Eight Bulldog Greats Set For M-Club Sports Hall Of Fame Induction
May 08, 2026 | Athletics, Joel Coleman
STARKVILLE – Eight more Mississippi State greats are set to be inducted into the M-Club Sports Hall of Fame later this year.
Former Bulldog football stars Daniel Boyd, Fletcher Cox and Johnthan Banks, men's basketball's Mario Austin, women's basketball's Kunshinge Sorrell-Howard, baseball's Ted Milton, women's golf's Kathe Kingston and volleyball's Aimee York Strickland will all be Class of 2026 inductees.
The inductions will take place as part of the 2026 M-Club Sports Hall of Fame Gala on Friday, Sept. 25, ahead of State's Saturday, Sept. 26, home football game against Missouri.
Here are further details for those who will be celebrated:
M-CLUB SPORTS HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2026
Mario Austin (Men's Basketball – 2001-2003)
Austin is one of the most productive and successful basketball Bulldogs of all time.
Over three years at Mississippi State, Austin scored 1,199 points and brought down 570 rebounds. MSU won 66 games in his time in Maroon and White. Led by Austin, the Bulldogs captured the 2002 Southeastern Conference Tournament crown and won the SEC Western Division championship in 2003 while making NCAA Tournament appearances both years.
That 2002-2003 campaign was particularly strong individually for Austin. He became State's first All-American in seven years as he averaged 15.5 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.
Austin was taken by the Chicago Bulls with the 36th overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft ahead of a highly successful overseas career.
Johnthan Banks (Football – 2009-2012)
Banks was a four-year letterwinner in the State secondary and helped lead the Bulldogs to bowl games over each of his final three seasons.
Banks had 16 career interceptions for MSU – a total that still stands tied for the most in school history. Three of Banks' career interceptions were returned for touchdowns. Only Emmanuel Forbes has more pick-sixes in the history of the Bulldog program, and Banks is the only Bulldog to ever have two pick-sixes in one game, accomplishing the feat in his freshman season against Florida in 2009.
In Banks' senior season, he capped off his MSU career by totaling 63 tackles, four interceptions and seven pass breakups on the way to becoming the only Bulldog to ever win the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation's best defensive back.
Banks was chosen by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He went on to spend five seasons in the NFL, playing for the Buccaneers, Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears and Houston Texans.
Daniel Boyd (Football – 1990-1992)
Boyd stood as a key cog of Mississippi State's defense in the early 1990s. The linebacker starred both on and off the field for the Bulldogs.
He was an All-SEC selection in both 1991 and 1992 and picked up SEC Defensive Player of the Week accolades on three separate occasions over the course of those two seasons. In both years, Boyd helped lead State to postseason berths as the Bulldogs played in the Liberty Bowl in 1991 ahead of a Peach Bowl appearance in 1992.
Boyd was State's top tackler during the 1992 campaign. He paced the squad with 128 stops. Boyd finished his Bulldog career with 339 total tackles.
Boyd also picked up an Academic All-America award in 1992 as well as Scholar-Athlete honors in both 1991 and 1992.
Fletcher Cox (Football – 2009-2011)
Cox was a three-year letterwinner at Mississippi State from 2009 to 2011. He was a dominant force on the Bulldog defensive line, earning All-America honors during his junior season in 2011 while also earning First Team All-SEC honors by the Associated Press and Second Team honors by the league's coaches. In 2009, he was named to the SEC All-Freshman team. Cox helped lead the Bulldogs to Egg Bowl victories in each of his three seasons and victories in the 2011 Gator Bowl and the 2012 Music City Bowl.
While wearing the Maroon and White, Cox played in 36 career games, making 27 starts. He tallied 114 total tackles, 24.5 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks and a school-record five blocked kicks. He was a four-time SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week. During his All-American season in 2011, Cox registered 56 tackles, 14.5 TFLs and five sacks.
After declaring for the 2012 NFL Draft at the conclusion of his junior season, Cox was selected with the 12th overall pick by the Philadelphia Eagles. He played 12 seasons for the Eagles, playing in a pair of Super Bowls and helping lead Philly to its first-ever Super Bowl Championship in 2018.
Kathe Kingston (Women's Golf – 1982-1985)
Kathe Kingston is among the very best to ever hit the links for State.
She won six individual tournament titles in her time as a Bulldog. It's a total topped only by Julia Lopez Ramirez's eight career wins.
Kingston earned both All-America and All-SEC honors over each of her final three seasons in Starkville.Â
Then, upon the conclusion of her playing career, Kingston continued to impact Bulldog golf. She served as MSU's head coach from 1985 through 1987.
Ted Milton (Baseball – 1969-1972)
Milton was a standout member of the Diamond Dawgs from 1969-72. During the 1970 season, Milton finished the year with five triples, which following the season, was tied for the program record. For over seven years, Milton held the school record for career triples with 14 over the 151 games he played in.
He was named the team's offensive MVP following the 1969 and 1970 seasons. Milton was a member of the first team in Mississippi State history to go to the College World Series in 1971. During the 1969 season, Milton led the team in RBIs (21), and home runs (eight), while hitting .323 on the season. He followed that up with another stellar year for the Bulldogs in 1970 when he led the team in batting average (.328), RBIs (28), and doubles (seven).
Over his four-year career in the Maroon and White, Milton hit .311 (156-for-501) with 23 home runs, 18 doubles, 14 triples and drove in 96. He stole eight bases and scored 102 runs for Mississippi State. Following the 1971 season, Milton was named Second-Team CoSIDA Academic All-American, becoming the first academic All-American in school history.
Milton was drafted twice out of MSU, once in 1972 by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 26th round and again in the 1973 January Secondary Phase by the California Angels.
Kunshinge Sorrell-Howard (Women's Basketball 1986-1988)
Sorrell-Howard is among the most successful State basketball players in history.
She was a First Team All-SEC selection in both of her seasons in Starkville and was a scoring machine as she averaged 20.8 points per game in her State career.
Despite spending just two years at MSU, Sorrell totaled 1,292 career points. That stands as the 15th-most in Mississippi State history. Her 20.8 career points per game mark is the second-best in program history, behind only LaToya Thomas.
Sorrell's name is still found all throughout the MSU record book. She's among the school's leaders in not only scoring categories, but also career steals and career steals per game.
Aimee York Strickland (Volleyball – 1989-1992)
York Strickland starred for the Bulldogs for four seasons from 1989 through 1992.
In her time in Starkville, accolades were aplenty. She earned All-SEC, Academic All-America and SEC Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors while setting the school's single-season and single-game kills records.
At the conclusion of her time in Maroon and White, York Strickland stood in the top five in MSU history in career attack attempts, digs, blocks and block assists. She remains in the top 10 in multiple career statistical categories including kills, blocks, attack attempts, service aces, attack percentage and digs.
