The 2025 high school softball season in Mississippi has come to its end, and it was an exciting season from start to finish. The championship series’ delivered as promised, and it was a fitting end to the season that was. These 12 players that have been nominated for the final player of the week poll went above and beyond as they did everything they could to try and help their team close out the season with an exclamation point. As always, we ask you, the fans, to vote on who you think is the final High School on SI Mississippi softball player of the week for 2025.

Editor’s note: Our corresponding poll is intended to be fun, and we do not set limits on how many times a fan can vote during the competition. This poll is specifically for fans to vote on the players that have been nominated and in no way discredits any other player that may not be mentioned in our poll

Congratulations to last week’s winner: Abby Danis East Central

Voting will close on May 25 at 11:59 p.m.

Here are the nominations:

In the 10-3 and 10-6 losses to East Central, Eason still managed to have some productive at-bats. She finished with four hits, two home runs, three RBIs and three runs scored.

In the two wins in game one and game three in the Class 3A state championship, Dearman pitched a complete game in both as she helped her team secure the championship. In game one, she allowed three hits, zero runs and 10 strikeouts in eight innings. In game three, she allowed two hits, zero runs with 10 strikeouts.

In the wins over Lafayette, Danis finished with four hits, one home run, four RBIs and two runs scored as she helped the Hornets secure the Class 5A state championship.

In three games in the Class 1A state championship versus Myrtle, Holifield finished with five hits, two home runs, one double, five RBIs and four runs scored as the Red Devils claimed the championship.

In the 10-0 and 12-1 wins over Pisgah in the Class 2A state championship, Johnson went 3-for-5 with two home runs, six RBIs and four runs scored.

In the 6-2 and 9-6 wins over Purvis in the Class 4A state championship, Owens finished with four hits, one double and one RBI. She also pitched 12.1 combined innings in the series. Owens allowed 13 hits, seven runs and struck out five batters.

Pipkins came up big from the plate in the Class 6A state championship that saw the Rebels emerge victorious in three games versus Neshoba Central. She finished the series with three hits, one home run, one double and four runs scored.

Slay is another member of the Rebels squad who had a successful showing from the plate in the 6A state championship series. She finished with five hits, one triple, five RBIs and three runs scored.

In the 8-3 and 9-0 wins over Hernando in the Class 7A state championship series, Smith finished with four hits, two doubles, two RBIs and five runs scored.

In the game two win over Hernando which secured the 7A state championship for the Cougars, Tubbs finished with three hits, two RBIs and one run scored.

In the wins over Myrtle, Townsend finished with three hits, two doubles, two RBIs, one stolen base and two runs scored.

In the 10-0 win over Pisgah, Cooper finished with two hits, one double, two RBIs and one run scored.

STARKVILLE, Miss. — Three weeks ago, Mississippi State’s postseason hopes looked bleak. Then they made some changes.

The Bulldogs, once a national powerhouse, found themselves outside NCAA tournament projections and without a coach after Chris Lemonis was dismissed on April 28.

Fast forward to mid-May, and a remarkable turnaround under interim coach Justin Parker has Mississippi State (34-20) not only back in the conversation but firmly projected to make the 2025 NCAA tournament.

Since the coaching change, Mississippi State has won nine of its last 10 games, including a crucial sweep of Missouri.

This late push has elevated the Bulldogs’ RPI to No. 30, their highest mark since the season’s start. The team’s resurgence has been attributed to Parker’s steady leadership and the players’ renewed focus.

“The Bulldogs were not projected to make the NCAA tournament when coach Chris Lemonis was fired on April 28. MSU (34-20) won nine of its last 10 games of the regular season under interim coach Justin Parker and is now firmly projected to be in the NCAA tournament,” wrote Sam Sklar of the Jackson Clarion Ledger.

Current projections from D1Baseball slot Mississippi State as a No. 3 seed in the Tallahassee Regional, with Florida State hosting, West Virginia as the No. 2 seed, and Bethune-Cookman rounding out the group.

Meanwhile, Aria Gerson of the Tennessean sees MSU as a No. 2 seed in the Atlanta Regional hosted by Georgia Tech, alongside Austin Peay and Eastern Illinois. These projections highlight the Bulldogs’ strong finish and improved tournament résumé.

Mississippi State’s NCAA tournament case is built on a robust strength of schedule (SOS) and a solid record outside the top tier.

The Bulldogs are 8-17 in Quad 1 games, 3-2 in Quad 2, and an impressive 23-1 in Quads 3 and 4.

Their opening SEC tournament matchup against Texas A&M is classified as a Quad 2 opportunity, giving MSU a chance to further solidify its postseason credentials.

Baseball America’s latest bubble watch pointed out the importance of the upcoming series.

“Mississippi State looks poised to become the 13th [SEC team in the field] with one more series win,” they wrote. “Win the series and they’re in. Lose it, and the conversation becomes much murkier again.”

Mississippi State has been in this spot before. They’ve been in the College World Series in 2019 and the national championship season in 2021.

That didn’t buy Lemonis lifetime job security, which is why a couple of months ago nobody was singing these optimistic songs.

The Bulldogs’ late-season surge has already shifted the national narrative, making the Bulldogs one of the most intriguing teams to watch in the SEC Tournament and where they’ll land for another chance to get to Omaha.

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Lights, camera, action.

Two student filmmakers from Mississippi had the opportunity to show off their short film to a crowd of a few dozen at the Two Mississippi Museums.

College student Jermarius Everett and high school student Walter Giesen watched their films take to the big screen.

Both films focus on the civil rights era and the process of de-segregation in different parts of the Magnolia State. Everett’s film is called ‘Masterminds Of The Movement.’

He said, “Our film was just about the students at Tougaloo and how impactful the college was being that they were in a unique position as a private liberal arts college and out of state funded college. Who could recommended for by the government. So, we wanted to just tell that story. Just tell how influential they was during their time and just the impact that they’ve made.”

Giesen’s film is called Mississippi Turning: The Pivotal Role Of School Desegregation In A Southern Town.”

He said, “My film tells the story of the school desegregation in Starkville and it looks at it from the national level all the way down to the local level, and it runs through that story in the really unique circumstances surrounding that.”

After both films were shown at the Two Mississippi Museums Sunday, the two young film makers got up on stage and took questions about the hard work they’d put into their films.

The moderator for the discussion, Randy Kwan, is also a film maker. He says he is inspired when students are eager to make films on Mississippi’s history.

Kwan said, “I grew up here in the Mississippi Delta and I wanted to be a filmmaker, and since I’ve moved back, I’ve always wanted to try to help young filmmakers and, you know, give them the opportunity that I never had. I’ve always had a love for documentaries and, to me, it’s inspiring to see all these new students that come in that have the desire to tell our stories.”

These filmmakers have some advice for those looking to get into the business… and may want to make a historical film of their own.

“I’d say just tell the story that you want to tell and tell the local story and like my story did, like it can garner national attention just by being the local story about your little town.”

“Don’t be discouraged by, you know, the lack of, you know, resources that you have at your leisure or the equipment that you might not have or things like that. Continue to tell your story.”

The next film on deck at the Two Mississippi Museums will be June 22 where at 2 p.m., the museum will show Farming Freedom: The Inspiring story of Black Land Ownership in Mississippi.

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