No More Voting For All-Stars; All High School Athletes Can Participate

Jahyla Dubose of Quitman High School.

The Mississippi Association of Players has decided to open the Mississippi All-Star Draft to all 9th - 12th grade athletes in any public, private or charter school in Mississippi for all sports to ensure fairness and equality for all student athletes across the state.

The all-star draft is the red-carpet event that student athletes from all over the state attend where athletes are selected during the event to be a state all-star. Only students who are at the event in person can be selected.

Starting immediately, any student athlete can go online and get a free "Confirmation Ticket" to confirm they will be attending the draft as long as the student athlete is in at least the 9th grade.

Students can get their Confirmation Tickets by clicking here.

MAP has given the power to student athletes to decide if they think they should be an all-star by giving them the power over their own future. It's now up to student athletes not their local high school coaches or fans to decided if they should be a state all-star.

This now makes every student athlete in Mississippi equal to all others leveling the playing field by giving every kid the same opportunity regardless of what school they attend or where in the state they live to represent Mississippi as a state all-star.

"As a college coach, I see the mission of this organization, including the Mississippi All-Stars, as a life changing experience for the future of our student athletes in Mississippi." said Coach Mary Bolton, who now serves as a Senior Administrative Coach for the Mississippi Association of Players.

The Basketball All-Star Draft is Monday, April 21, 2025 starting at 6pm at the Jackie Dole Community Center, 220 W. Front Street in downtown Hattiesburg. The event is hosted by 2x Olympic Gold Medalist, 2x WNBA All-Star, WNBA Superstar, Queens of Women's Basketball Ruthie Bolton.

Spring Sports All-Star Drafts:

Date	Sport	Location
Monday, April 21, 2025	Basketball	Jackie Dole Community Center, 220 W. Front Street, Hattiesburg, MS
Sunday, April 27, 2025	Baseball	C. E. Roy Community Center, 305. E. 5th Street, Hattiesburg, MS
Monday, April 28, 2025	Softball	C. E. Roy Community Center, 305. E. 5th Street, Hattiesburg, MS
Tuesday, April 29, 2025	Girls Track & Field	C. E. Roy Community Center, 305. E. 5th Street, Hattiesburg, MS
Wednesday, April 30, 2025	Boys Track & Field	C. E. Roy Community Center, 305. E. 5th Street, Hattiesburg, MS

Students must be logged in the MAP account to access the Confirmation Ticket. If a student doesn't have an account, they will need to create an account and become a student member before the system will allow them to access the confirmation ticket.

So many parents & student athletes expressed serious frustrations over the past few weeks about either their kids being overlooked or never getting the information that was given to schools and coaches about inviting their kids to the all-star draft event.

Why all the fuss?

The all-star draft is the gateway to changing a kids life.

If a kid is selected to be a state all-star, that kid immediately becomes at least a 3-Star Athlete which automatically separates that kid from 93.7% of the athletes in the state which means every college or university in the region will at least look at that specific kid to see if he/she is a fit for their program.

This automatically brings in conversation about NIL compensation for a kid as the student athlete is deciding which program to commit to. The more offers, the higher the kid's value in determining how much he or she should receive in terms of NIL compensation which is life changing for so many kids coming out of poverty in Mississippi.

So yes, being selected as an official Mississippi All-Star is major and a very big deal.

Less than 7% of high school athletes get a chance to play on a college level. Less than 1% of of student athletes get a chance to be a state all-star.