Bulldogs Begin Season At Getterman Classic

WACO, Texas – No. 22/24 Mississippi State is set to open the 2026 season at the Getterman Classic in Waco, Texas, on Thursday. The Bulldogs will meet host Baylor at 6:30 p.m. CT on Thursday before playing Northwestern State, Wichita State and New Mexico.

State returns to Waco for the first time since the 2021 season when the Bulldogs took a tour of central Texas, playing in Waco, San Marcos and Austin in the same weekend. Thursday marks the start of MSU's 35th season of softball, and the Bulldogs are 24-10 all-time in season openers, winning their last 12 straight.

The Bulldogs return 13 players, including four starting position players and three pitchers. They supplemented that core with the nation's No. 3 transfer class which saw five of six players earn all-conference honors in 2025 at their prior schools.

Game Coverage

Thursday, Feb. 5

6:30 p.m. – at Baylor | Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats

Friday, Feb. 6

10 a.m. – vs. Northwestern State | Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats
12:30 p.m. – vs. Wichita State | Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats

Saturday, Feb. 7

9:30 a.m. – vs. New Mexico | Watch on ESPN+ | Live Stats

Leading Off

Bicentennial Countdown: Samantha Ricketts could become the fastest Bulldog softball head coach to win 200 career games at State. She enters the weekend with 198 victories in 317 games. The fastest to date was Vann Stuedeman, who needed 335 games. Ricketts would be just the 13th MSU head coach in any sport to win 200 games as a Bulldog.

Taking Down Top Teams: Samantha Ricketts broke the program record for career ranked wins by a head coach in 2025. Twenty-five of her 45 ranked wins (55.6 percent) have come since the start of the 2024 season.

Meeting Her Mentor: Samantha Ricketts first full-time coaching job came as an assistant under Kristi Bredbenner at Wichita State from 2012-14. This weekend will mark their first meeting as opposing head coaches.

Put To The Test: MSU was the only team in the nation to play each of the final four teams at the Women's College World Series three times in 2025.

Portal Pickups: Mississippi State's transfer class was ranked No. 3 in the nation by 6-4-3 Charts, which based its rankings on the total number of Wins Above Replacement (WAR) each school added. State's 17.43 WAR added was tied for the most in the SEC with Tennessee.

Barbary's Big Both Ways: Nadia Barbary earned her first career All-SEC honors last spring and picked up All-Defensive Team recognition at third base. She recorded single-season career highs in hits, homers, RBIs and total bases while being one of only 13 third basemen across the nation to post more than 12.00 Defensive Runs Saved.

Early Bulldog Gets The Win: The Bulldogs will play 11 games at noon local time or earlier this season and could add a 12th in the tournament finale at the Tiger Invitational in March. Since 2001, only 2002 (18) and 2024 (12) have seen more games before noon.

About Baylor (0-0, 0-0 Big 12)

About Northwestern State (0-0, 0-0 Southland)

About Wichita State (0-0, 0-0 American)

About New Mexico (0-0, 0-0 Mountain West)

On Deck

The Bulldogs' home opener is set for Tuesday, Feb. 10 at 4 p.m. CT. MSU will host in-state foe Southern Miss with the game airing on SEC Network+. That will open a 12-game homestand over the following two weeks.

Follow the Bulldogs

For more information on the Bulldog softball program, follow on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram by searching "HailStateSB."

Bulldogs Begin Season At Getterman Classic

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Nadia Barbary

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Bulldogs Begin Season At Getterman Classic

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