2022 was another busy year in the Golden Triangle when it came to sports.
From championships galore to exciting postseason runs, from surprising hirings and personnel moves to tragic losses, there was plenty going on all year long.
The Commercial Dispatch sports staff — sports editor Theo DeRosa and sports reporters Alex Murphy and Colin Damms — selected our top 10 sports stories from another unforgettable year.
10. Falcons end five-year playoff drought
The Columbus High School football program has had a very difficult few years. The Falcons lost 20 straight games from 2017-2019, including a winless 2018 season, and made no playoff appearances since 2016.
That drought ended in 2022, despite the loss of starting quarterback Jaquavious Bankhead early in the season and a rocky 0-4 start. Three straight 28-0 losses to Starkville, Southaven and Louisville were followed by a 28-6 loss to Tupelo — four playoff-caliber teams, two of which played for state titles, with one winning.
“It helped the team because they learned how to play the game fast,” Falcons head coach Joshua Pulphus said of the intentionally difficult schedule. “By playing Starkville or Louisville, a potential 4A state champion, those teams know how to fight for four quarters.”
It took a lot of endurance to go through that while figuring out their offense, but it paid off for the Falcons, who then went on a 5-1 run through district play. A dramatic late win over Lake Cormorant in their final home game meant the Falcons made the postseason for just the eighth time in their history.
The program that Pulphus took over was in disarray, but under his leadership, the Falcons endured the pain of losing and were able to channel it into growth. That’s a hard step to take, but it’s taking them in the right direction.
9. MSU AD John Cohen leaves for Auburn
Halloween brought a scare of sorts for Mississippi State athletics.
On Oct. 31, athletic director John Cohen left MSU for the same job at Auburn after a weekend full of rumors about that very thing coming to pass.
Cohen’s departure came six years after Scott Stricklin vacated the Bulldogs’ AD job for the same position at Florida. He later hired away MSU football coach Dan Mullen to Gainesville.
“In many ways, MSU is a victim of our own success in that several former MSU athletics directors have transitioned into similar roles at peer institutions in the Southeastern Conference,” MSU President Mark Keenum said in an Oct. 31 statement.
Keenum named compliance director Bracky Brett the interim athletic director, and Brett still holds the position.
The Bulldogs are in the process of hiring Cohen’s replacement.
8. Mississippi State soccer takes the next step
Postseason soccer seemed like it hadn’t come to Starkville in years — five years, to be exact.
Mississippi State soccer was coming off a season where it won just five matches, struggling to keep pace with the rest of the SEC.
There were some definite bright spots, but the Bulldogs needed a jolt badly.
That jolt came in the form of a great freshman class and some key transfers who breathed life back into the program.
Goalkeeper Maddy Anderson began breaking program record after program record, and the attack, led by freshman forward Maggie Wadsworth, was scoring at a rate MSU hadn’t seen in years.
A program-record unbeaten streak to start the season gave way to an 11-5-4 regular season, MSU’s first win in the SEC tournament and its second-ever NCAA tournament appearance.
“In the summer, you could tell that the players were ready to take the next step,” Mississippi State head coach James Armstrong said. “The vibe in the locker room, the team culture took a massive step in a positive direction.”
The Bulldogs made even more history in the first round against New Mexico State, winning their first-ever NCAA tournament game in thrilling fashion, with Rylie Combs scoring the game-winner in the 88th minute.
Mississippi State lost in the second round to Memphis, but it didn’t overshadow the incredible run the Bulldogs experienced.
7. Three local teams make MHSAA basketball championship games
2022 was a great year for high school basketball in the Golden Triangle.
Three teams — the Columbus High girls, New Hope boys and Noxubee County girls — produced memorable seasons on runs to their respective state title games, but all three came up short of the prize. Columbus nearly picked up another state title after winning in 2020 but instead experienced the heartache of losing in the championship game for a second straight season. It was still a memorable year for a special group of players, going 23-5 overall and 8-0 in district to complete back-to-back undefeated district championships.
New Hope also had an impressive campaign, going 8-0 in district play and posting a remarkable 19-2 regular-season record. The Trojans won three playoff games and reached the championship game, where they suffered defeat at the hands of Holmes County Central.
Noxubee County’s girls had a difficult path to their title game, sneaking into the playoffs with an 11-11 record thanks to a 5-2 district campaign. Once you get to the dance, though, anything can happen, and it happened for the Tigers. They battled through five rounds of the playoffs and booked a trip to the title game with a tight 30-26 win over Union in the semifinal. Their Cinderella run ended at the final stage, however, with Booneville topping them in a 46-30 win.
6. Mississippi State softball makes Super Regional run
The Mississippi State softball team fashioned itself for years on the verge of a breakthrough.
It happened in 2022 as the Bulldogs reached new heights.
MSU won its first-ever NCAA Regional, taking out No. 2 national seed Florida State to boot in a historic upset for the sport.
The Bulldogs got the chance to host Arizona in Super Regionals, where their season ended after two straight defeats.
It was the final collegiate season for star catcher Mia Davidson, who moved on alongside pitcher Annie Willis after the 2022 campaign.
The two helped coach Samantha Ricketts’ team reach the next level after three consecutive years of losing in the regional finals. Ultimately, the Bulldogs came just two wins short of the Women’s College World Series.
Oklahoma City, though, remains MSU’s goal in 2023 — even without Davidson on the roster.
5. Chris Jans, Sam Purcell off to strong starts in first seasons
A new era for Mississippi State basketball is underway.
In his two final hires, former MSU athletic director John Cohen was tasked with finding new head coaches for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams after the dismissal of Ben Howland in March and the resignation of Nikki McCray-Penson. McCray-Penson’s decision to step down led to Doug Novak’s serving as the interim coach for a year, but Cohen wanted a new permanent leader for the program.
By late March, both New Mexico State head coach Chris Jans and Louisville assistant Sam Purcell had been hired at MSU, and both got to work recruiting from the start to add new talent as well as retain players on the team.
Jans’ identity has already become apparent in the men’s team, with the Bulldogs’ defensive strength and toughness helping them to an 11-0 start before losses to Drake and No. 8 Alabama.
The women’s team has had an equally exciting start to their campaign under a first-year head coach. Jessika Carter has starred with a supporting cast of veterans and up-and-comers to help the Bulldogs to a 12-2 start.
There’s still plenty of basketball ahead for both teams, but the early signs are positive to say the least.
4. Caledonia volleyball brings home program’s first state championship
The first time is always the best time to get something done, and for Caledonia volleyball, that first time meant winning a state championship.
Maneuvering their way through the MHSAA Class 4A playoffs, the Cavaliers, after defeating New Albany in a thrilling five-set match in the semifinals, came to the Newell-Grissom Building on the campus of Mississippi State on Oct. 20 for the state title game.
It was the first time Caledonia had reached a state title game, and like the Bulldogs did last season, reaching the NCAA tournament for the first time, the Cavs defended home court for the Golden Triangle.
Caledonia not only got to the title game but won the MHSAA Class 4A state championship in straight sets over Pass Christian.
“I’m very proud,” Caledonia head coach Samantha Brooks said. “I’m proud of their mental toughness. It’s hard playing in an environment like this, but they pushed through … We brought a lot of people. We had a lot of community support. We love our community, and obviously, they love us. We made history today, and that’s huge for our school.”
Behind stellar play from libero Emma McKee and championship game MVP Brianna Holliman, Caledonia was a well-oiled machine and took some well-deserved hardware home.
3. From 4 seed to the top: Starkville football wins first state title since 2015
Starkville High School football’s 2022 season was a tale of two different seasons rolled into one, beginning with a 4-0 start that included a massive 44-13 win over West Point.
That got the Yellow Jackets going and it looked like smooth sailing into district play; that was, until they went 0-3 to start their district schedule.
A promising start to the year was seemingly wiped away, and Starkville needed to win out for a chance at the playoffs.
It did just that, starting what ended up becoming an eight-game winning streak that took the Yellow Jackets to Hattiesburg and the MHSAA Class 6A title game against Brandon.
Not having won a state title since 2015, Starkville added a seventh state title to its trophy case in a 48-32 win Dec. 3.
“It’s all about these kids; they never gave up,” Starkville head coach Chris Jones said. “We’ve been playing like this for a long time. We’ve been in playoff mode for a long time. Hats off to these kids. I’m happy we finished the right way. Proud of them.”
Behind star quarterback Trey Petty, the Jackets never wavered, even when blowing a 20-point lead in the semifinals against Tupelo.
Starkville stayed calm, cool and collected, and thanks to some clutch plays, a state title was brought home, ending a six-year drought.
2. Ole Miss baseball makes it a Magnolia State repeat
One Mississippi, two Mississippi.
After Mississippi State brought home the 2021 Men’s College World Series title, in-state rival Ole Miss accomplished the same feat a year later.
The Rebels, like the Bulldogs before them, won the first baseball title in program history. And they did it as the last team into the NCAA tournament field.
Ranked No. 1 early in the season, Ole Miss fell flat for much of the year. But the Rebels picked it up in crunch time.
Behind the pitching of Dylan DeLucia and Hunter Elliott and a lineup led by senior first baseman Tim Elko, Ole Miss powered its way through the NCAA tournament.
The Rebels swept Oklahoma in the MCWS championship, losing just one out of their 11 postseason games.
At the end of it all, they had a title that for much of the season looked quite unlikely.
“There’s so much to be said about how much we overcame this year, how much we had to fight through, how much we had to pick each other up and never let ourselves get too down. This story of our season is going to be told for years and years and years to come,” Elko said. “This is the best Ole Miss baseball team in history, and it feels so good, and it’s an honor to be a part of it.”
1. Mississippi State football honors Mike Leach, Sam Westmoreland
Tragedy surrounded the Mississippi State football program throughout 2022.
Less than a month after leading the Bulldogs to a win in the Egg Bowl rivalry game and back into the top 25, head coach Mike Leach died suddenly from what MSU announced were complications from a heart condition. He was only 61.
The college football world came together to honor a legend in the sport, and Bulldogs of all kinds rallied behind a heartbroken team. MSU made it clear it would play in Monday’s ReliaQuest Bowl in its coach’s memory.
“The best way we can honor Coach Leach is to go out there and play the way he expects us to play,” Zach Arnett, who replaced Leach as the Bulldogs’ head coach, said Thursday.
Leach’s death Dec. 12 came less than two months after freshman walk-on offensive lineman Sam Westmoreland was found dead at age 18 outside Blackjack Missionary Baptist Church.
And in March, former MSU inside receivers coach Dave Nichol, who had left the program for a job at USC, died at age 45 from cancer.
It was an emotionally taxing year for Mississippi State football, and the Bulldogs will long be grieving those they lost in 2022.
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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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 24 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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