Sun Belt · Mississippi · 2026 roster

Southern Miss Golden Eagles football roster hometowns

Where are Southern Miss players from?

On the 2026 Southern Miss football roster, 24.5% of players with a known home state are from Mississippi. The median listed hometown is 336 mi from campus (Homecoming Radius).

The 2026 snapshot was collected before the season. Sources and definitions

Players from Mississippi with no earlier college roster elsewhere in the data filled 45% of roster spots in 2016 and 20% on the 2026 roster.

In 2016, 52 of 115 roster spots were filled by Mississippi players not previously rostered elsewhere in the data. On the 2026 roster, 22 of 110 fit the same definition. The number of players previously rostered elsewhere changed from 3 to 40.

The median hometown distance moved from 125 mi in 2016 to 336 mi on the 2026 roster.

Before and during the portal era

2016–18 compared with 2021–25

2016–182021–2546.1%44.3%2.2%22.2%
  • In-state, not rostered elsewhere
  • Previously rostered elsewhere
Measure2016–182021–25
In-state, not rostered elsewhere46.1%44.3%
Previously rostered elsewhere2.2%22.2%

The 2026 roster

  • 447 miAverage hometown distanceAverage hometown distance among 103 located players.
  • 24.5%In-state24.5% of players with a known home state are from Mississippi.
  • 21.4%Backyard21.4% of players with a located hometown grew up within 100 miles of campus.
  • 36.4%Previously rostered elsewhere36.4% of the roster appeared on another college roster in an earlier season.

Where Southern Miss ranks

Most In-State#8524.5%Most Transfers#1936.4%Closest to Home#59447 miFarthest From Home#80447 miBiggest In-State Shift#1924.5%Most Backyard Players#6121.4%Fewest Transfers#12036.4%Biggest Transfer Shift#1636.4%

Homecoming Radius over time

The median hometown-to-campus distance, by season. The dotted line is the FBS median.

0100200300400FBS median (250 mi)200920122016201920232026

Roster composition over time

Where the in-state lens draws the line: home-state players with and without an earlier college roster, out-of-state players with and without one, and players with unknown geography. This chart begins where stable athlete IDs make transfer detection possible; the radius chart above carries the official-archive geography farther back.

In-state, not rostered elsewhereIn-state, rostered elsewhereOut-of-state, not rostered elsewhereOut-of-state, rostered elsewhere200920122016201920232026

Where do Southern Miss's players come from?

SeasonRosterIn-stateRostered elsewhereRadius
202611024.5%36.4%336 mi
202511127.9%46.8%360 mi
202411563.5%23.5%110 mi
202310866.7%17.6%103 mi
202211563.5%13.9%115 mi
202111746.5%9.4%159 mi
202010746.2%4.7%162 mi
201912147.9%2.5%125 mi
201812245.1%1.6%155 mi
201712950.4%2.3%122 mi
201611547.0%2.6%125 mi
201512143.0%4.1%140 mi
201411540.0%2.6%125 mi
201311236.6%0.9%133 mi
20129728.9%0.0%192 mi
201110228.4%0.0%204 mi
201010637.7%0.0%121 mi
200910541.0%0.0%122 mi

In-state shares use players with a known home state. Radius uses located hometowns.

Where the roster grew up

Located hometowns on the 2026 roster, with campus marked and the Homecoming Radius circled.

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Homecoming Radius: 336 mi

This slider is exploratory. Rankings use fixed distance lenses.

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