STARKVILLE – There was only one thing that was going to get Tootie Lockett to leave junior college after one season: the call to come home.
It’s a call that didn’t come after her freshman season at Itawamba Community College. She said there was interest from DI schools after her first year with the Indians where she averaged 12 points and four rebounds, but she didn’t feel ready, and stayed for her sophomore season.
“I was just being patient,” Lockett said. “I was just waiting on the right things.”
She elevated her game as a sophomore, averaging nearly 15 points and five rebounds. Lockett was named the MACCC Women’s Basketball Player of the Year and a NJCAA All-American honorable mention.
The jump in play put Lockett on the radar of multiple DI programs, but one stood out above the rest.
Director of women’s basketball recruiting operations Jimmy Wu contacted Lockett after her second visit to Alabama A&M in Huntsville. Lockett said she wasn’t expecting a call from MSU, but soon after, the Starkville High School alum was on campus and had cancelled all her other visits.
The decision came quickly. She was coming back home as one of six transfers on head coach Sam Purcell’s 2026-27 roster.
“She’s from here, it was a no-brainer. She came on an unofficial visit and was committed right away,” Purcell said. “Her heart’s here, her passion’s here, her family’s here.”
Lockett was a key piece of SHS’ 24-7 season in 2023-24. She led the Yellowjackets in points (15.4) and assists (4.2) as a senior. She succeeded in the jump from high school to junior college, and is working on adjusting from juco to the SEC.
“I’d say the speed of the game is faster… coming from Itawamba,” Lockett said. “(It’s) very physical. My first two weeks, it was hard, but then I adjusted.”
Lockett said being home is helping her adjust.
“I got the chance to do it for the hometown team,” Lockett said. “I feel like that’s good for me.”
Lockett said she was a “team player” at ICC, and is bringing that to MSU as someone who can do what she is asked on both sides of the ball. Purcell said he felt his roster was “one speedy guard away” before they contacted Lockett, and said at an open practice last Thursday that she, alongside Iowa State transfer Reese Beaty, will likely run the point for the Bulldogs next season.
Lockett grew up an MSU fan, and said the Bulldogs’ current roster is one that can emulate the success of the 2017 and 2018 Bulldogs who made back-to-back national championship game appearances.
She joins a roster that is looking for a bounceback year after missing the NCAA Tournament last season. Lockett said she and her teammates are “getting closer and closer every day.”
“Chemistry, you don’t only have the on the court, but you have on the court (chemistry) too,” Lockett said. “So we spend a lot of time with each other.”
Purcell had high praise for Lockett’s off-the-court personality. He called her one of the “top-five funniest people” he knew, and someone who has a “natural joy.”
Looking ahead to next season, Lockett said there isn’t just one game she is anticipating.
“I’m ready for all of them,” Lockett said.
Jake is the Mississippi State athletics reporter for The Dispatch.
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