STARKVILLE — Chris Jans focused on two areas to improve Mississippi State basketball for the 2025-26 season: rebounding and 3-point shooting.
Six transfers, four freshmen and one commitment from an international player later, the Bulldogs believe they accomplished that.
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“We needed to get bigger,” Jans said on June 5 as he enters his fourth season as MSU coach. “We needed to get better on the glass, which is hard for me to admit because most of my teams historically have been really good in the rebounding department. We felt like we had too many games where that was maybe a difference in the win-loss column, so we tried to shore that up that way.”
Mississippi State finished 21-13 and made its third consecutive NCAA tournament but is still seeking its first NCAA tournament win since 2008.
It lost starting power forward Cameron Matthews to graduation and starting center Michael Nwoko transferred to Miami. Forward KeShawn Murphy, who was second on the team with 11.7 points per game and the leading rebounder at 7.4 per game, transferred to Auburn.
Mississippi State’s transfer class consists of two power forwards, Achor Achor and Brandon Walker, and one center, Quincy Ballard. The freshmen class, which is No. 12 in the country according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, contains two four-star centers in Tee Bartlett and Canton’s Jamarion Davis-Fleming.
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Ballard, a Wichita State transfer, could fill that spot as a starting center. He averaged 10.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game last season. The Bulldogs were 130th in the country in rebounding percentage last season.
“With just how many ball screens are employed each and every game, and the level of what’s going on in those ball screens, having a quarterback on defense, or a goalie would be probably more appropriate, is a big advantage,” Jans said. “I’ve never felt like we’ve had that since we’ve been here, a guy that can protect the lane, protect the rim, protect some of the guys out front if they’re getting beat. Certainly not trying to put a ton of pressure or weight on his back walking in the door, but it’s a big reason why we went after him the way we did.”
The return of Josh Hubbard, a two-time All-SEC guard, is a big boost for the 3-point shooting, but Mississippi State needs more consistent and efficient shooting around him. MSU shot 31.4% from 3 last season, 14th in the SEC, but on the third-most attempts at 26.9 per game.
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“We thought going into the year, just to be frank with you, that we had addressed it,” Jans said. “We thought we had enough guys that could shoot the ball, and for whatever reason, as a group, we didn’t end up shooting it as well as we anticipated.”
Georgetown transfer Jayden Epps shot 34.4% from 3-point range on 154 attempts. UAB transfer Ja’Borri McGhee shot 40.8% from 3-point range, but only on 71 attempts. Arizona State transfer Amier Ali was a 32.6% 3-point shooter on 92 attempts.
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State basketball: How Chris Jans utilized transfer portal
