Mississippi State basketball's All-SEC guard Josh Hubbard is returning to Starkville for his sophomore season, he announced via social media Monday.

Hubbard led coach Chris Jans' Bulldogs with 17.1 points per game as a freshman this season. His highlights included a career-high 34-point outing in a Feb. 27 loss against Kentucky which came three days after he scored 32 points in a win at LSU.

Hubbard closed the regular season with nine consecutive games scoring at least 15 points, including a six-game stretch of scoring at least 20 points. With his 598 points, Hubbard set the MSU freshman scoring record − overtaking Rickey Brown's previous high of 520 points in the 1976-77 season.

He ranked seventh in the SEC in scoring, fifth in 3-point percentage (35.5%) and first in 3-pointers made (108). He was selected as a second team All-SEC player.

Hubbard is a native of Madison, Mississippi, who was a four-star prospect out of Madison-Ridgeland Academy, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Breaking records at MSU was nothing new for the 5-foot-10 guard as he holds the Mississippi boys high school all-time scoring mark.

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Last week, MSU forward and SEC all-defensive team selection Cameron Matthews announced he'll also be returning next season.

The Bulldogs are coming off back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. This season, as a No. 8 seed, Mississippi State was eliminated in the first round by No. 9 seed Michigan State.

Stefan Krajisnik is the Mississippi State beat writer for the Clarion Ledger. Contact him at skrajisnik@gannett.com or follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, @skrajisnik3.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Josh Hubbard: Mississippi State basketball star returning as sophomore