2026 four-star forward Ladarius Givan details Mississippi State decision

Mississippi State head coach Chris Jans and his staff recently welcomed the final pieces to campus for the upcoming season. But the Bulldogs are still building for the future and that was evident on Thursday.

2026 power forward and On3 composite four-star prospect Ladarius Givan committed to State on Thursday, becoming the first 2026 commitment in the class. The Jefferson Davis (Ala.) High School standout has been a regular visitor to Starkville over the past year and chose the Bulldogs over offers from Alabama, Ole Miss and LSU among others. He is rated as the nation’s No. 10 power forward and the state’s No. 2 prospect by On3 composite. Listed as the nation’s No. 61 overall prospect regardless of position by On3 composite, Givan becomes the highest-rated commitment for Jans during his time at the Mississippi State helm.

“I just love how they treat their players and the environment there,” Givan explained. “I love the coaching staff and the way they recruited me. I knew it was going to be Mississippi State about two weeks ago.”

Over the past year or so, Givan has developed a close bond with Mississippi State assistant coach George Brooks. And that played a role in his decision on Thursday.

“Coach Brooks and me are tight,” added Givan. “That’s my guy and he’s a cool person. He has a great personality and he’s a fun guy to be around.”

Givan has also taken notice of the accomplishments Jans has had in his first two season at the Bulldogs’ helm.

“Coach Jans has really done well there and I love what he’s doing,” Givan noted. “He has switched the program up in just two years and I love the way he does it. They got to March Madness again last year and he has that program rolling now.”

In particular, Givan has observed the emphasis Jans and company give to their frontcourt guys. With that, there’s also a lot of trust in their big men that translates to freedom on the court.

“The way they focus on their frontcourt guys was a factor, too,” said Givan. “They believe in their guys and they give their frontcourt guys a lot of freedom because of the trust they have in them.”

And judging from the feedback Givan has received from State’s coaching staff, he holds high expectations for his future career as a Bulldog.

“My game is more like a stretch big,” said Givan. “I can pass, score and score off the pick and roll and knock down shots. Coach Jans likes the way I play hard and how I can stretch the floor. He believes I can create a lot of mismatches at that position. I expect it to be a good fit for me.”

As a sophomore at Jefferson Davis High School, Givan helped lead his team to a 23-6 record and a third-round appearance in the Class 7A playoffs. During that season he averaged 13.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots a game.

On the summer circuit, Givan will finish up his offseason duties with the Alabama Fusion.

“I started out playing with the Knight Riders but I am back with Alabama Fusion now,” the 6-foot-9 and 195-pound Givan remarked. “I’ve been focused on closing out on defense and communicating with my teammates on the court. My sophomore season was a lot of fun and all of my hard work and dedication paid off and showed. I was getting to my spots on the floor and I was scoring at a high level. I was also defending well last year.”

While Givan has yet to begin his junior year at Jefferson Davis High School, he felt confident in Thursday’s choice. So he saw no reason to put it off any longer.

“My family told me I had time to make my decision,” Givan mentioned. “But I just felt like it was time to make my decision. I know where I want to be so I went ahead and got my decision over with.”