November 05, 2026 | Soccer
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. โ Mississippi State's Kati Anne Shepherd was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team by the league's coaches on Thursday.
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The Birmingham, Alabama, native is the youngest goal scorer in program history, and her four goals before turning 18 currently rank second in MSU history. Any additional goals she scores in the postseason will continue to count towards that total as she won't turn 18 until May.
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Shepherd finished the regular season second on the team in points (12) and tied for the team lead in assists (4). Her four goals ranked third. Two of those were game-winners, making her one of just three SEC freshmen with multiple game-winning goals in 2026. Her overall goal total was tied for fifth among first-year players in the conference, and her points ranked third.
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She played in every match, starting all but one, including every conference match. She began her career with a goal in the first five minutes of State's season opener against South Alabama, which also stood as her first game-winning goal.
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Shepherd posted the first five-point night by an MSU freshman since 2013 with two goals and an assistย against Southern Miss and recorded an assist on the game-winning goal against Oklahoma State. She earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors in September after scoring the game-winning goal at Ole Miss.
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It's the third consecutive season that MSU has landed a player on the All-Freshman team, and the Bulldogs have five selections since 2020.
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The Bulldogs (9-2-6, 3-1-6 SEC) earned the No. 8 seed in next week's SEC Tournament in Pensacola, Florida. MSU will play No. 9-seed Texas on Sunday, Nov. 8 in the first round of the SEC Tournament. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.
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For more information on the Bulldog soccer program, follow onย X,ย Facebookย andย Instagramย by searching "HailStateSOC".
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The Birmingham, Alabama, native is the youngest goal scorer in program history, and her four goals before turning 18 currently rank second in MSU history. Any additional goals she scores in the postseason will continue to count towards that total as she won't turn 18 until May.
ย
Shepherd finished the regular season second on the team in points (12) and tied for the team lead in assists (4). Her four goals ranked third. Two of those were game-winners, making her one of just three SEC freshmen with multiple game-winning goals in 2026. Her overall goal total was tied for fifth among first-year players in the conference, and her points ranked third.
ย
She played in every match, starting all but one, including every conference match. She began her career with a goal in the first five minutes of State's season opener against South Alabama, which also stood as her first game-winning goal.
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Shepherd posted the first five-point night by an MSU freshman since 2013 with two goals and an assistย against Southern Miss and recorded an assist on the game-winning goal against Oklahoma State. She earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors in September after scoring the game-winning goal at Ole Miss.
ย
It's the third consecutive season that MSU has landed a player on the All-Freshman team, and the Bulldogs have five selections since 2020.
ย
The Bulldogs (9-2-6, 3-1-6 SEC) earned the No. 8 seed in next week's SEC Tournament in Pensacola, Florida. MSU will play No. 9-seed Texas on Sunday, Nov. 8 in the first round of the SEC Tournament. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.
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For more information on the Bulldog soccer program, follow onย X,ย Facebookย andย Instagramย by searching "HailStateSOC".
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