M-Club Sports Hall Of Fame Class Of 2025 Set
May 02, 2025 | Athletics, M-Club
STARKVILLE – Mississippi State is set to induct nine more Bulldog greats into the M-Club Sports Hall of Fame on the weekend of the Bulldogs' Week 5 home football game against Tennessee.
Former football players Reggie Kelly and Larry Brooks, baseball's Tommy Raffo, women's track and field's Erica Bougard, soccer's Meredith Riekert, men's basketball's Chuck Evans, men's golf's Doug Barron and doubles tandem Joc Simmons and Laurent Miquelard from men's tennis will all be Class of 2025 inductees.
The inductions will occur as part of the 2025 M-Club Sports Hall of Fame Gala on Sept. 26. More information on the gala will be released at a later date.
Here are further details for those set to be celebrated this fall:
M-CLUB SPORTS HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2025
Doug Barron (Men's Golf – 1990-1992)
Barron was a member of the 1990-91 men's golf team that became the first-ever group of Bulldogs to reach the NCAA Championship.
After spending his college days in Starkville, Barron turned his time as a Bulldog into an incredibly successful professional golf career. Barron has competed on the PGA Tour, the Korn Ferry Tour, and most recently, the PGA Champions Tour.
Barron's career highlights include three PGA Champions Tour wins, including a major championship. He claimed victory at the Regions Tradition in 2024. Barron's resume also includes five PGA Tour top-five finishes and five runner-up finishes on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Erica Bougard (Women's Track and Field – 2012-2016)
Bougard stands as one of the most decorated athletes in Mississippi State history. She closed her college career with 16 All-America honors and five school records. Among Bougard's many accomplishments was her 2013 national championship in the pentathlon.
She was also a two-time SEC champion and three-time SEC Field Athlete of the Year. In addition, Bougard broke new ground for the Bulldogs when she became the first-ever MSU woman named to The Bowerman watch list in 2015. The Bowerman Award is given annually to the most outstanding male and female NCAA track and field athletes.
Since her days in Maroon and White, Bougard has continued to excel on a worldwide stage, including competing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games where she finished ninth in the heptathlon.
Larry Brooks (Football – 1973-1977)
Brooks' resilience makes him one of the most memorable Bulldogs ever.
On the heels of a promising freshman season in 1973, Brooks sustained a neck injury in spring practice in 1974. It left him paralyzed from the neck down after breaking his fifth and sixth vertebrae. This began a long recovery journey that included an extended stay at the Texas Institute for Rehabilitation in Houston.
Ultimately, Brooks' resolve enabled him to overcome his tragedy. He now is able to walk with a limp and a brace on his leg while also having use of a mobile chair. Brooks is currently a highly successful insurance agent and remains active in the M-Club. He is continuously a loyal supporter of Mississippi State University and Bulldog athletics.
Chuck Evans (Men's Basketball – 1991-1993)
Evans stood out as an all-around star for Bulldog basketball. A two-time All-SEC selection, Evans led the league in steals and assists in back-to-back seasons.
Evans still stands fifth in school history in career assists and is tops in assists per game. He also has the top two single-season marks in assists in program history and two of the top three single-season assists per game tallies.
The Bulldogs could also rely on Evans to score, as he averaged 12.8 points per game over his two seasons in Starkville. He was incredibly accurate from the charity stripe, shooting 79 percent from the free-throw line over his MSU career.
Evans was honored as an SEC men's basketball legend in 2012.
Reggie Kelly (Football – 1995-1998)
Kelly is unquestionably one of the top tight ends to ever wear the Maroon and White. Â A four-year letterwinner at Mississippi State, Kelly caught 29 passes for 474 yards and a pair of touchdowns during his career, starting 22 games and playing in 44.
During the Bulldogs' 1998 run to an SEC Western Division crown and SEC Championship Game berth, Kelly started all 12 games for Mississippi State while hauling in 12 passes for 140 yards and a touchdown. His lone score in the 1998 season was against Arkansas, helping State secure a one-point victory and the tiebreaker over the Razorbacks in the SEC standings. That same season, Kelly earned First Team All-SEC honors.
A three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll member, Kelly concluded his collegiate career playing in a New Year's Day bowl game at the 1999 Cotton Bowl Classic. Kelly was drafted in the second round of the 1999 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons and went on to spend five seasons with the Falcons and seven with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Tommy Raffo (Baseball – 1987-1990)
A key part of Mississippi State's rich baseball history, Tommy Raffo's contributions to the program came as both a standout player and an assistant coach. From 1987 to 1990, Raffo excelled both on the diamond and in the classroom. He was a three-time All-SEC performer, while he was also a three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection and two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American.
Raffo earned All-America accolades in both 1989 and 1990. He was an integral part of a State team that claimed two SEC regular-season titles and a pair of SEC Tournament Championships. Raffo helped guide the Bulldogs to the postseason all four seasons he played in the Maroon and White, including a College World Series appearance as a senior. He continues to be a staple in the MSU record book where he ranks among the top 10 in multiple categories.
Following his State career, Raffo was an eighth-round pick in the 1990 Major League Baseball Draft by Miami. As an assistant coach for the Bulldogs from 1994 to 2008, Raffo was part of coaching staffs that led the Bulldogs to more than 500 wins, 11 NCAA Regionals, three Super Regionals, three College World Series appearances and two SEC Tournament Championships.
Meredith Riekert (Soccer – 1995-1998)
Riekert was the face of the Bulldog soccer team for the first four years of the program's existence, and her name remains littered throughout the Mississippi State record book.
Riekert still ranks among the top 10 in MSU history in multiple single-season and career categories including points, goals and game-winning goals. She was a two-time All-SEC selection by league coaches, as well as earning an appearance on the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
Riekert ended her State career having played in 74 games with 72 starts. She finished with 22 goals, 15 assists and 59 points.
Joc Simmons and Laurent Miquelard (Men's Tennis – 1994-1995)
Simmons and Miquelard combined to form a title-winning tandem. The duo won the NCAA Championship in doubles in 1994 and are the only doubles team in program history to ever claim a national crown.
For their efforts, both took home All-America honors in 1994 to add to incredible career resumes that also included All-SEC accolades.
The success of Simmons and Miquelard was also key in several strong overall seasons for MSU men's tennis as the Bulldogs reached the NCAA semifinals and quarterfinals while the two were on campus together.
In addition to the Hall of Fame inductions, the late Nick Bell will be posthumously bestowed with the Dowsing-Bell Valor Award. The honor is presented annually and is named after Frank Dowsing Jr. and Robert Bell. It is given to a letterwinner whose determination and perseverance in overcoming obstacles is a testament to their character.
Bell – a native of Bessemer, Alabama – came to State as a freshman in 2008 and spent two-plus seasons with MSU football. He passed away in the middle of the 2010 season following a courageous battle with cancer.
Hall of Fame Nominations may be submitted by Dec. 31 each year online here. The Hall of Fame Selection Committee meets each spring to consider the nominations.