Browsing: Sports

The foundation for Liza-Handly Hughes’ storytelling ability was cemented at the University of Mississippi’s Center for the Study of Southern Culture. Now, the recent alumna puts those skills to use as a sports content researcher for ESPN.

A world-renowned disc golf champion and influential teacher recently visited Mississippi State’s Athlete Engineering Institute to better understand how the mechanics of throwing impact performance and injury prevention in one of the world’s fastest-growing sports.

History has been made.

The Pascagoula Youth Baseball 6U All-Star Team captured the 2026 Diamond Youth Baseball (DYB) 6U World Series Championship, bringing one of youth baseball’s most prestigious titles back to Pascagoula for the first time in 55 years. The championship marks the city’s first Diamond Youth Baseball World Series title since 1971, ending more than five decades of waiting and adding another unforgettable chapter to Pascagoula’s rich baseball tradition.

For the last few weeks, the United States, Canada, and Mexico have hosted the 2026 Men’s World Cup, the crown jewel of competition for soccer, or, as it’s called pretty much everywhere outside the USA and Canada, football. It has been a compelling tournament, with exciting games, colorful fans, and impressive star players. I’ve watched many of the matches, and have thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Breanna O’Leary, an Alcorn State University graduate, is a professional NASCAR pit crew member who made sports history by breaking gender barriers in a heavily male-dominated motorsport. O’Leary’s trajectory connects her collegiate background at Alcorn State University to a trailblazing career on NASCAR’s pit road.

Jake Gibbs enrolled at the University of Mississippi in 1957. Sixty-nine years and one legendary career later, cheering for the Rebels has become a family tradition that he shares with his sons, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Southern Miss baseball is hosting Virginia, Jacksonville State and Little Rock for the second consecutive Hattiesburg Regional at Pete Taylor Park. The six confirmed games are May 29-31, with a possible Game 7 on June 1. 

Mississippi State softball punched its first-ever ticket to the Women’s College World Series by pulling off a massive upset against powerhouse Oklahoma in the Norman Super Regional. After a loss in the second matchup, the unseeded Bulldogs rallied and won game three, shutting out the Sooners to end a near-decade-long streak of appearances in Oklahoma City. 

Former pro football player and Lumberton native Terry Grant will host Lumberton’s first youth football camp Saturday, July 25, at Lumberton High School’s football field. 

The 2026 Mississippi High School Baseball Championship tournament starts this week in Pearl, Mississippi, at Trustmark Park. The tournament will run from Tuesday, May 19, through Saturday, May 23, with four to five games slated each day, as needed in these “best 2 out of 3” matchups.

High school softball took center stage this week (May 12-May 15) in Hattiesburg at the Southern Miss Softball Complex on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi. The action started at high noon on Tuesday, May 12, when Mississippi’s top 14 high school teams began battling for the 2026 State Softball Championship title. 

Pine Belt boxers brought amateur and professional fights to The Center at Forrest County this month during Cinco de Mayo Box Night, a community-focused event that highlighted local fighters, youth mentorship and efforts to strengthen Mississippi’s boxing culture.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup, hosted by the USA, Canada, and Mexico, has sparked immense interest, with more American sports fans becoming interested in soccer. And while Mississippi doesn’t have a professional soccer team, the Magnolia State does have several teams advancing to higher levels of play and making a name for our state.

High school baseball season is quickly drawing to a close here in Mississippi. In fact, regular season games are finished for all high school teams, and the playoff bracket is moving along to its culmination of the 2026 state championships games in each of the seven divisions of Mississippi’s high school teams. 

When Lewis Sims became Pascagoula High School’s head football coach in 2011, I didn’t know that much about him. I knew that he had been an outstanding safety as a player at Moss Point High School, and then had gone on to play at the United States Naval Academy. I knew that he had gone into football coaching himself, most recently at Moss Point, his alma mater and Pascagoula’s biggest rival.

Some of Mississippi’s finest high school basketball athletes made history this past week at The Big House in Jackson, Mississippi, and they had fun while doing so.