THE BOARD: Mississippi State basketball

The number

13-19 — Mississippi State's record in 2025-26. Chris Jans had taken the Bulldogs to three straight NCAA Tournaments. Then he went 5-13 in SEC play and missed the postseason entirely. Now he's rebuilding a roster that lost 11 players — and the one player who matters most hasn't decided if he's coming back.

The departures

Eleven players are gone. Four graduated. Seven entered the transfer portal. Mississippi State lost 57.9 points, 34.7 rebounds and 9.8 assists per game worth of production.

Graduated / Out of eligibility:

- Jayden Epps — 13.7 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 2.3 APG. Led the team in scoring. Transferred from Georgetown for his final season.

- Ja'Borri McGhee — 8.4 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 1.9 APG. Transferred from UAB for his final season.

- Quincy Ballard — 6.5 PPG, 6.0 RPG. 7-0, 260-pound center. Transferred from Wichita State.

- Shawn Jones Jr. — 5.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 1.5 APG. Started 28 games. The only SEC rotation player in 2025-26 to spend all four seasons at the same school. One of nine players in Mississippi State history to appear on three NCAA Tournament squads.

Transfer portal:

- Jamarion Davis-Fleming (Alabama) — 3.7 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.3 BPG. 4-star, No. 1 player in Mississippi in the 2025 class. Led the team with 40 blocks as a freshman. His brother Javian played at Mississippi State, Alabama and UAB.

- Sergej Macura (UCLA) — 5.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG. Two years of eligibility remaining.

- Achor Achor (destination TBD) — 6.2 PPG, 6.3 RPG. Started 26 games. Needs an NCAA waiver for additional eligibility.

- Brandon Walker (destination TBD) — 4.7 PPG, 2.1 RPG. Also seeking an eligibility waiver.

- Amier Ali (Cal) — 3.2 PPG. Saw limited action.

- Dellquan Warren (McNeese State) — 1.2 PPG, 0.9 APG.

- Gai Chol (destination TBD) — Did not play in 2025-26 after a preseason knee injury. Has appeared in only 31 games across three years at Mississippi State.

Total production lost: 57.9 PPG, 34.7 RPG, 9.8 APG.

The arrivals

Jans added six transfers — including a late addition from Division III — and signed three high school recruits. The class is built around defensive length and backcourt scoring.

Transfer portal:

- RJ Johnson (Kennesaw State) — G, 6-4, 225 lbs. 14.5 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 4.0 APG. All-Conference USA First Team. Conference USA Tournament MVP. Shot 42.3% from three. Led Kennesaw State to the NCAA Tournament. Two years of eligibility. Chose Mississippi State over Georgia and SMU. "Coach Chris Jans is a guy who keeps it real," Johnson told On3. "He doesn't tell you what you want to hear. But sometimes what he tells you is what you want to hear."

- ND Okafor (Washington State) — F/C, 6-10, 250 lbs. 11.0 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.4 BPG. Shot 58.3% from the field. Started all 32 games. Led Washington State with 46 blocks. Originally committed to Ole Miss, then flipped to Mississippi State.

- Tajuan Simpkins (Seton Hall) — G, 6-4, 190 lbs. 9.7 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 1.1 SPG. Shot 37.0% from three on 100 attempts. Mississippi State is his fourth program.

- Thomas Bassong (Florida State) — F, 6-8, 203 lbs. 5.9 PPG, 3.5 RPG. French native with a 7-3 wingspan. 21 steals and 13 blocks. Best game: 14 points and 12 rebounds against Georgia Tech.

- Kendyl Sanders (Utah) — F, 6-8, 230 lbs. 5.2 PPG, 3.1 RPG. Shot 40.3% from three. Freshman from Los Angeles.

- Trevor Reed (Denison University, D-III) — F, 6-8, 215 lbs. Averaged 12 PPG and 4 RPG as a sophomore at Denison before a season-ending injury six games into his junior year. Brother of incoming freshman Tristan Reed and UConn center Tarris Reed.

Freshmen:

- Tristan Reed — C, 6-9, 230 lbs. 4-star, No. 63 nationally, No. 5 center in the 2026 class. 7-3 wingspan. Chose Mississippi State over Michigan State, Maryland, Missouri and Ohio State. Brother of Trevor Reed (above) and Tarris Reed (UConn).

- Jalyn Collingwood — SF, 6-5. 4-star, No. 88 nationally. Rose 61 spots in the rankings. Chose Mississippi State over Michigan State and Ohio State.

- Willie Burnett III — CG, 6-4. 4-star, No. 109 nationally.

The targets

The roster appears full at 13 scholarship players. No specific additional targets have been publicly identified.

The biggest variable isn't a target — it's a returner. Josh Hubbard (22.1 PPG, 3.6 APG) declared for the 2026 NBA Draft while maintaining his college eligibility. He declared for the draft last year too and withdrew. At 5-10, he's not on ESPN's top 100 draft prospects. Most analysts expect him to return.

But expect and confirm are different things. The G League Combine runs May 8-10. The NBA Combine runs May 10-17. Hubbard's decision will define Mississippi State's ceiling.

The fit

If Hubbard comes back, the backcourt is the strength of the roster. Hubbard (22.1 PPG) alongside RJ Johnson (14.5 PPG, 4.0 APG) gives Jans one of the more productive guard pairings in the SEC. Simpkins adds depth and three-point shooting. Burnett and King Grace (5.1 PPG as a freshman) round out the guard rotation.

The frontcourt is where the questions live. Mississippi State lost 57.9 PPG and 34.7 RPG — and the rebounding gap is the hardest to fill. Achor (6.3 RPG), Ballard (6.0), Davis-Fleming (4.8) and Macura (4.8) were all high-minute frontcourt rebounders. Okafor (5.7 RPG) is the only transfer with comparable rebounding production. The program is banking on the Reed brothers — Tristan as a freshman center, Trevor making the jump from D-III — to fill the rest.

Bassong brings defensive versatility with his 7-3 wingspan. Sanders can stretch the floor at 6-8 with a 40.3% three-point stroke. Collingwood adds length on the wing.

The 2025-26 roster featured six transfers and four freshmen — and it produced the worst season of Jans' tenure. The 2026-27 roster features six transfers and three freshmen. The formula is the same. The execution has to be different.

"If they don't hear something from me, it's noise," Jans told SI when asked about coaching carousel rumors during the season. "There's no reason to let outside speculation distract us."

He's still here. Now he has to prove the 13-19 season was the outlier, not the new direction.

Join our ROUNDTABLE community! It's completely free to join. Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers and chat with fellow members.

Download the free Roundtable APP, and stay even more connected!