Mississippi
Desoto County native helps guide NASA’s Artemis II moon mission
From Mississippi to the moon.
That’s one way to characterize the career trajectory of Matthew Ramsey, a DeSoto County native who is helping to guide Artemis II, the NASA space mission now on its way to Earth’s natural satellite.
A veteran aerospace engineer and 1993 Mississippi State graduate who pitched for the university’s “Diamond Dawgs” baseball team while studying the science and design principles that would prove invaluable to NASA, Ramsey, who hails from Hernando, is “mission manager” for the expedition that is taking astronauts around the moon for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972.
Working largely out of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Ramsey was responsible for ensuring the safety and efficiency of the hardware and technology for the flight, while also helping to define the priorities of the mission.
Launched April 1 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Artemis II mission consists of four astronauts inside an Orion rocket on a 10-day, 685,000-mile “flyby” around the moon. The crew will test life-support systems, engineering maneuverability and other aspects of space travel in preparation for the return of astronauts to the lunar surface — and beyond.
“For me, it’s all about the crew and ensuring their safety as they venture to the Moon and come home,” said Ramsey, in a statement released by NASA. “Sending people thousands of miles from home and doing it in a way that sets the stage for long-term exploration and scientific discovery is an incredibly complex task.”
Referencing his college career with the Mississippi State Bulldogs, or “Diamond Dawgs,” he said: “There are a lot of similarities between mission management and pitching. You control many aspects of the tempo, and there’s a lot of weight on your shoulders.”
Ramsey worked in both private and government sectors of the tech industry before joining the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 2002, working on the design of guidance, navigation and control systems for various rocket programs. For Artemis I, the uncrewed moon-orbiting mission of 2022, he coordinated the work of multiple engineering teams.
Ramsey and his colleagues already are preparing for Artemis III, which will conduct tests in Earth’s orbit, and Artemis IV, scheduled for the spring of 2028, which will return astronauts to the lunar surface.
As a NASA press release states, Ramsey is helping to get the space agency “primed for what lies ahead: sending humans back to the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years and laying the foundation for future missions that will ultimately enable human exploration of Mars.”
The SEC regular season champion Georgia Bulldogs (43-12, 23-7 SEC) begin the SEC Tournament against the Mississippi State Bulldogs in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. Mississippi State is 40-16 (16-14 SEC) entering their matchup with Georgia. Mississippi State is coming off a 12-2 run-rule win in seven innings over Missouri.
The Bulldogs enters the SEC Tournament having won 11 of their last 12 games. Georgia leads the nation in home runs. Georgia catcher Daniel Jackson was recently named as the SEC player of the year.
“We’re planning on going with our regular routine,” Georgia baseball manager Wes Johnson said ahead of the SEC Tournament. “From a pitching standpoint on Thursday, we have a lot of guys who will be ready to throw. I’ll see who wins the first few games before we announce exactly what we’re planning to do, but we’re staying with it. We’ve got guys on bullpen schedules, as if we’re playing a Thursday, Friday, Saturday series.”
No. 1 seed Georgia and No. 8 seed Mississippi State met three times during the regular season with Georgia earning a road sweep at Mississippi State.
Watch Georgia vs Mississippi State live on Fubo (free trial)
Here’s how to watch the Georgia vs Mississippi State game today, including time, TV schedule, and streaming information:
What channel is Georgia vs Mississippi State on today?
TV Channel: SEC Network
Livestream: Fubo (free trial)
Georgia vs Mississippi State will broadcast nationally on SEC Network in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. Tom Hart and Dave Neal are alternating play-by-play duties throughout the SEC Tournament alongside analysts Todd Walker, Lance Cormier, Chris Burke and Kyle Peterson, who will be calling games from the booth at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. Streaming options for the game include FUBO, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.
Georgia vs Mississippi State time today
- Date: Thursday, May 21
- Start time: 4 p.m. ET
The Georgia vs Mississippi State game starts at 4 p.m. from Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.
Georgia vs Mississippi State prediction, College World Series odds
Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Wednesday, May 20
We predict Georgia will defeat Mississippi State to advance in the SEC Tournament. Georgia swept Mississippi State during the regular season and has been elite against SEC opponents this season, so we can’t pick against UGA.
Georgia (plus-1000) and Mississippi State (plus-1000) both have top-five best odds to win the College World Series. Georgia and Mississippi State are only behind Texas (plus-900), Georgia Tech (plus-600) and UCLA (plus-550).
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Mississippi
Death investigation underway after Columbia Academy graduate taken off life support in Florida
PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WDAM) – A death investigation has been opened after deputies in Florida responded to a life-threatening call involving a recent Columbia Academy graduate.
WDAM’s sister station, WJHG, reported that the Bay County Sheriff’s Office said Shannon Thomas Tanner, 19, was expected to be taken off of life support Wednesday after being declared brain dead.
According to the incident report obtained by WJHG, on Sunday, May 18, deputies arrived at a home in Panama City Beach and were told that Tanner had been drinking alcohol.
The report says an investigator asked someone at the home what happened, with the person telling the investigator that Tanner was “drinking too much.” EMS reportedly treated Tanner on scene.
BCSO is investigating the death of a 19-year-old from Mississippi
The cause of the medical emergency has not been confirmed, and the investigation is ongoing.
According to a GoFundMe set up to help with funeral expenses, Tanner was on his senior trip after graduating from Columbia Academy.
Columbia Academy made a Facebook post expressing its condolences for the family, saying the recent graduate was “the kind of person who can make anyone laugh, light up a room with his personality and dance moves, and make others feel valued simply by being himself.”
Return to WDAM 7 for updates on this developing story.
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Copyright 2026 WDAM. All rights reserved.
Mississippi State softball is one step away from reaching the program’s first Women’s College World Series.
But to get there, the Bulldogs (41-18) will have to get through one of the top programs in the sport.
MSU is facing Oklahoma (51-8), the No. 3 national seed, in the NCAA Tournament super regional. The best-of-three series begins May 22 (noon, ESPN2) at Love’s Field in Norman, Oklahoma.
Here is a scouting report and prediction for the super regional.
Oklahoma easily won its regional
The Sooners breezed through the Norman Regional, outscoring Binghamton, Kansas and Michigan 28-1 in three games.
That wasn’t much of a surprise for a team that’s made nine consecutive Women’s College World Series and hasn’t missed a super regional since 2009. Oklahoma has won eight national championships, seven of them since 2013.
Oklahoma is 27-1 at home this season, with the only loss to Arkansas on April 18.
Mississippi State coach Samantha Ricketts played at Oklahoma from 2006-09 and then was a graduate assistant at Oklahoma from 2009-11.
MSU is 0-11 all time against Oklahoma.
Oklahoma led by Kendall Wells’ 37 home runs
The offense has been Oklahoma’s strength, especially from a power standpoint. The Sooners have hit 182 home runs in 2026, the second most in the country behind UCLA and 80 more than the next best SEC team.
Freshman Kendall Wells has 37 home runs, the most in program and SEC history. Four other players have at least 19 home runs.
The Sooners also rank first in the SEC in batting average and runs scored.
Oklahoma’s pitching staff ranks eighth in the SEC with a 3.02 ERA.
Can Alyssa Faircloth continue dominance vs Oklahoma?
A big part of Mississippi State winning the Eugene Regional was Alyssa Faircloth’s dominant pitching. She threw 15⅔ shutout innings in the regional. That included a no-hitter against host Oregon and then another complete-game shutout against Saint Mary’s in the regional final.
The Troy transfer and SEC Newcomer of the Year has a 2.28 ERA and 16-7 record. Her 261 strikeouts are a single-season program record.
The Bulldogs, who rank third in the SEC in team ERA at 2.15, also have Peja Goold, who started the first game of the Eugene Regional. She has a 2.12 ERA and 15-10 record.
Mississippi State vs OU softball super regional prediction
Oklahoma wins super regional 2-0: The Sooners are a big step up in competition. Faircloth and Goold give MSU a chance, but the offense will need to keep up.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
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