Mississippi State has not had a player selected in the NBA Draft since Robert Woodard II and Reggie Perry in 2020, but two Bulldogs who went undrafted this year will get their shots to play at the highest level.

Center Tolu Smith, after a highly decorated career at MSU that saw him earn two First-Team All-Southeastern Conference honors, signed as an undrafted free agent with the Detroit Pistons. After spending his freshman year at Western Kentucky, Smith played in 108 games, starting 103, over the last four years with the Bulldogs.

His breakout came in 2022-23, when he averaged 15.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game with 12 double-doubles. Smith missed the first 12 games of his final season with a foot injury, but was his usual dominant self for most of the year upon his return, with 15 points and 8.1 boards per contest even after a cold stretch at the end of the season.

Forward D.J. Jeffries signed as an undrafted free agent with the Memphis Grizzlies, who play just over a half-hour’s drive from his hometown of Olive Branch, Mississippi. Jeffries will join the Grizzlies in Utah and Las Vegas for the NBA Summer League season.

Following two years at Memphis, Jeffries spent the last three seasons with MSU, starting 91 of the 100 games he played in. A defense-first wing, Jeffries averaged at least one steal per game in both 2022-23 and 2023-24. He missed two weeks in early February with a knee injury but returned in time to help the Bulldogs reach their second consecutive NCAA Tournament.

Six former MSU players were in the NBA as recently as 2022, but none have played in the league since then.