Mississippi State lands nation's No. 20 player in Madison Francis
Sam Purcell and Mississippi State’s hot streak continues, and the latest commitment is the biggest yet.
The Bulldogs gained a commitment on Wednesday from one of the nation’s best players in New York forward Madison Francis. The 6’1 playmaker committed to the Bulldogs at Lanchester High School.
Francis comes to Starkville as the No. 20 player in the entire country and is ranked as a four-star by on3. She is the highest rated prospect that Purcell has had committed since becoming the head coach at State. The network has her as the No. 6 small forward in the 2025 signing class and the best player in the state of New York.
A season ago, Francis lit up the scoreboard when she averaged 29 points per contest for Lancaster. She does more than just score the basketball, however, as she had 13.1 rebounds, 5.7 steals and 5.1 assists.
The Bulldogs beat out teams from all around the country as Francis had offers from Ohio State, Syracuse, Florida, Clemson, Miami, Purdue, Penn State, North Carolina, Florida State, Louisville, Illinois, Arizona State, Michigan State and others.
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During the summer, Francis had a chance to be a part of the U18 National Team for Team USA as one of 12 players to make the cut. She traveled to Columbia where she represented her country and was followed by Purcell and Associate Head Coach Fred Castro. The persistence by the State staff made all the difference as they also had to fight for Francis to visit Starkville in August.
One of the players on the official visit with Francis that weekend was fellow top 40 four-star Jaylah Lampley. Coincidentally, Lampley committed to the Bulldogs on Tuesday evening and continued the hot start for the Bulldogs. Last week, State landed its first commitment in Texas forward Nataliyah Gray.
The trio of players give the Bulldogs one of its best signing classes in school history with Purcell and company still searching for more talent. The coach and his team are preparing for the start of the season as State hosts Memphis on November 7.
