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Cowbell Corner

Mississippi State Softball Sends Another Star to the Pros

Mississippi State ace Peja Goold was selected No. 10 overall by the Oklahoma City Spark in the AUSL College Draft.
Taylor Hodges|
Mississippi State pitcher Peja Goold winds up for a pitch against UT Martin in a game that ended with her first no-hitter.
Mississippi State pitcher Peja Goold winds up for a pitch against UT Martin in a game that ended with her first no-hitter. | Mississippi State Bulldog

Mississippi State has sent another arm to the pros, and it’s one everyone around Starkville figured would get there sooner rather than later.

Peja Goold heard her name called Monday night in the AUSL College Draft, going to the Oklahoma City Spark with the No. 10 overall pick. She becomes the 19th Bulldog drafted into professional softball and pushes the program’s total number of pro players to 29.

That number keeps growing under Samantha Ricketts. Seventeen of those 29 played at least one season for her, and 10th Bulldogs have gone pro in the seven years since she took over. The streak is steady too. Mississippi State has produced at least one pro every season for the last six years.

Goold now joins a familiar pipeline to Oklahoma City. She’ll be the third Bulldog to suit up for the Spark after Chloe Malau'ulu and Fa Leilua played there in 2023. And she’s earned every bit of it. In just two seasons, she’s turned into one of the top pitchers in the country.

She’s third nationally with eight shutouts and sits inside the top 15 in wins, hits allowed per seven innings, and WHIP. Her 2.13 ERA leads the team and ranks among the top 40 in the country.

The numbers back up her status as a top 10 draft pick. She’s thrown a no-hitter, five one-hitters, and tied the school record with three shutouts in SEC play. Opponents are hitting just .177 against her, which would land fourth in program history. She’s also climbed into the single-season top 10 in strikeouts per seven innings.

The AUSL is only in its second year but already expanding to six teams. Goold won’t be the only Bulldog in the league this summer. She joins Sierra Sacco and Mia Davidson, who were both taken in December’s expansion draft by the Portland Cascade.

Sacco helped the Talons win the title last year, while Davidson missed the season with an injury after being selected by the Bandits, who reached the championship series.

All three will open the AUSL season on June 9, and for the first time, teams will play in their home cities.

It’s a good moment for the league, and an even better one for Mississippi State, which keeps sending talent forward and watching them stick.

First, though, Goold will lead Mississippi State into the SEC Tournament on Tuesday. The Bulldogs will face Kentucky in a first round matchup starting at approximately 1 p.m.

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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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