Why Mississippi State Softball’s Transfer Class Ranks No.14
In 2025, Mississippi State rocked the season with a 39-19 overall record and made a postseason run at the Lubbock Regional. All this success came from the help of a senior transfer, Raelin Chaffin, who guided the way in the circle.
Now in the offseason, head coach Samantha Ricketts and her staff are aiming to have the same outcome in the transfer portal as they did with the ace who put up a 3.15 ERA over 191 innings pitched.
To deepen the bullpen, the Bulldogs grabbed three pitchers in the portal and also bolstered the lineup with a catcher and outfielder. Their additions to the 2026 roster landed them No.14 on Softball America’s transfer class rankings.
Here’s a deep dive into the players who are joining Starkville and what to expect in the coming season.
Transferring In:
- Peja Goold (Chattanooga)
- Alyssa Faircloth (Troy)
- Anna Carder (SIU)
- Tatum Silva (Utah State)
- Leila Ammon (Middle Tennessee State)
Peja Goold
The two-time Southern Conference Pitcher of the Year, NFCA First Team All-South Region selection, and 2024 Southern Conference Tournament MVP joins the Bulldogs for her senior year.
In three years at Chattanooga, the righty owns a 2.28 ERA with 95 wins. She has thrown 31 complete games, including 21 in 2025, with 10 shutouts.
In 2025, Goold started 29 games and went 25-7 in the circle. She led the Mocs in ERA (1.69), strikeouts (244), innings (202.2) and batting average against (.173).
"We are thrilled to add an experienced pitcher of Peja's caliber to our pitching staff," Ricketts said in a press release. "It became apparent on her visit to Starkville that she was a great fit for our program and community, and we are eager to get her on campus. Peja will be a great complement to the other pitchers in the bullpen, and her competitiveness and drive to succeed at the highest level are exactly what we were looking for in the recruiting process."
Alyssa Faircloth
The 2025 All-Sun Belt Second Team selection owns a career 3.33 ERA with 23 wins, a .223 opponent batting average, and 197 strikeouts in 208.1 innings of work.
In 2025, Faircloth made 34 appearances with 26 starts, leading the team with 15 wins. She led the Sun Belt in opponents' batting average at .198 and was ranked No.27 nationally in hits per seven innings at 5.01. Additionally, she led the conference with four shutouts and ranked third in the league in strikeouts (150).
"We are thrilled to welcome Alyssa Faircloth to the Maroon and White," Ricketts said in a press release. "She is a power pitcher, and her experience and skill set will be a tremendous asset to our pitching staff."
Anna Carder
The Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year is joining Mississippi State for her senior season. The catcher earned First Team All-MVC honors as well in 2025 after leading SIU with a .390 batting average, which ranks ninth in program history.
Carder held a .617 slugging percentage that ranked eighth in the conference while her 1.114 OPS was fifth in the league. She led the team in doubles with 14 and was third in homers (7) and RBIs (42).
Defensively, she caught nine runners stealing from behind the plate this past season and boasts 25 career runners caught stealing.
"Anna Carder brings a ton of experience behind the plate and another left-handed bat to our lineup," Ricketts said in a press release. "She is a natural leader, and I am looking forward to having her in our locker room and working with our pitching staff."
Tatum Silva
Coming off a First Team All-Mountain West selection in 2025, where she started 48 games in left field and was second at Utah State with a .381 batting average, Silva joins the Bulldogs with two years of eligibility remaining.
Silva led the team and ranked third in the Mountain West with a .491 batting average in conference play while putting up 12 RBIs, nine walks, and five strikeouts.
"We are excited to round out our transfer class with the addition of Tatum Silva," Ricketts said in a press release. "Tatum will provide a ton of game experience to our outfield that is needed after the graduation of Sierra Sacco. She is a savvy left-handed hitter who can find ways to get on base and be a table-setter for our lineup. We are looking forward to working with her soon in StarkVegas."
As a freshman in 2024, Silva made 40 starts and ranked fourth on the team with a .306 batting average while leading the team in stolen bases.
Leila Ammon
In her debut season at Middle Tennessee, Ammon had a team-best 3.12 ERA across 136.2 innings pitched. She struck out 91 batters, held opponents to a .283 batting average, and recorded eight complete games. She even tossed a complete-game outing against Mississippi State to hold them to two runs in March.
Ranked third in the conference in innings pitched, seventh in strikeouts, and seventh in complete games, she landed on the Conference USA All-Freshman Team.
"We are thrilled to add Leila to our pitching staff for the upcoming season," Ricketts said in a press release. "She brings experience and a lot of innings pitched as a true freshman last season to round out our bullpen. I am looking forward to seeing Leila continue to grow in our program and under the guidance of Taryne Mowatt-McKinney."
Nicole Reitz graduated from Indiana University Indianapolis with a degree in sports journalism in 2022 and has been writing about softball and baseball since 2018 .Her work has been published in various publications like Softball America, the Indianapolis Star, and SoxOn35th.
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