Mississippi ranks No. 1 in producing male pro athletes, study says ...Middle East

Most Mississippians who read this column regularly know no other state produces more – or more high-quality – professional football players per capita than the Magnolia State.

Seems like every year a new study comes out that ranks Mississippi either No. 1 or No. 2 in the nation in the number of football players who make NFL rosters. Over the course of the entire history of the NFL, Mississippi ranks No. 1.

A new study – this one published by The Sports Geek, covering the last two decades – finds that Mississippi, per capita, has produced the highest number of male professional athletes of any state. Mississippi was No. 1, followed by Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Said Ryan Metevier, who conducted much of the research: “At first glance, Mississippi’s being a top producer of professional athletes came as a surprise to me, considering it’s not home to any professional teams in major leagues, and isn’t one of the richer states in the country.”

Metevier went on: “However, Mississippi ranks about the middle of the pack in number of Division I college football and basketball teams. A passionate culture of high school sports and favorable training weather make up for other shortcomings.”

Surely, Mississippi’s high participation level in football, basketball and baseball also factors in. For instance, Mississippi annually ranks highest among all states in the percentage of high school students who play those three sports.

Another factor for Mississippi’s No. 1 ranking in football and basketball should not be ignored. The Magnolia State also has the highest percentage of Black residents of any state. Mississippi, at 38%, ranks ahead of Louisiana at 33% and Georgia at 32%. Approximately 54% of NFL players and about 75% of NBA players are Black.

The Sports Geek study covers seven sports: football, basketball, baseball, hockey, golf, tennis and soccer. As you might guess, Mississippi does not rank high at all in producing hockey pros. We more than make up for it in football, basketball and baseball.

Obviously, I wasn’t surprised about the NFL, where Mississippi ranked No. 1.

I was surprised that the state also ranked No. 1 in producing professional basketball players and No. 4 in producing baseball players who make it to the highest level of their sports (NFL, NBA, MLB, etc.).

Those high rankings more than made up for relatively low rankings in the other four sports: 28th in golf, 30th in tennis, 38th in hockey and 46th in soccer. 

Actually, I was surprised to learn Mississippi ranked as highly as 38th of 50 in producing hockey pros. Fun fact: Mississippi has produced a grand total of one NHL player. He is seven-year NHL veteran Mathieu Olivier, who was born in Biloxi in February 1997. And, yes, there’s a story there. Olivier’s dad, Canadian Simon Olivier, played for the minor league Mississippi Sea Wolves back then. Mathieu Olivier, who plays for the NHL Columbus Blue Jackets, lived on the Gulf Coast only briefly before his dad moved the family back to Quebec. 

Several states, including Tennessee, which has its own NHL franchise, have never produced a single NHL player. Of 714,495 male births in Mississippi over 20 years, Mathieu Olivier is one of one. So, if you don’t learn anything else today, you learned that.

Let’s see what else we can learn. Another fun fact: The study shows that one in every 2,813 males born in Mississippi over the past 20 years has become an NFL player. That’s a lot. Furthermore, one in every 15,533 males born in the state since 2006 has become an NBA player. That ranks No. 1 in the U.S., too. Why so many more football players than basketball players? Simple: Because there are 32 NFL teams with 53-man rosters and 30 NBA teams with 15-man rosters. Statistically, it’s simply harder to make the NBA than the NFL. Plus, in basketball, as we all know, you almost have to be tall.

I have no statistics to prove it, but I would guess that Mississippi’s No. 4 ranking in producing pro baseball players has risen sharply in the 21st century. Seems as if more Mississippians get drafted by MLB teams – and in higher rounds – every year. Only Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Ohio produce more MLB players per capita than we do.

Louisiana, not surprisingly, was second to Mississippi in both football and basketball. Kentucky, a basketball state if there ever was one, was third in hoops. Ohio, definitely a football state, was third in that sport.

Mississippians surely would prefer to rank No. 1 in per capita income (we are last in the nation) or in overall health (we are 48th). But at least we can play ball. And our ball players, at least, are healthy and make millions.

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