Mississippi State’s athletics saw some recent movement within the rosters of three of its teams with two new additions and one new commitment.
In men’s basketball, head coach Chris Jans got his first transfer commitment of the offseason this week from Kennesaw State first-team All-CUSA guard RJ Johnson. The incoming 6-foot-4 junior and Huntsville, Alabama, native averaged 14.5 points, four assists and 3.1 rebounds a game last year and shot 42% from deep with 55 makes. He helped the Owls win the Conference USA championship and make a NCAA Tournament appearance last season. Coming out of high school Johnson was rated as a four-star recruit and the No. 1 player in Alabama and turned down opportunities to play at Alabama, Georgia and Wichita State for the Owls.
The commitment gives the Bulldogs a boost after losing freshman Jamarion Davis-Fleming to Alabama via the transfer portal. The 6-foot-10 forward averaged 3.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks a game coming off the bench in his only season at MSU.
The team also announced that King Grace will be returning for another season. The 6-foot-5 freshman was another part of the Bulldogs’ bench unit, and he brought an average of 5.1 points and 1.3 rebounds to the court on 41.8% shooting from the floor.
Women’s basketball
Head coach Sam Purcell grabbed his third commitment of the year in signing Iowa State dime-dropper Reese Beaty. The freshman played in 27 games and made two starts for the Cyclones and averaged 4.6 points per game on 37.7% shooting with a total of 90 assists on the year. She finished the year with a 1.8 assist-to-turnover ratio, which ranked second in the BIG 12 for freshmen and fourth among freshmen in all of the NCAA.
Beaty joins UAB sharpshooting transfer Cali Smallwood and 2026 CUSA All-Freshman selection Macie Phifer as new signees. They’ll join forces with MSU returners Madison Francis, an SEC All-Defensive and All-Freshman selection, and Favour Nwaedozi, one of four players in the SEC to average a double-double, who each announced they’ll be staying with the Bulldogs.
Football
The Bulldogs’ football program landed the commitment from its highest-ranked recruit of the 2027 class this week in running back Christian Alexander. The four-star prospect from Rosa Fort is tabbed as the No. 9 overall recruit in the state and the No. 17 running back in the nation, according to 247Sports. In the 2025 season at Rosa Fort, Alexander rushed for 1,364 yards on 147 carries for 21 touchdowns. He chose MSU over Colorado, Cincinnati, UCF and Minnesota.
Alexander is set to join a running back room that already hosts a pair of in-state products in Tupelo product JJ Hill and Gulfport’s Cooper Crosby and uplifts MSU’s 2027 class to No. 28 nationally, according to 247Sports.
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