STARKVILLE — Mississippi State women’s basketball completed its 2025-26 roster with the addition of Nigerian forward Favour Nwaedozi on Monday.
A veteran of college basketball in Japan, Nwaedozi stands at 6-foot-3 and brings some much-needed size to the frontcourt for the Bulldogs. Purcell hinted at a press conference earlier in June that the Bulldogs may have another recruiting announcement for later in the summer, and expressed his excitement to finally confirm the player’s arrival.
“Favour has a wow factor. She’s a versatile post player that can score inside and outside,” MSU head coach Sam Purcell said. “She’s extremely skillful on the court and can defend the full length of the floor. Most importantly, I look forward to seeing our fans fall in love with her million-dollar personality.”
A Nigerian international, Nwaedozi moved to Japan during high school and began her collegiate career at Mukogawa Women’s University in Nishinomiya, Japan, where she dominated in the post. She spent two years at the university studying health and sports medicine, and is classified as a junior for the 2025-26 season. She has two years of eligibility remaining.
This spring, Nwaedozi had a standout performance for her college at the Kansai Women’s Spring Basketball Championships, averaging 26 points and 17 rebounds per game.
“Favour is a freakish athlete who has a nose for the ball,” associate head coach and offensive coach Fred Castro said. “She attacks the rebound like few I have ever seen. Her combination of power and speed makes her a tough matchup at 6-3. She can blow by defenders or bully weaker ones.”
Nwaedozi is the sixth transfer portal addition for Purcell this season, and helps to replace the production vacated by departing players. Notable departures from last season included center Madina Okot, who started all 34 games for the Bulldogs last season but left to join Dawn Staley’s squad at South Carolina, and Debreasha Powe, who stretched the floor with her three-point shooting but graduated and transferred to Ole Miss.
Nwaedozi joins Trayanna Crisp, Awa Fane, Saniyah King, Kharyssa Richardson and Faith Wylder as the transfer portal additions for the new season. The transfer additions are reinforced by a strong Mississippi State high school recruiting class that features three top 100 players according to ESPNW rankings, with Jaylah Lampley (38th), Madison Francis (39th), and Nataliyah Gray (95th) making up the 11th-ranked recruiting class in the country. It is the highest-rated recruiting class since Vic Schaefer left and the second-highest in program history behind the 2019 class.
The 2025-26 season will be the fourth under head coach Sam Purcell, who led the Bulldogs back to the NCAA Tournament for a second time in 2025. He has a 67-35 record in Starkville with three straight years of at least 22 wins and a 24-24 SEC record.
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