Mississippi
See winners of final preliminary round in Miss Mississippi 2026 pageant
Miss America 2026 pageant coming to West Palm Beach, Florida
The Miss America pageant is coming to Palm Beach County for the next three years. Here’s what we can expect.
On the third and final night of the Miss Mississippi 2026 preliminaries, four competitors walked away Friday, June 12, with awards in the pageant.
Preliminary rounds for the 2026 competition started June 10 and ended June 12. Contestants divided into groups, with each group competing in contests every night at 8 p.m. for the preliminaries.
Anna Leah Jolly was crowned Miss Mississippi in 2025. A new winner will be crowned after the finale, which is set for 8 p.m. Saturday, June 13. The finale will be held at the Vicksburg Convention Center.
The winner of Miss Mississippi 2026 will go on to compete in the Miss America pageant. The Miss America 2027 competition will be held Aug. 28 through Sept. 6, 2026, in West Palm Beach, Florida, with the crowning of the 99th Miss America on Sept. 6 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center.
On Friday, preliminary awards were handed out in two categories: fitness and talent. There was a three-way tie in the fitness competition, and one winner was chosen in the talent competition.
Who were the Miss Mississippi 2026 preliminary winners for June 12?
- Fitness: Miss Starkville — Morgan Nelson; Miss Capital City — Jane Granberry; and Miss Barnes Crossing — Jaycee Drew Janzen
- Talent: Miss New South — Kayla Braswell
How to watch the Miss Mississippi 2026 competition
To watch the pageant in-person, tickets cost $50 and are available for purchase through the Miss Mississippi website.
Livestream tickets cost $35 for the finale and are available for purchase at missmisslive.com.
The finale will also air on television at 8 p.m. Saturday, June 13, on the following channels:
- WDAM, Hattiesburg
- WLBT, Jackson
- WLOX, Biloxi
- WMC Bounce, Memphis
- WTVA, Tupelo
- WTOK, Meridian
Who are the judges for Miss Mississippi 2026?
The Miss Mississippi Organization announced the judges for this year’s competition are:
- C.J. Pearson — an American conservative activist from Georgia
- Mistie Knight — a Mississippi native crowned Miss Pontotoc 2002 then later Miss Las Vegas 2006
- Dana Rosengard — a Miss America Organization volunteer since 1991
- Leah Walker — a Georgia native crowned Miss Georgia 2007 then later placed in Top 10 Miss America Pageant
- Debbie Butcher — the executive director of the Miss PA Scholarship Foundation, Inc., based in Pennsylvania
Pam Dankins is the breaking news reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Have a tip? Email her at pdankins@gannett.com.
Tennessee is recruiting toward its 2029 football signing class. The Vols offered a scholarship to 2029 wide receiver Matthew Fletcher.
“Blessed to receive an offer (from) the University of Tennessee,” Fletcher announced.
The 6-foot-3, 195-pound wide receiver is from Central Hinds Academy in Raymond, Mississippi. He does not have rankings from 247Sports.
Ole Miss was the first school to offer a scholarship to Fletcher. Other schools to offer him scholarships are Akron, LSU, Mississippi State, Tuskegee, Jacksonville State, Hinds Community College and Jackson State.
Tennessee does not have a commitment for its 2028 and 2029 recruiting class.
The Vols have 13 commitments for their 2027 recruiting class: linebacker JP Peace, offensive tackle Princeton Uwaifo, defensive lineman Kadin Fife, quarterback Derrick Baker, athlete Jaden Butler, wide receiver KeSean Bowman, defensive back Carter Jamison, defensive back Brandon Leavell, tight end Malik Howard, defensive lineman Christian Mays, cornerback Dylan Haley, long snapper Sam McKeown and kicker Ford Fehling.
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