Cowbell Corner

Bulldog Roundup: Mississippi State basketball teams set for SEC Media Day appearance

Your daily briefing on what's going on with Mississippi State Athletics
Taylor Hodges|
Mississippi State Head Coach Sam Purcell during the game against California at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, CA.
Mississippi State Head Coach Sam Purcell during the game against California at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, CA. | Mississippi State Athletics

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Mississippi State Bulldogs

SEC Tipoff ’26 is in full swing and both Mississippi State men and women basketball teams will get their turn in the spotlight on Wednesday.

Men’s head coach Chris Jans will hold his press conference at 9:35 a.m. and women’s head coach Sam Purcell will go on at 10:35 a.m. Both press conferences will air on SECN+.

Jans will be joined by Josh Hubbard, Jayden Epps and Shawn Jones Jr. at SEC Media Day in Birmingham, Ala.

Purcell will be joined by Chandler Prater, Kharyssa Richardson and Madison Francis.

Prater is one of only two returning Mississippi State players this season. Richardson arrived in Starkville after playing at Ole Miss last season.

Francis is a true freshman and was part of what is widely considered to be one of the best high school recruiting classes Mississippi State's women's basketball has ever signed.

The media’s preseason predictions and All-SEC teams were announced at the start of the two-day event. You can read the men’s version here.

The Bulldogs were predicted to finish 10th in the SEC (the same prediction their men counterparts received), but didn't have any players named to either of the preseason All-SEC teams.

Here’s the media’s predicted order of finish from the SEC’s women basketball teams as well as the preseason All-SEC teams.

2025-26 SEC Preseason Media Polls

Predicted Order of Finish

  1. South Carolina
  2. Texas
  3. LSU
  4. Tennessee
  5. Oklahoma
  6. Ole Miss
  7. Vanderbilt
  8. Kentucky
  9. Alabama
  10. Mississippi State
  11. Florida
  12. Georgia
  13. Missouri
  14. Texas A&M
  15. Auburn
  16. Arkansas

Preseason Player of the Year

Madison Booker, Texas

Preseason All-SEC First-Team

Flau’Jae Johnson, LSU
Reagan Beers, Oklahoma
Joyce Edwards, South Carolina
Madison Booker, Texas
Mikayla Blakes, Vanderbilt

Preseason All-SEC Second Team

Clara Strack, Kentucky
Mikaylah Williams, LSU
Cotie McMahon, Ole Miss
Ta’Niya Latson, South Carolina
Talaysia Cooper, Tennessee
Rori Harmon, Texas

Yesterday’s Results

Women’s Tennis: ITA Southern Reginal Championships, Auburn, Ala.

Today’s Schedule

No games scheduled.

Did You Notice?

Daily Dose Of Mike Leach

There's shouting, there's blood, there's boogers, there's a whole thing. I mean, there's spitting, there's fighting, there's ripped jerseys. There's someone grabbing someone's throat. I mean, it's why you have football.
Mike Leach

We’ll Leave You With This

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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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