Mississippi State forward Cameron Matthews announces decision to return to school for 2024-2025
Mississippi State forward Cameron Matthews announced the decision to return to the Bulldogs for the 2024-2025 college basketball campaign. He announced the news on Friday in a lengthy social media post.
“I’m back.” Matthews wrote in his announcement. “Thank you Bulldog family for the love and support you showed us during the run to our second straight NCAA Tournament last season. It means so much to compete in front of sold-out crowds at the Hump. Being a student athlete at Mississippi State means a lot to me and to my family being a Mississippi kid. I’m extremely thankful that they’ve been with me every step of the way, and they’ve been able to see me grow these past four years.”
“We’ve got more memories to make and more goals to achieve. I’m excited to announce that I’ll be wearing the Maroon and White one more time in 2024-2025. I’m appreciative to Coach Jans and our staff for the lessons they’ve taught me and for trusting me to be a leader. I work hard every day to be the best player I can be and can’t wait for what’s in store next season. Hail State, Mook.”
This year in 35 games for the Bulldogs, Matthews averaged 9.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. Mississippi State lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Michigan State, 69-51. In the loss, Matthews played 25 minutes, stuffing the stat sheet with eight points, five rebounds, and two assists.
He posted the best numbers of his career this year with the Bulldogs. The Mississippi native tied for his season-high in points (18) against the Tennessee Volunteers in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. The Bulldogs thrashed Tennessee 73-56 in one of the bigger upsets in that tournament. Matthews also tacked on eight rebounds and dished out three assists in 32 minutes of work.
Mississippi State finished the year with a 21-14 overall record, ranking 9th place in the SEC.
Coming out of Olive Branch High School (Olive Branch, Mississippi), Matthews was ranked as a three-star prospect in the 2020 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings. He was also ranked as the No. 210 overall player in America and the No. 46 small forward prospect in the country.