Sept. 8 – Charlie Winfield
Charlie Winfield is an attorney who frequently serves as outside counsel to Mississippi State University and its employees in state and federal court lawsuits. In his spare time, Charlie serves as a broadcaster, including the MSU pregame and postgame football radio broadcasts and the SEC Network+ broadcasts of MSU baseball and basketball.
Since 2004, Charlie has served as a managing member of a law firm in his hometown of Starkville, where his practice has focused on civil litigation. Charlie also serves as general counsel to The Bulldog Club, Inc., a non-profit entity that provides support to MSU’s athletic teams. Charlie is a 1994 graduate of Mississippi State University and a 1997 graduate of the University of Notre Dame Law School.
Sept. 15 – Tyler Siskey
Prior to starting QwikRecruiting, Tyler Siskey spent 20 years coaching football at the Power 5, Group of 5, FCS, and high school levels. Most recently, he was in charge of recruiting at Alabama and Ole Miss. Tyler was the first ever Director of Player Personnel of the Year winner, awarded by Footballscoop.com.
Under Siskey’s recruiting, the 2013 Ole Miss class produced four NFL first-round draft picks. He followed that up with two Alabama classes in 2014 and 2015 that produced two and three NFL first-round draft picks, respectively.
Sept. 29 – Jeremy McClain
In just the last year, Jeremy McClain guided the Southern Miss athletics program into its inaugural season of the Sun Belt Conference and the Golden Eagles responded with four team championships coming in the sports of women’s cross country, women’s and men’s basketball and baseball. In addition, the school finished fourth in the Vic Bubas Cup, which is given annually to the Sun Belt’s annual all-sports champion based on a points system.
In the summer of the 2022, McClain also unveiled a three-year strategic plan, #ToTheTop25, outlining a bold vision for the future of Golden Eagle athletics which comprised of 25 strategic initiatives to be completed by the end of the 2025 calendar year. Just 14 months after the announcement of the plan, the department had met or surpassed 10 of the 25 goals.
His ability to fundraise shone through with a record-breaking year in 2022-23 in regard to total Eagle Club members (2,871) and total giving ($2.3 million). He has overseen multiple capital projects to completion, and he also continues to help and advise on Golden Eagle student-athlete’s education and collaborating with them to maximize their NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) opportunities during their time with the University.
During his first full year on the job, McClain had the task of hiring new coaches for several sports, including the school’s first beach volleyball coach. He also positioned the department better in terms of student-athlete development with the addition of a new position of Executive Senior Associate AD for Student-Athlete services.
During his earlier stint at Southern Miss, McClain oversaw the day-to-day operations of the Athletics Department, and was responsible for revenue generation, which included licensing, corporate development, fundraising and ticket sales.
McClain earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Delta State in 1999, where he was a Division II All-American in baseball. He also earned his M.B.A. from Delta State in 2002. After graduation, he played five years of professional baseball.
He was a four-year letterwinner at his alma mater in which he posted a 45-9 overall record, including a 15-0 season in 1999 as a senior. McClain helped lead the Statemen to the 1996 College World Series and he was inducted into the Delta State Hall of Fame.
He is married to the former Christie Cannon of Calhoun City, Miss., and the couple has three children, son Cannon, and daughters Kate and Piper.
Oct. 13 – Jeff Duncan
Jeff Duncan is a columnist and reporter at NOLA.com and The Times-Picayune, where he editorializes on the Saints and other local sports teams, including the Pelicans, LSU, Tulane and UNO. He has covered the New Orleans Saints since 2000, longer than any journalist in the nation, and is the author of three books on the team — Tales from the Saints Sideline, From Bags to Riches and Payton and Brees: The Men Who Built the Greatest Offense in NFL History. He is one of forty-eight members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee.
He was a member of the Times-Picayune team that won two Pulitzer Prizes for the paper’s coverage of Hurricane Katrina, and he has been honored four times as the Columnist of the Year by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association. Previously, he worked at The Athletic New Orleans, USA Today, The St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, The Louisville (Ky.) Courier-Journal, Nashville Weekly and The Monroe (La.) News-Star.
Oct. 27 – Jimmy Smith
Nov. 10 – LeAnna Dawson
LeAnna Dawson joined the MHSAA staff in 2018, and is now the director of middle schools for the state association. Her responsibilities also include overseeing high school girls’ flag football, archery, bowling, spirit, volleyball, tennis, and choir, and serving as the point of contact for the various NFHS awards and paraprofessional coach certification.
Mrs. Dawson received a B.S. and M.S. in Social Studies from the University of Southern Mississippi and a M.S. in history from Jackson State University. A retired 27-year educator, she taught at the middle, high school and collegiate levels. While a high school educator, she coached tennis and cheer. LeAnna is a lifelong resident of central Mississippi and the daughter of a former football/baseball coach.
Jan. 12, 2026 – Joey Jones
Joey Jones is a graduate of Mobile’s Murphy High School, who lettered in college football for Coach Bear Bryant at the University of Alabama from 1979 to 1983. As a wide receiver, he tallied 71 receptions, 1,386 yards, and 15 touchdowns, ranking third among Alabama’s career touchdown receivers and seventh in career receiving yards. Before graduating with a degree in business administration, he was named All-SEC as a senior and chosen to participate in the Senior Bowl. He was a member of The University of Alabama’s All-Decade Team for the 1980s and played professionally with the USFL’s Birmingham Stallions before being drafted by the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons in the 1st round of the 1984 Supplemental Draft.
Joey Jones became the first-ever head coach of the University of South Alabama in 2008. The team began play in 2009 and joined the FBS in 2012 as members of the Sun Belt Conference. In 2014, Jones led South Alabama to its first bowl game appearance, in the Camellia Bowl against Bowling Green. Jones resigned after the 2017 season, and has since served as a coach at Mississippi State University both in 2018 and 2023.
