Josh Hubbard is returning to Mississippi State for junior season

Much of the attention is focused on the transfer portal during the college basketball offseason but talent retention still matters. One of the best players in the Southeastern Conference is returning to the league for one more season.

Get ready to see some more heat checks from Josh Hubbard. The explosive scoring guard is returning to Mississippi State for his junior campaign after withdrawing from the 2025 NBA Draft.

🐶🐶🐶 pic.twitter.com/BkUdsyQPpA

— Josh Hubbard (@jhubb_3) May 21, 2025

The 5-foot-11 guard led the SEC in scoring during the 2024-25 season at 18.9 points per game on .402/.345/.878 shooting splits. Josh Hubbard also posted 2.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 34 starts. Hubbard has played in 69 games over two seasons with 1,240 career points. The guard became the second player in Mississippi State history to earn All-SEC honors in consecutive seasons to start his career.

Head coach Chris Jans is set to enter his fourth season at Mississippi State in 2025-26 and has led this program to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. The Bulldogs are still looking for their first NCAA Tournament win under Jans but Josh Hubbard has played a critical role in State becoming a consistent winner on the hardwood in this new era.

The expectations for Mississippi State basketball will be high next season. Jans has added Georgetown guard Jayden Epps (12.8 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists), Kansas State big Achor Achor (16.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists at Samford in 2023-24), and Wichita State center Quincy Ballard (10.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.9 blocks) to roster via the transfer portal. That should give the Bulldogs another tournament team.

Expect the SEC to be really good in basketball again.

Kentucky Men’s Basketball 2025-26 Roster Tracker

COMMITS (8)

• Kam Williams – G – Tulane – 9.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.3 APG, 48.5% FG, 41.2% 3PT | Committed 3/28
• Jaland Lowe – G – Pittsburgh – 16.8 PPG, 5.5 APG, 4.2 RPG, 37.6% FG, 26.6% 3PT | Committed 4/5
• Mouhamed Dioubate – F – Alabama – 7.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.1 APG, 61.7% FG, 46.2% 3PT | Committed 4/7
• Jayden Quaintance – F – Arizona State – 9.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 2.6 BPG, 52.5 FG% | Committed 4/8
• Andrija Jelavic – C – Mega Basket — 10.8 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.4 APG, 50.3% FG, 32.3% 3PT | – Committed 4/12
• Denzel Aberdeen – G – Florida – 7.7 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 41.8 FG%, 35 3PT% | Committed 4/21
• Reece Potter – C – Miami (OH) — 6.5 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.2 APG, 46.6 FG%, 36.7 3PT% | Committed 5/5
• Braydon Hawthorne – SF – Huntington Prep (WV) – 4-star, No. 35 overall | Committed 5/20

RETURNING / INCOMING (6)

• Otega Oweh – G – Rising Senior – 16.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.7 APG, 49.2% FG, 35.5% 3PT | Going through NBA Draft process
• Brandon Garrison – C – Rising Junior – 5.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.9 APG, 50.9% | Confirmed return on 4/12
• Collin Chandler – C- Rising Sophomore – 2.7 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 0.7 APG, 36.1% FG, 34.7% 3PT | Confirmed return on 4/17
• Trent Noah – F – Rising Sophomore – 2.7 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 0.4 APG, 45.1% FG, 33.3% 3PT | Confirmed return on 4/18
• Malachi Moreno – C – Incoming Freshman – Great Crossing (Georgetown, KY)
• Jasper Johnson – SG – Incoming Freshman – Overtime Elite (Lexington, KY)