No. 18 Mississippi State Begins SEC Tournament Tuesday

LEXINGTON, Ky. – No. 18 Mississippi State (37-17, 9-15 SEC) will face host Kentucky (26-28, 1-23) in the first round of the 2026 SEC Tournament on Tuesday. First pitch is set for approximately 3 p.m. CT at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington, but the game will begin 35 minutes following the conclusion of the first game of the day.

Coming off their final regular season series against in-state rival, Ole Miss, the Bulldogs earned the No. 10 seed in the conference tournament. State finished 9-15 in the SEC and was the only team in the conference to play all eight series against teams inside the top 25 of the RPI.

MSU won eight games against ranked teams during the league schedule, including three over top-10 teams highlighted by handing then-No. 1 Tennessee its first loss of the year.

The Bulldog bullpen is one of the most dominant in the country, highlighted by AUSL draftee Peja Goold and a the SEC leader in strikeouts, Alyssa Faircloth. The staff is quickly approaching MSU season records in many categories or has already broken them. As a team, the Bulldogs need just nine more strikeouts to tie the program record, and they average 9.10 strikeouts per seven innings, which is just off the record pace of 9.27 in the shortened 2020 season. MSU also need just seven strikeouts looking to tie that single-season record, and the team's 14 shutouts are tied for fourth-most in school history.

In SEC play, State's pitchers struck out an MSU record 179 batters while averaging a record 7.83 strikeouts per seven innings and holding opponents to their lowest batting average (.225) and fewest hits (134) in an SEC season.

The Bulldogs totaled 37 wins this year, matching their highest regular-season total under head coach Samantha Ricketts.

This will be first time in Kentucky has hosted the SEC Tournament since 2013. The Bulldogs and Wildcats last met in the postseason in 2014 when they went to extra innings. The teams did not play this season, but in 2025, the Bulldogs took the series, scoring 25 runs over the weekend. The Wildcats enter the tournament on a three-game losing streak, falling to Texas in run-rule fashion this past weekend.

Game Coverage

at Kentucky – Tuesday, May 5 at 3 p.m. | Watch on SEC Network | Live Stats
vs. No. 10/7 Arkansas (if advancing) – Wednesday, May 6 at 1 p.m. | Watch on SEC Network | Live Stats
vs. No. 4/3 Alabama (if advancing) – Thursday, May 7 at 1 p.m. | Watch on SEC Network | Live Stats
Semifinals (if advancing) – Friday, May 8 at 4 p.m. | Watch on ESPN
Championship (if advancing) - Saturday, May 9 at 4 p.m. | Watch on ESPN

Leading Off

Goold As Gold: Peja Goold received the 17th and final Golden Ticket for the AUSL Draft on Saturday. In three years at Mississippi State, Taryne Mowatt-McKinney has graduated three pitchers to the professional ranks, one in each season.

Hot Hand: Over the last seven games, Xiane Romero leads the team with a .409 batting average, .864 slugging percentage and .458 on-base percentage. Those games have seen her post all four of her multi-hit games, raise her season batting average by 83 points and double her season RBI total.

Rewriting Records: MSU's pitching staff is just nine strikeouts away from the program's single-season record and only seven strikeouts looking away from that record. State's 9.10 strikeouts per seven innings and .182 batting average against both rank second in school history.

Down On Strikes: Alyssa Faircloth ranks fourth nationally in total strikeouts (231), which is third in MSU history. She needs just one more strikeout looking and 19 total strikeouts to break MSU's season records.

Barbary's Bat: Nadia Barbary ranks seventh in school history with 45 career doubles and seventh in career home runs (31). She is top-10 in MSU history in both RBIs and total bases as well.

Finding Any Way On: Kiarra Sells now has 22 walks or hit-by-pitches over the last 23 games. Sells ranks among the top five in MSU career history in slugging percentage, on-base percentage, OPS and hit-by-pitches.

Rocky Road: MSU is the only SEC team that saw all eight of its conference series played against Quad 1 teams. The Bulldogs' boast the No. 11 strength of schedule and the No. 11 non-conference RPI in the country.

Strikeout State: Mississippi State is looking to record just the eighth 500-strikeout season by an SEC team since 2016. In fact, since 2013, there have been just 25 500-strikeout seasons across the nation.

Watching The Win Column: MSU enters the postseason with 37 wins, chasing both its highest win total in a year under Samantha Ricketts (39) and its first 40-win season since 2008.

SEC Tournament History

Overall: 15-31 | First Game: 7-16 | vs. Ranked Teams: 4-22 | In Lexington: 0-0
In Extra Innings: 1-4 | One-Run Games: 6-10
By Opponent: Alabama, 1-7; Arkansas, 1-2; Auburn, 1-1; Florida, 3-2; Georgia, 1-3; Kentucky, 0-1; LSU, 1-3; Missouri, 0-2; Oklahoma, 0-0; Ole Miss, 1-2; South Carolina, 3-5; Tennessee, 1-3; Texas, 0-0; Texas A&M, 2-0

Tournament Notables

State has won at least one SEC Tournament game twice under Samantha Ricketts and in four of the last seven tournaments. State has only won multiple games in the tournament twice (1999 and 1998) and those came during the double-elimination era. MSU and Kentucky have met in the tournament just once in an extra-inning affair in Columbia, Missouri, which Kentucky won, 4-3, in nine innings. Should State advance, the Bulldogs are 1-2 against Arkansas in the Tournament and 1-7 against Alabama, which is tied with South Carolina (3-5) for MSU's most-common SEC Tournament opponent.

On Deck

The winner of Tuesday's game will move on the face No. 10/7 Arkansas on Wednesday. The path through the bracket would then see that winner face No. 4/3 Alabama for a spot in the semifinals. The championship game is set for 4 p.m. on Saturday. The NCAA Selection Show is Sunday, May 10 at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

Follow the Bulldogs

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

No. 18 Mississippi State Begins SEC Tournament Tuesday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nadia Barbary

Alyssa Faircloth

Peja Goold

Xiane Romero

Kiarra Sells

Mississippi State University Athletics

No. 18 Mississippi State Begins SEC Tournament Tuesday

Related News

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Nadia Barbary

Alyssa Faircloth

Peja Goold

Xiane Romero

Kiarra Sells

Related Videos