youth baseball career. Around the age of 13, he joined D-BAT – one of Dallas’ top travel baseball groups. It was there that he played second while Witt played shortstop on a roster flooded with Power Five talent.

Kohler was among those set to play college baseball at a high level, and TCU was the first school to offer him. However, his mind was made up.

“I’m sorry, he’s just been brainwashed from a really young age,” his dad, a lifelong Oklahoma fan, told TCU’s staff.

Between his family’s passion for OU and Witt’s commitment to play there, Kohler decided he was going to be a Sooner before his freshman year of high school.

How Logan Kohler got from Oklahoma to Mississippi State baseball

While Witt elected to forgo his commitment after getting drafted second overall by the Royals in 2019, Kohler spent two years at Oklahoma – though his true freshman season was tainted by another hand injury in the fall and the COVID-19 pandemic shortening the 2020 campaign. He appeared in 18 games in 2021 before transferring to Memphis.

With the Tigers, he developed into an All-AAC player. He appeared in 107 games across two seasons in which he hit .306 with 17 home runs. In 2023, he got a taste of Mississippi State’s Dudy Noble Field when he hit a home run as a visitor – though the game was negated shortly after due to weather.

Getting a glimpse of one of college baseball’s premier programs made his ensuing transfer decision easy. After entering the portal, when did he know he wanted to go to Mississippi State?

“As soon as Lemonis called,” his dad said.

In his first inning as a Bulldog, Kohler delivered an RBI single against Air Force on Feb. 16. Three innings later, he went down with a shoulder injury while attempting to get a runner at third out on a throw from right fielder Dakota Jordan.

“He was frustrated with that,” his dad said. “He wore a brace for a while. I think he’s finally fully recovered from that.”

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Kohler returned to the lineup less than a week after his injury and had flashes of success, but he struggled to hit over .230. Through 37 games, he hadn’t hit a home run.

That finally changed at Vanderbilt. Since first pitch of that rubber match, Kohler has hit four home runs in five games while collecting eight RBIs.

Mississippi State is nearing its first postseason appearance since 2021. Its transfer third baseman is helping the Bulldogs get there, as Lemonis expected when Kohler committed in the offseason.

“The fact that he didn’t have much power the first half of the season was a little bit of a shock to us,” Lemonis said. “But he’s swinging it well right now.”

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @skrajisnik3.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State baseball: Logan Kohler's surge, Bobby Witt Jr bond