Mississippi
No. 13 LSU Set for Final Home Slate Against Alabama, Mississippi State
BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 10 LSU women’s tennis team hosts its final regular-season home matches this week, opening against Alabama on Thursday, Apr. 2, at 5:00 p.m. CT, before closing with a Senior Day matchup against Mississippi State on Saturday, Apr. 4, at 11:00 a.m. CT.
According to the latest official ITA rankings (Mar. 31), LSU ranks No. 13 in the dual season team rankings.
Last time out, the Tigers suffered two setbacks at home against No. 7 Texas, 4-2, and No. 3 Texas A&M, 4-1. Freshman Addison Lanton led the way, going a combined 3-1 in singles and doubles over the weekend.
Attendance at all LSU matches at the LSU Tennis Complex is free. Attendees will be required to comply with the university’s clear-bag policy.
LSU holds a 12-7 record on the season and has clinched the doubles point in 11 of its matches. The Tigers own a 49-29 singles mark and a 28-19 doubles record.
The Tigers feature three ranked singles players in No. 34 Cadence Brace, No. 64 Kayla Cross, and No. 122 Addison Lanton in the latest ITA rankings. Furthermore, LSU has three ranked doubles pairings: No. 11 Cross and Ella McDonald, No. 51 Kenna Erickson and McDonald, and No. 82 Brace and Cross.
Cross holds a 3-1 singles mark on the season. The sophomore holds two ranked victories on the campaign, highlighted by taking down Auburn’s then-No. 50 Ekaterina Khairutdinova, 6-4, 0-6, 6-0.
Brace holds a 5-3 mark on the top spot, behind three ranked victories, highlighted by taking down Vanderbilt’s No. 33 Bridget Stammel, 6-3, 6-1.
McDonald checks in with a 5-3 singles mark. She posted a ranked victory to clinch the match win against Florida’s No. 26 Gabia Paskauskas, 6-2, 6-3.
Against NC State, McDonald and Cross struck up a partnership to take down NC State’s then-No. 2 Broadfoot/Victoria Osuigwe, 7-6(6). Since then, the duo has a 3-1 record this season, all against ranked opponents.
Beyond teaming with Cross, McDonald has earned five doubles wins on the season with Erickson. Likewise, Erickson has collected four singles victories, riding a two-match winning streak, on the third and fifth courts this season.
Lanton continues her strong freshman campaign with a team-leading 13-2 mark behind victories on the first, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth courts. Lanton is also currently riding a four-match winning streak in singles. In doubles play, the freshman has earned eight total victories with four different partners.
Following ITA Kickoff Weekend, on Jan. 28, Carolina Kuhl was named the SEC Freshman of the Week. Kuhl has registered a 10-7 record in singles play.
Alabama holds a 12-7 overall record with four wins in SEC play. The Crimson Tide is represented in the ITA singles rankings by No. 71 Kristina Paskauskas, No. 73 Klara Milicevic, and No. 118 Karla Bartel. Head coach Jonatan Berhane is in his third season at the helm of the program. LSU holds a 36-17 all-time record against Alabama and is riding a two-match winning streak.
Mississippi State is 15-8 on the season with three victories in conference play. The Bulldogs hold three ranked pairings in No. 20 Charlotte Kempenaers-Pocz and Chiara Di Genova, No. 32 Kempenaers-Pocz and Gianna Oboniye, and No. 52 Oboniye and Athina Pitta. Chris Hooshyar is in his third season as the program’s head coach. LSU is 36-13 in all-time matchups against the Bulldogs and rides a five-match winning streak dating back to 2021.
For more information on the LSU women’s tennis program, follow the Tigers on X @lsuwten, Instagram @LSUWTen, and Facebook.com/lsuwten.
Mississippi State baseball’s Ace Reese crushes opponent’s ace pitchers, but that’s not exactly why he got that first name.
Reese is the Bulldogs’ star third baseman and a top prospect for the 2026 MLB Draft.
He’s in his second season at MSU, which is facing Georgia in the Athens Super Regional starting on June 6 (10 a.m. CT, ESPN). The winner will go to the College World Series, where MSU hasn’t been since the 2021 national championship.
Here’s what to know about Reese, including the story of his first name.
Ace Reese name
Reese’s parents named him Ace because they thought he’d be a star pitcher. They were correct that Reese would be a star baseball player, but just at a different position.
“I didn’t know, right?” Aaron Reese told The Clarion Ledger last season. “We prayed about it a lot and you have confidence and faith and know that you’re going to get going in the right direction. At that moment, that was the direction we were being led.”
Ace Reese stats
Reese is batting .328 with 22 home runs, 72 RBIs and 69 runs. He leads the team in home runs, RBIs and runs.
Reese joined Mississippi State legends Rafael Palmeiro and Will Clark this season as the only players in program history with consecutive 20-home run seasons.
Reese is a two-time All-SEC first-team selection and the 2025 SEC Newcomer of the Year.
In his two Mississippi State seasons, Reese is batting .337 with 43 home runs, 136 RBIs and 125 runs. His .707 career slugging percentage at MSU is on pace to be the third-highest in program history behind only Clark and Palmeiro.
Ace Reese MLB draft projections
Reese is ranked as the No. 21 prospect by the MLB for the 2026 draft. Mississippi State hasn’t had a batter drafted in the first round since Justin Foscue in 2020.
Reese spent last summer playing for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team with players like Roch Cholowsky, UCLA’s star who’s projected to be the No. 1 pick.
Ace Reese transferred to Mississippi State
Reese played at Houston as a freshman in 2024 before transferring to Mississippi State.
Ace Reese hometown
Reese is from Canton, Texas, which is southeast of Dallas, and went to Canton High School.
Mississippi State vs Georgia super regional schedule
- Game 1: Saturday, June 6 (10 a.m. CT, ESPN)
- Game 2: Sunday, June 7 (11 a.m. CT, ESPN)
- Game 3: Monday, June 8 (TBD), if necessary
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi fourth graders have led the nation in gains in reading and math scores, but eighth graders and high schoolers sit near the bottom in certain categories. Lawmakers and educators have drawn up plans to prevent setbacks but need help from parents.
Since 2013, students completing fourth grade have taken Mississippi from 49th and 50th in reading and math scores to ninth and 16th.
“What we see is that students do really well in those earlier grades and then in those pre-teen years, we see some of those grades dip,” State Sen. Nicole Boyd said.
High school scores lag
The biggest drop is with the ACT.
According to ACT.org, in 2024, Mississippi ranked 49th in average scores out of all states and Washington D.C.
Students earned an average of 17.7. Only 17% of test takers met the math and science benchmark and 27% met the reading benchmark.
In total, only 1% of graduates in 2024 statewide took this test.
Eighth graders are also performing below the national average according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, sitting at 41st in reading and 35th in math scores nationally.
“One way that we can change that is provide students opportunities to learn and read things that they’re interested in and not make it punitive,” said Tiffany Cline, director of library services with Jackson Public Schools.
New screening requirements
This upcoming school year, children have more options.
Boyd, who sits on the Education Committee, helped pass a law requiring elementary and middle school students to undergo three math and reading check-ups each year.
The screenings from Senate Bill 2294 place students who fall behind on an individual plan to learn at their own pace with a coach.
“By doing these screeners and really finding out where children are, that will empower parents with more information,” Boyd said. “To really help and assess their kid when they need to have a little bit more support.”
“If we address those issues then, when they get into our upper grades, they are not learning to read; they are reading to learn,” Cline said. “So, now they’re able to comprehend and understand what they’re reading better.”
Summer learning
Summertime can allow children to slip in remembering what they learned last year. Some local students shared how they stay on track for fall.
“We have to read a book for 30 minutes and work on a summer packet for 30 minutes,” Major Marshall said.
“Studying my math problems and making sure I get a good education, get my reading skills up and stuff,” Baleigh Wollfolk said.
“Especially if I practice over the summer, it will be a lot easier to get the work done and understand it more,” Kailee Partee said.
The new tools from state lawmakers will also be available for students taking computer science and personal financial classes in the school years to come in 2027 through 2029.
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