Mississippi State University Softball

THE RICKETTS FILE Hometown: San Jose, California Graduate: Oklahoma, 2011 (M.A. in Adult High Education) Undergraduate: Oklahoma, 2009 (Bachelor of Sociology) High School: Archbishop Mitty High School Twitter: @Coach_Ricketts Birthday: December 29 COACHING EXPERIENCE 2019-present: Mississippi State, Head Coach 2018-2019: Mississippi State, Associate Head Coach 2015-2018: Mississippi State, Assistant Coach 2012-14: Wichita State, Assistant Coach 2009-2011: Oklahoma, Graduate Assistant RICKETTS' YEAR-BY-YEAR OVERALL RECORD Year School W-L Pct. 2025 Mississippi State 39-19 .672 2024 Mississippi State 34-20 .630 2023 Mississippi State 28-25 .528 2022 Mississippi State 37-27 .578 2021 Mississippi State 35-25 .583 2020 Mississippi State 25-3 .893 School Years Record Pct. Mississippi State 6 198-119 .625 Total 6 198-119 .625 RICKETTS' YEAR-BY-YEAR CONFERENCE RECORD Year School W-L Pct. 2025 Mississippi State 13-11 .542 2024 Mississippi State 12-12 .500 2023 Mississippi State 7-16 .304 2022 Mississippi State 10-14 .417 2021 Mississippi State 8-15 .348 2020 Mississippi State -- -- School Years Record Pct. Mississippi State 5 50-68 .424 Total 5 50-68 .424 RICKETTS' PLAYERS BY THE NUMBERS 16 #StateToTheShow Future Pros at MSU 16 All-America Honors 43 All-Region Honors 28 All-Conference Honors 2 Conference Players of the Year 1 Conference Freshman of the Year 3 Conference All-Defensive Team Selections 1 Conference Tournament MVP 7 Conference Tournament Team Selections 9 National Players

Former Bulldog pitcher Alyssa Loza was promoted to a full-time role as coordinator of player development following the 2024 season. She spent the previous three years on the Bulldogs’ staff as a graduate assistant and a player development fellow after playing three seasons at State from 2019-21. In her role Loza manages biometric and performance data for the Bulldog softball team. Mississippi State makes use of multiple data collection systems throughout practice and team workouts including Rapsodo, Blast and Yakkertech. Loza also serves as the coaching staff’s liaison with the Bulldogs’ sports science department and the athlete engineering department on campus. Additionally, she helps with State’s recruiting operation, tracking prospects’ metrics and maintaining scouting records. Loza has spent two summers gaining experience at the professional level, serving as a batting practice pitcher for Athletes Unlimited’s 2024 Championship season and 2025 All-Star Cup in Rosemont, Illinois. As a fellow, she also assisted with travel planning while managing player performance data. While in graduate school, Loza assisted with travel preparation and equipment orders along with serving as an extra arm for live batting practice and assisting with the pitching staff’s fielding development. In 2022, Loza helped the Bulldog pitching staff turn in an impressive season with just three errors in 64 games. She assisted with pitch charting and opponent scouting as the Bulldogs reached their firs

Jamie Desporte was hired as Director of Softball Operations in October 2021. She handles all team travel, equipment ordering and other operational duties. In...

Lexi Sosa, who exhausted her eligibility with the Mississippi State softball team in the 2025 season, remained on staff as a graduate manager. She played two...

Macy Simoneaux serves as an Athletic Trainer for the MSU Softball team and began working with Mississippi State in August 2018. Prior to joining the Mississi...

Marci Hoppa joined Mississippi State strength and conditioning in 2017 and currently serves as the Director of Strength and Conditioning for Olympic Sports. Hoppa directly oversees the daily strength and conditioning programs for the Bulldog volleyball team as well as MSU track and field and cross country. She made the transition to Olympic Sports Director after four seasons with the women’s basketball program during which the Bulldogs posted a 107-20 record that included a National Championship appearance (2017-18), SEC regular-season championship (2017-18), SEC Tournament Championship (2018-19) and an Elite Eight appearance (2018-19). Before coming to MSU, she served as an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach at Western Kentucky from 2014-2017, where she ran the strength and conditioning programs for the Lady Topper basketball and soccer programs. In that three-year span, her development of the Lady Topper basketball players helped the program to an 84-19 record, two Conference USA regular-season and tournament titles, and two NCAA Tournament appearances. Prior to joining Western Kentucky, Hoppa was the Director of Strength and Conditioning for Olympic Sports at Jacksonville. She joined the JU staff in March of 2013 as an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach and was named Director in July 2013, overseeing the JU strength and conditioning internship programs while coordinating all aspects of strength and conditioning for women's soccer, softball, volleyball, track

Matalasi Faapito, who exhausted her eligibility with the Mississippi State softball team in the 2024 season, remained on staff as a graduate assistant enteri...

Began at Mississippi State: January 2023 Job Responsibilities: Oversees the implementation of all sports science initiatives for MSU's Olympic sports as well as providing supplemental strength and conditioning coverage within the Shira Complex Education: Mississippi State University, Expected 2028, PhD, Industrial and Systems Engineering Oakland University, 2022, MS, Exercise Science Oakland University, 2020, BS, Exercise Science Past Experience: Ultimate Fighting Championship (UCF) - Sport Science Intern - May 2024-Aug. 2024 University of Illinois Urbana Champaign - Strength and Conditioning Assitant - Aug. 2022-Dec. 2022 University of Nebraska Lincoln - Intern - Nebraska Athletic Performance Lab - May 2022-Jul. 2022 Oakland University - Strength and Conditioning Graduate Assistant - Sept. 2020-April 2022 Utica High School - Volunteer Coach - Nov. 2018-April 2020 Personal: Mydlo had a successful collegiate powerlifting career in the USA Powerlifting Federation, where he continues to compete and volunteer as a referee. Outside of his work with the athletic department, he contributes to on-campus research with the Athlete Engineering Institue and plays an active role in mentoring student researchers.

Sierra Sacco, who closed her career with the Bulldogs as a consensus First Team All-American and an AUSL Draft pick in 2025, remained on staff as a student coach in the fall of 2025 and a graduate manager beginning in the spring of 2026. She played two seasons in Starkville climbing State's career record books. She earned All-SEC honors both years as a Bulldog before being the fifth overall pick in the 2025 AUSL College Draft. She hit .300 as a rookie for the AUSL Champion Talons in 2025 before being selected by the Portland Cascade in the 2026 AUSL Expansion Draft. In her final collegiate season, Sacco posted a .450 average that ranked fourth in program history and 12th nationally. Her 1.286 OPS ranked sixth in MSU single-season history, and she finished the year second all-time for runs (64) and third for doubles (19) in a season. Her average and doubles led the SEC. A standout with her glove as well, Sacco was tabbed to the 2025 AUSL All-Defensive Team and has not made an error in a college or professional game since 2023, a streak that includes 279 combined chances. The Marrero, Louisiana, native is pursuing a master's degree in workforce education leadership. Sacco primarily assists the staff with operations in the office, data collection for hitters and camp administration.

Taryne Mowatt-McKinney, a former All-American pitcher and the 2007 Women’s College World Series Most Valuable Player, was hired as Mississippi State’s pitching coach on June 30, 2023. In just two seasons, her impact has been immediate. Bulldog pitchers have thrown 44 complete games under her watch after totaling just 28 in the three seasons prior to her hiring. Mowatt-McKinney has coached State pitchers to four national weekly honors. Prior to her arrival, MSU had seen just one pitcher bring home a national weekly honor in 2013. She has coached players to three SEC Pitcher of the Week awards in her short tenure, which is as many as the Bulldogs had won in the eight years prior to her arrival. Mowatt-McKinney has guided a pair of State pitchers to the professional ranks in Aspen Wesley (2024) and Raelin Chaffin (2025). Chaffin went on to win the inaugural AUSL Championship with the Talons in the summer of 2025. Chaffin was the anchor of the State staff in 2025, winning her first seven games in the Maroon and White, including two complete-game victories over top-25 teams. In the program's modern era (since 1997), no pitcher - freshman or transfer - has won more consecutive appearances (7) or gone longer without allowing an earned run (25.0 IP) to begin their tenure as a Bulldog. The streak was also tied for the 10th-longest win streak in MSU history. Chaffin would end the year as the fifth Bulldog pitcher to post a 200-strikeout season, and her 23 wins ranked fourth in school h

Tyler Bratton will enter his 13th year with the Mississippi State softball program in 2026. He was elevated to associate head coach on July 1, 2022, after sp...