STARKVILLE — Mississippi State guard Josh Hubbard is used to being the center of attention on the floor of Humphrey Coliseum, but on Wednesday, he sat and listened.
Hubbard listened to heartfelt stories from mothers Chelsie Davis and Lacey Rice about the experience of parenting their children through life-threatening illness.
“Our motto through this whole thing is we take it day by day,” Chelsie said.
Chelsie and her husband, Hayden Davis, were there with their daughters, Delta and Dani.
Delta, who recently celebrated her fifth birthday, has battled Leukemia since she was three years old. She is one of many area kids hoping to have a wish fulfilled by the organization to take a trip to Disney World, and someone Hubbard hopes to help with his initiative this season.
Hubbard joins a new tradition of MSU athletes, following in the footsteps of former quarterback Will Rogers and former slugger Hunter Hines, who made similar pledges to help raise donations through touchdowns and home runs, respectively.
Every three-pointer Hubbard hits during the 2025-26 season will lead to donations pledged to Make-A-Wish that will help fund trips for Mississippi children battling diseases.
“I really didn’t know about it until I was invited to a Make-A-Wish event,” he said. “I heard baseball and football had (done) it, so I had to get basketball involved somehow.”
Hubbard handed out a birthday present to Delta and sat with a present for J’siah as well.
Lacey’s son, J’siah, is a six-year-old battling Sickle Cell Anemia, but solving math problems at a fifth-grade level. As his mother spoke, he scribbled out his work to an equation assigned by Make-A-Wish volunteer and wish-granter Craig Peterhansen. Upon completion, he got his own present from Hubbard.
The answer to the problem? No. 12, Hubbard’s jersey number.
“(The event) was fun, and a blessing for sure,” Hubbard said. “I think my favorite part was just hearing the stories from the families, the parents. It’s heartwarming. What they go through, each and every day, they don’t know what to expect the next day, so hearing that just motivates me even more to get this goal for them.”
The week was already an eventful one for the MSU guard. He was named to the preseason watchlist for the Bob Cousy Award, named a consensus SEC All-First Teamer, and still has the first game of the season to prepare for next week. He is also closing down on a number of accolades, including the all-time program record for three-pointers.
Earlier in the day, Hubbard spoke to the media about how he views those achievements not for himself but as a way to help his team perform, and now he has a way to help those in need as well.
“I was taught to use my platform in a good way,” he said. “That’s the biggest thing, especially at the point I’m at now. I have that status and platform where I can use it for things like this, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to spread that.”
Hubbard’s father, Jason, joked that his son always looked to add to his previous tallies, and after netting exactly 108 three-pointers in each of his first two years, Josh is extra motivated to surpass that now.
Hubbard also laughed at a question about if his teammates will be more motivated to pass him the ball and shoot the three now, but remarked that it won’t be a distraction or extra pressure on him in the moment.
“I’m just going to go out there and play my game,” he said. “Afterward, I’ll keep up with it, probably before conference, see where I’m at and how many I need to get.”
Those looking to donate can make single donations or pledge an amount per three-pointer at bucketsforwishes.com
Pledges of $25 or more per basket will earn donors a commemorative autographed gift from Hubbard. 81 cents for every dollar donated goes directly to funding wishes for the more than 130 children in Mississippi who are waiting their turn.
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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 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
