Joey Harvey is a junior majoring in communication. He can be contacted at [email protected].After the surprising yet impressive upset victory that sent No. 8 seed Eva Kriegel to the second round of the Top Dawg competition over top-seeded Jamont Gordon, the new tournament favorite was able to surpass his underdog opponent and reach Round 2. Justin Pigott defeated Marneshia Richard by an impressive margin, and therefore will await the winner of this week’s match: the No. 3 seed vs. No. 6 seed pairing.
No. 3 Charles Rhodes
Men’s Basketball
Senior
Jackson, Miss.
Forward
MSU basketball fans can and should be thankful that Charles Rhodes made it a goal for himself to earn a degree from this institution.
Because of that, he decided to withdraw his name from the NBA draft and return to State for his senior season. Named to the All-SEC team twice in his career, Rhodes stands only 87 points shy of the 1,000 mark on his collegiate career.
His aim is to lead the Bulldogs to compete for another championship run, and, with his in-your-face blocks and Hump-shaking slam dunks, Rhodes could be the shoulder to carry the team to victory.
No. 6 Chelsea Bramlett
Softball
Sophomore
Cordova, Tenn.
Catcher
As the youngest participant in the Top Dawg competition, it seems the odds are stacked against Chelsea Bramlett as she goes head-to-head with a player returning for his senior season.
Bramlett did not allow her age to be a factor last season for the softball Bulldogs. She was the third MSU freshman in history to be named to the All-America squad and only the second to be named to the first team. She also earned other awards such as SEC All-Freshman team and SEC Freshman of the Year.
The speedy youngster was one of only two players to start in all of MSU’s games last season, and broke the single-season steal record with 46. Her batting average placed her seventh in the SEC. All this … from a freshman!