From staff reports

Lubbock, Texas, is quickly turning into Starkville West.

Two Mississippi State baseball greats, Ron Polk and Rafael Palmeiro, will be inducted to the National College Baseball Hall of Fame tonight in the West Texas town. They’re part of a 10-member class, and are the second and third Bulldogs to be inducted since the Hall opened in 2006.

Will Clark, a teammate of Palmeiro’s on Mississippi State’s 1985 team that reached the College World Series, was inducted in 2006.

Polk is the winningest coach in any sport in the history of the Southeastern Conference. He won 1,373 games in a 35-year career and made five College World Series appearances with Mississippi State. He also led Georgia Southern and Georgia to the World Series, making him one of only three coaches to take three different schools to Omaha.

Polk never won a national championship, but did win five SEC titles and made 23 NCAA regional appearances.

Palmeiro was the SEC’s first triple crown winner, posting a .415 batting average, 29 home runs and 94 RBIs in 1984. He is one of only 11 players to be named a first-team All-American three times.

Joining Polk and Palmeiro in this year’s Hall of Fame class are Wichita State outfielder Joe Carter and pitcher Darren Dreifort; Texas pitcher Kirk Dressendorfer and catcher Keith Moreland; Michigan shortstop Barry Larkin; and LSU second baseman Todd Walker.

Vintage Era inductee Branch Rickey, a player and coach at Ohio Wesleyan, and small college inductee Gordie Gillespie, head coach at St. Francis, round out the class.