One of the most accomplished players to wear maroon and white for Mississippi State has turned professional with one of the most famous soccer clubs in the world.
Ally Perry, MSU’s top scorer in both 2024 and 2025, signed with Italian club Juventus this week, making her the 11th active professional player from the program and the ninth pro player from the SEC championship-winning team a year ago.
“The main reason I signed for Juventus was to test myself in this new environment. I see a lot of growth in this opportunity for me,” Perry said in the club’s release. “I’m extremely uncomfortable, but that’s how I know that I will grow. This is a really big challenge and next step for me that I’m excited to try and navigate. The speed of play is something that I’m going to have to learn how to get used to, but I already know that. Just going into this chapter knowing it’s a little different here, the style of play and how different it is both tactically and technically, is something that I am looking forward to transitioning into.”
Perry was approached by the Italian champions last year after the SEC championship campaign, but decided to stay for a graduate senior season with the Bulldogs before going pro. She returned as a team captain, setting team highs with eight goals and eight assists. Perry also scored the winning goals in MSU’s two wins over Top 10 opponents, beating No. 10 Wake Forest 2-1 and No. 1 Tennessee 3-2.
“I think that everyone has more they can improve on to be more successful in the next level,” Perry told The Dispatch about her decision to stay another season. “I saw things I wanted to get to the best of my ability at before taking the opportunity at the next level. Being in a leadership role is something that will really help me … having this experience and just continuing to grow myself on and off the field.”
Perry ranks third in program history with 60 points and fifth all-time in goals with 21. She tied the program record for game-winning goals with five in a single season and 11 throughout her career. In the program’s six wins over Top 10 opponents, Perry scored the winning goal in four of them.
Perry ends her time at MSU with several individual honors, namely as a semifinalist for the Hermann Trophy, given annually to the most outstanding player in college soccer. She was a First-Team All-American and All-Southeast Region selection by United Soccer Coaches, a two-time First Team All-SEC selection and the SEC Midfielder of the Year in 2025.
Perry traveled to Turin, Italy, to complete her medicals and sign her contract with Juventus this week, joining the club just four days after they won the Supercoppa Italiana. The club is also pushing to defend its Serie A Femminile league title. The Bianconeri (Italian for ‘The Black and White’) sit in second place, five points behind AS Roma through nine games played.
Perry is eager to hit the ground running, but at the moment is more focused on getting herself acclimated to her new surroundings and getting to know her new squad.
“Obviously my goal is to win, but for now, I just want to get to know everyone on the team,” Perry said. “I think it’s great that there’s a lot of different cultures on the team, and I am sure I will learn a lot from my other teammates.”
Serie A Femminile is available to watch in the United States through DAZN and Fox Soccer Plus.
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