Behind The Bulldog Energy Award
September 04, 2026 | Soccer
STARKVILLE โย Throughย six seasons in Starkville, assistant soccer coachย Kat Stratton hasย kept one tradition going:ย Big Dawg Energy.ย ย
Afterย headย coach Kevin O'Brien's first winย at Mississippi State earlier this season, Stratton approached himย outsideย the locker roomย toย pitchย the traditionย andย helpย decideย the playerย whoย embodied the team's core values the most that night.ย
"I think one of the biggest things isย thatย we have aย standard. We call it the D.A.W.G.S. Mentality and each letter stands for a principle,"ย Stratton said.ย ย
What makes the Big Dawg Energy award different is that itย isn'tย solely about the stat sheet.ย In a game where goal scorers and statistics areย what fans remember, Stratton wanted to shift the focus to performance.ย The awardย isn'tย reserved for goal scorers, but the playersย whoย make the biggestย impactย onย the gameย even if it may be inย a less obviousย way.ย ย
"It'sย not just because you score goals. Iit'sย not just because you make saves," Stratton said. "I thinkย that'sย the biggest thing we try toย emphasize withย it.ย It'sย really aboutย the gritย and the character that is built through thisย program."ย
Thatย gritty mentality acts as an anchor for the team during the crucial week-to-week competition in the SEC. A single neck-and-neck game that ends in a tie can make a postseason difference onย whether State reaches the SEC Tournament or finds itself watching from home. Stratton uses the award to encourage the players to look past the score and find a positive.ย
"You can find positives within the entire thing, and just because we lose,ย doesn'tย mean there's notย really goodย performances," she said. "So we're justย kind of making sureย that we continue to show the positive throughout all of it."ย
That's not a position State has found itself in often in 2026 after starting the year 6-0-0, but it hasn't always been the case.
After theย victoryย againstย Oklahoma State, the award was given to Chiara Tappe. Despite a four-goal output, Tappe was not a scorer. O'Brien described her relentless effort in the game as she played all around the pitch, winning tackles andย setting the tone for the team to take the victory.ย While the coaches meet postgame to make the final decision as a group, the real celebration happens as a squad when the winner is announced.ย
"Theyย kind of expectย who it is, but they love toย celebrateย them," Stratton said.ย "I thinkย that'sย one of the cool things about it as well."
On rare occasions, like the team win against Alcorn State, multiple people can earn the Big Dawg Energy award. It's been split between two players before and evenย givenย to the whole team due to the performance shown by everyone.ย ย
"They live their lives according to that standard and prepare themselves to live by that Bulldog mentality," Stratton said, showing how the roster has bought into the tradition.
