Mississippi State University announced on Apr. 27 that Starkville native Tootie Lockett has joined the women’s basketball team as their sixth transfer for the upcoming 2026-27 season.
Lockett, a 5-foot-9 guard and graduate of Starkville High School, previously played at Itawamba Community College in Fulton under former Bulldog Robin Porter. During her sophomore year, she started all 30 games and averaged 14.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.
She scored double-digit points in 25 out of Itawamba’s 30 games during the last season and recorded six performances with more than twenty points. Her highest-scoring game was against Holmes Community College, where she scored a season-high of 29 points while shooting efficiently from both the field and beyond the arc. Lockett also achieved three double-doubles over the course of the season.
Lockett received several honors during her collegiate career in Mississippi and nationally. After her freshman year, she was named First Team All-MACCC and NJCAA All-Region 23 while helping lead Itawamba to its first appearance at the NJCAA National Tournament. Following her sophomore campaign, she earned MACCC Women’s Basketball Player of the Year honors along with First Team All-MACCC, NJCAA All-Region 23 recognition, and an NJCAA All-American Honorable Mention.
With this addition through the transfer portal, Lockett joins Reese Beaty, Arianny Francisco de Oliveira, Aryss Macktoon, Cali Smallwood and Macie Phifer as new transfers to Mississippi State’s roster for next season. The Bulldogs will also return their two top scorers from last year: Madison Francis—who was named to both SEC All-Defensive and All-Freshman teams—and Favour Nwaedozi who was one of four players in the Southeastern Conference to average a double-double last season.
The team will further be strengthened by midseason addition Melissa Guillet as well as incoming freshmen Lani Smallwood—Alabama’s Gatorade Girl’s Player of the Year—and Tennessee’s Miss Basketball Andrea Flores.
