Determined To Leave A Legacy

STARKVILLE – Since transferring into the Mississippi State softball program in 2024, senior outfielder Sierra Sacco's mission has been to leave the Maroon and White uniform better than she found it.

Through her determination and passion for helping others paired with an undeniable drive to win, she is doing just that.

"Her leadership has grown a lot, and she really wants her senior season to be the best for her and for this program," sixth-year head coach Samantha Ricketts said. "She's very determined in everything she does. She wants to get into coaching when she's done, and I think that's really kind of helped elevate her perspective of it all."

Under the watchful eye of Ricketts, the Marrero, Louisiana, native is at the top of her game and has no plans of lifting her foot off the pedal.

Her collegiate career began in 2022 at Louisiana Tech, where she garnered national attention with her baserunning and highlight-reel defensive plays. She was named First Team All-Conference USA in both her freshman and sophomore seasons.

Following her stint in Ruston, Sacco transferred to Starkville. Since she laced up her cleats and stepped onto the green grass in the outfield of Nusz Park, Sacco hasn't missed a beat. She's now started 169 consecutive games – every game of her collegiate career – and last spring saw her post the first errorless campaign by a Bulldog outfielder with at least 50 chances in a decade.

Offensively, she led the team with a .347 batting average, 13 multi-hit games and 19 stolen bases. She will enter 2025 as the SEC's returning leader with 83 career stolen bases, which is fourth nationally among active players.

Last season's success wasn't limited to individual accolades. It also included the Bulldogs' highest ranking in any poll in program history at No. 11 in the Softball America poll. State also finished sixth in the SEC after being picked to finish last in the conference ahead of the season and posted a .500 record in conference play for the first time since 2007.

Just like many of her comrades on the roster, the achievements of last season were a mission accomplished, but there is a lot of the story still left to be written. This season's narrative will feature a different approach at the plate from Sacco, who was a slap-hitter during the majority of her at-bats last year.

"I'm actually not going to do the slapping anymore," Sacco said. "I'm just going to stand in and hit and hopefully increase my power numbers and be able to get more RBIs and more doubles. I'm looking to expand on that part of the game on the power side. I want to work on hitting it past all eight players. That's kind of my thought process, to give myself and my team a better chance of not only scoring, but me getting on base."

As Sacco goes, often so goes the team. Last year when she found a way on base and came around to score, the Bulldogs went 30-7.

Although her incredible talent on the field can be recognized easily on tape, what does not show up on film is the leadership behind the scenes and the genuine commitment to seeing everyone around her succeed.

For a team that features eight freshmen preparing to play their first collegiate games against some of the top competition in the country – four of the five opponents on opening weekend are ranked in at least one poll – Sacco continues to drive home confidence and consistency to her teammates.

"It's about having the mindset of having nothing to lose and playing every practice as if it were a game," Sacco said. "I'm trying to instill confidence in them. Coming from someone who did play on last year's team, it's important to have that confidence and play every practice like it's a game. We're trying to get that experience while you're in practice, and not wait until Game 1."

By leading on and off the field, Sacco and her fellow teammates are chomping at the bit to step on the field in Clearwater, Florida, on Feb. 7 to kick off the Clearwater Invitational against No. 13 Texas Tech and No. 7 Duke.

"We have a lot of girls that are about that competitive spirit. It's not so much trying to prove other people wrong. The mentality has been we are going to prove ourselves right," Ricketts said. "They're competitive, and they get after it every day at practice. They want to be pushed, and they want the challenge. They don't care about the outside rankings, whatever they might be. They know they're good and can make noise this season."

The Bulldogs have been underestimated before, and like last year, they walk into 2025 ready to prove themselves right yet again.

Mississippi State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Sierra Sacco

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