2025 was a memorable year for several Bulldog athletes across multiple sports. The Dispatch begins its year in review for Mississippi State athletics with a look at some of the top performers from the calendar year in MSU sports.
Peyton Bair – History-maker and national champion
Potentially the most impressive performer of the season for MSU, Bair reeled in two national championships in one season for the Bulldogs. He became just the seventh man in NCAA history to win both the heptathlon and decathlon championships in the same year.
Bair set a program record, and the 14-highest score in NCAA history, with a score of 8,323 points at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, setting decathlon record times in the 100m and 400m events.
Bair also scored 6,013 points in the Heptathlon at the NCAA Indoor Championships. His historic junior season earned him Two First Team All-American honors and Indoor Field Athlete of the Year honors from USTFCCCA.
Raelin Chaffin – Seven-game streak kickstarts memorable season
Samantha Ricketts’ top arm of 2025 emerged early as one of the best in the conference.
Chaffin came out firing with a complete game win over No. 13 Texas Tech, recording six strikeouts while allowing just three hits and no earned runs in a 3-1 victory. It was the first of four straight appearances with no earned runs before finally giving up three against North Texas.
Chaffin picked up seven straight wins to start the year, and set the tone for a 23-13 record with 208 strikeouts.
Chaffin earned four different pitcher of the week awards and was given All-Region and All-SEC Second Team honors before beginning her professional career with the Talons in the AUSL.
Josh Hubbard – 2x Howell Trophy winner as a sophomore
Hubbard won the Howell Trophy, given to the top men’s basketball player in Mississippi, for the second year in a row after an excellent sophomore campaign. He led the team with 18 points per game, a 34.3 3-point percentage and set a new career best with 38 points in a narrow defeat to No. 4 Alabama.
The 38-point performance is the most in a game for MSU this century.
Hubbard is on pace to crack the Top 10 in all-time scoring for MSU this season, and is already fourth in 3-point field goals.
Kelley Jones – Shutdown specialist
The top cornerback for the Bulldogs made a name for himself in 2025, and at his best shut down an entire half of the field for opposing quarterbacks.
Jones recorded two interceptions, 11 pass breakups and 30 tackles for the Bulldogs in 2025, earning a spot on the Coaches’ All-SEC Third Team and the Pro Football & Sports Network All-SEC First Team.
MSU’s shutdown corner is a highly-regarded defensive back in the 2026 NFL Draft class, and was ranked as the third corner and 25th overall player on Mel Kiper’s November Big Board for ESPN. His high-speed paired with length makes him an enticing NFL prospect, and his production backs up the hype.
JerKaila Jordan – 40-point game
Jordan’s final year with the Bulldogs was a memorable one in which she posted 11 games with 20 or more points, including an all-time performance in a losing effort at Mizzou. Jordan is one of just seven Bulldogs all-time to post 40 points in a game
Her performances earned her a spot on the All-SEC Second Team for the second year in a row, the third All-Conference award of her career, and saw her climb to fifth all-time in scoring for the Bulldogs.
Petar Jovanovic & Benito Sanchez Martinez – Doubles champions earn All-American honors
The doubles team of Jovanovic and Sanchez Martinez emerged as one of the top powers in the sport last year, posting a 22-1 spring record on their way to a perfect 12-0 SEC campaign.
The pair set a program record with 22 wins and a .960 winning percentage, earning First Team All-SEC honors as well as All-American honors and the No. 1 ranking from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
The pair delivered on the ranking with a doubles win at the ITA All-American championships in Tulsa in September, sweeping opposition in each of the quarterfinal, semifinal and final rounds.
Lindsey Mangelson – Freshman phenom
The true freshman emerged as an important player early in the 2025 season and became a rock at outside hitter for the Bulldogs. She led the team in points, points per set, kills, kills per set and total attack attempts to pick up AVCA All-Region team honors. She was one of just four freshmen named in the team.
Mangelson also picked up All-SEC Second Team and All-SEC Freshman team honors for her efforts, and earned two SEC Freshman of the Week awards during the season.
Ally Perry – Captain Clutch
MSU’s top scorer from 2024 returned to deliver the goods again in 2025.
Perry recorded eight goals and eight assists for the Bulldogs, including a five-game goal scoring streak which included two last-minute goals to complete a comeback win over No. 1 Tennessee in September.
Perry earned All-American First Team, SEC Midfielder of the Year and All-SEC First Team honors, and is a semifinalist for the Hermann Trophy, the soccer equivalent of the Heisman Trophy.
Ace Reese – 22-game hitting streak carries Bulldogs
An up-and-down year for MSU baseball became the stage for the emergence of a remarkable transfer out of Houston.
Reese became MSU’s nominee for the Ferris Trophy after a dominant year at the plate and at third base, leading the team in batting average (.352), hits (80), multi-hit games (25), and multi-RBI games (20).
Reese picked up All-SEC First Team honors, multiple All-American selections and the 2025 SEC Newcomer of the Year Award after the season, and was also selected for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team over the summer.
Avery Weed – Collegiate No. 1
MSU women’s golf saw one of its top performers from last year continue to climb the ranks in her junior campaign. Weed recorded the second win of her career at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational in October, finishing 14-under to record the lowest score in the history of the tournament.
Her impressive year includes the best finish of any Bulldog at the NCAA Championships, finishing 4-under, and a tie for an NCAA record with an 11-under opening round at The Ally.
Weed finishes the year ranked as the No. 1 women’s golfer in Division I. She was recently named to the Fall ANNIKA Award Watchlist, an award given annually to the top women’s college golfer.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 31 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
