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Mississippi State Continues NCAA Run, Hosts Regional As Top Seed

Mississippi State continues its postseason consistency, hosting NCAA tennis regionals for the eighth time in program history.
Taylor Hodges|
Mississippi State's Michal Novansky during the 2026 SEC Tournament match between the LSU Tigers and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at the Mitchell Tennis Centre in College Station, TX.
Mississippi State's Michal Novansky during the 2026 SEC Tournament match between the LSU Tigers and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at the Mitchell Tennis Centre in College Station, TX. | Mississippi State Athletics

Starkville is getting familiar with NCAA tennis in May.

For the eighth time, and now for the fourth year in a row, Mississippi State will host the opening rounds of the NCAA Men's Tennis Championships at the A.J. Pitts Tennis Centre. At this point, it is less of a novelty and more of a routine stop on the postseason map.

This year’s setup is straightforward. Mississippi State comes in as the No. 5 overall seed and opens regional play Friday at 1 p.m. against Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles. Earlier that morning, No. 2 seed Wisconsin Badgers faces No. 3 seed Samford Bulldogs at 10 a.m. The two winners meet Saturday afternoon with a Sweet 16 spot on the line.

Nothing about Mississippi State’s presence here feels accidental. The Bulldogs bring in 22 wins, which ties for the fifth-most in program history, along with 11 conference wins in the Southeastern Conference. Both numbers reflect a team that has been steady from January through April.

The bigger picture is just as telling. This is the program’s 15th straight NCAA tournament appearance and its 34th overall. That kind of consistency is hard to ignore, especially when paired with recent results. Mississippi State has reached at least the Round of 16 in each of the past three seasons, and last year’s run pushed into the quarterfinals for the first time since 2018.

Individually, the roster has the kind of recognition you would expect from a top-five seed. Benito Sanchez Martinez leads the way as the 2026 SEC Player of the Year and a First Team All-SEC selection. He is joined on the first team by Petar Jovanovic, while Mario Martinez Serrano and Niccolo Baroni landed on the second team.

The matches shall be regulation dual matches. Three doubles matches consisting of six-game sets will be played for one team point, followed by six singles matches, each valued at one team point; played the best of three sets. No-ad scoring will be used and a seven-point tiebreaker (first to seven points, must win by two points) will be played at six-games-all. The team winning four or more team points advances in the championship bracket.

During the championship, all matches will be stopped after the doubles point is decided. All remaining individual matches will be stopped once a team winner (four points won) has been determined. The score will only reflect completed matches.

Twenty-seven conferences receive automatic qualification into the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship. Each conference and its automatic qualifier are listed below.

Taken together, it paints a clear picture. Mississippi State is not just hosting again. It is hosting with expectations.

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Taylor Hodges
TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas, but he was taken to Razorback pep rallies at Billy Bob's Texas in Fort Worth before he could walk. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.

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