Being a student at a school in the hardest and most challenging NCAA division of sports can be difficult at times, but each bump in the road brings an uncountable number of memorable nights. Seven events specifically from the 2025-26 athletic season at Mississippi State University have been nothing short of remarkable and are argued to be the top-5 sports moments of the season.
Each sport brings its own atmosphere that simply cannot be compared. The fanbase at Mississippi State is special; even after tough losses or team slumps, fans still show up, rain or shine, and ring their cowbells.
After reviewing the athletic events from this past year, five stood out immediately and show exactly what kind of school MSU is.
Mississippi State Softball handing No.1 Tennessee its first season loss – March 14, 2026
This series was different. Despite not securing the series win, they won one game, which was the first game the Vols lost of the season. Tennessee won the first game of the series 3-1 in 9 innings and the third game 4-1, allowing them to head back to Knoxville with the series win.
But it was not a sweep. During the second game of the series in the bottom of the seventh, Taylor Troutman hit a walk-off home run that not only won the game 1-0, but handed TN their first loss of the season and marked the second year in a row that MSU softball had taken down a No.1 team at home.
And, to make the win even sweeter, a record crowd was there to watch. 2,134 Bulldog fans packed Nusz Park, which set the regular-season record at the time. It was also the third time in program history that more than 2,000 fans were in the park cheering for the Dawgs.
Josh Hubbard single-handedly beat Auburn basketball – February 18, 2026
Mississippi State and Auburn were unranked at the time, but Auburn entered the game with a five-game losing streak on its back, while MSU beat rival Ole Miss in Oxford four days prior and was at the beginning of a winning streak.
The Bulldogs defeated the Tigers 91-85, making Humphrey Coliseum more electric than it had been all season long. Josh Hubbard had a breakout game, setting the school record for 3-pointers in a single game as well as total scoring in a conference game. Hubbard scored 10 3-pointers and 46 total points.
In the first 20 minutes, Hubbard had nine 3-pointers and 35 points alone. His 46 total points throughout the entirety of the game were only one short of tying the school’s record of all-time single-game scoring, which is held by Bailey Howell from the 1958-59 season.
Many other teammates contributed to this win, but Hubbard scored nearly half of the Bulldogs’ points and proved a point to former teammate Keyshawn Murphy, who now plays for Auburn, that “you don’t leave State.”
The hiring of Hall of Famer and national champion Brian O’Connor – June 1, 2025
The hiring of baseball head coach Brian O’Connor was one of the best decisions for the Mississippi State Baseball program. The 2025 season was not the best for the Diamond Dawgs in terms of coaching, as their head coach, Chris Lemonis, was relieved of his duties mid-season, leaving Justin Parker to step into the role for the remainder of the season.
What fans did not know was how much better MSU baseball was about to get once they entered the O’Connor era.
Under his coaching, the team has remained ranked in the top-25 all season and has swept Ole Miss each time they have met.
O’Connor was Virginia’s head coach for 22 seasons and has an impressive amount of accolades to support his coaching career. He has made seven College World Series appearances, 18 NCAA Tournament appearances and nine Super Regional appearances. He has also been the ACC Coach of the Year five times and the National Coach of the Year three times.
O’Connor has produced 109 MLB Draft picks and 35 MLB players. O’Connor is the new face of MSU baseball, and he is directing the Diamond Dawgs to a repeat of the 2021 national championship title.
Jeff Lebby’s first conference win at Mississippi State – November 1, 2025
It may have taken two seasons, but sooner is better than later. After being 0-15 in SEC play, football head coach Jeff Lebby won his first conference game at Mississippi State during week 10 of the 2025 season against Arkansas.
The game took place in Fayetteville, giving Arkansas the home advantage. But the Bulldogs came out on top instead. The final score of the game was 38-35, but it was not until the fourth quarter that Mississippi State really showed out.
In the fourth quarter alone, Mississippi State scored 17 points, securing Lebby’s first-ever conference win as the Mississippi State football head coach. Running back Davon Booth and wide receiver Anthony Evans both scored 14 points each for the team, as well as quarterback Kamario Taylor rushing to the end zone to score another 6 points.
Although the Bulldogs ended last season 1-7 in conference play, it was a step up from the previous season and a monumental moment for Lebby, as he began to show his true coaching abilities against tough competition.
Ally Perry takes down No.1 Tennessee during opening SEC play – September 12, 2025
It was a perfect Friday night in early September at the MSU soccer field, but what made it even more perfect was Ally Perry and her teammates defeating No. 1 Tennessee in the opening conference game in Starkville.
In the last 20 minutes of the nail-biting game, Perry scored two goals, one of which tied the game and the other secured the win. Zoe Main scored first for the Bulldogs, giving the team a 1-0 lead heading into halftime, but the Vols came back out on fire and scored two goals back-to-back, flipping the lead to them.
Perry responded with two goals, ending the game with a 3-2 score and sending the Vols back to Knoxville with a loss.
Kevin Milewski’s walk-off home run against LSU during Super Bulldog Weekend – April 24, 2026
Each game of the LSU baseball series was truly a nail-biter. The Tigers led; the Bulldogs caught up and dominated them. Friday’s game was a long, yet eventful one. In 11 innings, both teams battled for the game one win, and it looked like LSU was going to be 1-0, but when Milewski stepped up to the plate, that all changed.
Heading into the 11th tied, hoping for an end to the game, Milewski smashed a ball into the left field and over the crowd, making the score 10-8 while 13,489 fans erratically rang their cowbells, hugging anyone nearby and screaming as loud as they could.
The Bulldogs went into Saturday’s game 1-0 over the Tigers, and it seemed as if LSU was going to come out on top in this game, but yet again, MSU woke up and beat the Tigers 9-8, securing the series win. However, that was not enough. The Diamond Dawgs wanted a sweep, and that is what they got.
Sunday’s game ended in a 13-8 win for MSU, and the Tigers went home 0-3 to Mississippi State. The entire series was electric, but Milewski’s two-run homer will go down in history as one of the most celebrated moments in Dudy Noble.
Rushing the field after MSU football shockingly defeated No.12 Arizona State – September 6, 2025
Saturday night. Black out. New uniforms. First home football game of the season. What could get better than that?
A ranked football win with a field rush to follow, the first since the Egg Bowl field rush in 2019.
This game was easily the best moment of the sports season in Starkville. Not only was this the first win over a nonconference top-15-ranked team since 1991 for the Bulldogs, but it was the highest-ranked win under Lebby’s coaching.
MSU built a 17-0 lead in the first half, but in the fourth quarter, the Arizona State Sun Devils were up 20-17. With 30 short seconds left of the game and the Bulldogs third and nine, Brenen Thompson found himself in the perfect position to make a career noting play, and that he did. Thompson ran a 58-yard touchdown to raise the score and put the Bulldog on top right at the end.
The fans went wild. Cowbells rang louder than ever. Students spilled out onto Scott Field like there was no tomorrow. That night was a night straight out of a movie, and the night that Thompson became a fan favorite in Starkville.
As if the game was not recognized enough by fans in Starkville, ESPN ranked this matchup among the top 10 of the season. Any fan who attended the game will forever remember it as a night made for the history books.
