SEC Announces Preseason Players To Watch

STARKVILLE – On Tuesday, the league office announced the SEC Soccer Preseason Watch List. The 14 league coaches selected the watch list and featured 72 student-athletes.

Maddy Anderson, Macey Hodge, Ilana Izquierdo, Haley McWhirter and Maggie Wadsworth were all chosen as Mississippi State's players to watch heading into the SEC's 31st soccer season. This is the third straight season that Anderson has been selected for the preseason watch list and the second-straight season that both Hodge and McWhirter have been chosen.

Anderson enters her senior season as Mississippi State's record-holder for career shutout victories (13). She has appeared in 43 matches throughout her career and owns an impressive 1.03 goals-against average. During the 2022 campaign, Anderson set career-best goals against average at 0.64, the second-best mark in the SEC and the 25th-best in the NCAA. She has 140 career saves with a 20-13-9 career record.

Hodge enters her senior season having played in 51 career matches with 50 starts, including a streak of 50 straight starts dating back to Sept. 25, 2020. The Douglasville, Ga. native served as a team captain last season, an honor she will again hold in 2023. In 2022 Hodge logged the second-most minutes on the team (1,926 minutes) and helped State record seven shutout victories to go along with the program's first-ever SEC Tournament win and their first NCAA Tournament victory. Hodge's strong play a season ago also earned her a spot in the All-SEC Second Team. Early this week, Hodge was honored by the United Soccer Coaches (USC) as one of their Preseason Midfielders to Watch.

Izquierdo will be wearing Maroon and White in her first season in 2023. Izquierdo, a transfer from Southern Miss, was a two-time All-Conference performer at USM and earned USC All-South Region Second Team honors as a freshman. Her 2021 season also saw her C-USA Freshman of the Year honors. She has played in 32 matches in her career, scoring nine goals with eight assists while totaling 26 total points.

McWhirter, a junior from Magnolia, Texas, enters the 2023 season, having played in 41 career matches. She has scored 13 goals and earned seven assists for 33 points in her career. In her first season at MSU in 2022, McWhirter scored a career-best seven goals with another career-high six assists. She tied for the team lead in total points with 20 and led the team in assists.

Wadsworth returns for her sophomore season after a prolific freshman season. Wadsworth led the Bulldogs in goals (8) and tied for first in total points with 20. Four of her eight goals were game-winners, a team-high, and she earned her first multi-goal match of her career when she scored both goals in State's 2-0 victory over Arkansas. During her strong season, Wadsworth earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors twice and was named the College Soccer News National Player of the Week once.

Bulldogs, who were predicted to finish ninth in the SEC Preseason Coaches Poll, will open their 2023 campaign on Thursday, Aug. 17, when they travel to Phoenix to take on Grand Canyon University at 9 p.m. Following their contest against the Lopes, State will travel to Tempe, Ariz., to take on Arizona State on Aug. 20 at 9 p.m. CT. The Bulldogs will play their first home contest on Thursday, Aug. 24, when they host Northwestern State at 6:30 p.m.

For the most up-to-date information on the Bulldogs, follow MSU Soccer on Twitter, like them on Facebook, and join them on Instagram by searching for "HailStateSOC."

– HailState.com –

Mississippi State University Athletics

SEC Announces Preseason Players To Watch

Players Mentioned

Maddy Anderson

Macey Hodge

Ilana Izquierdo

Haley McWhirter

Maggie Wadsworth

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