Four-star prospect Bralan Womack, ESPN's No. 3 safety in the 2026 class, flipped his commitment from Auburn to Mississippi State on Monday, sealing a historic late-cycle pledge for coach Jeff Lebby and the Bulldogs.
Womack, a 6-foot, 200-pound defender from Flowood, Mississippi, is the No. 39 overall prospect in the 2026 ESPN 300. If he signs later this week, Womack will join the in-state Bulldogs as the school's highest-ranked signee in the ESPN recruiting era, dating to 2006.
Prior to Monday, Womack had spent the fall as the top-ranked commit in Auburn's 2026 class after picking the Tigers over Florida, Ohio State and Texas A&M in August. However, Auburn's decision to fire coach Hugh Freeze on Nov. 2 unsettled Womack's recruitment, opening the door to late fall flip interest from LSU, Mississippi State and Texas A&M.
Womack's exit from the Tigers' incoming class comes one day after the program announced the hiring of South Florida coach Alex Golesh on Sunday. Womack, who visited Auburn for the Iron Bowl in Week 14, told ESPN on Nov. 25 that his decision would be tied closely to the outcome of the Tigers' coaching search and interim coach D.J. Durkin's role with the program in the future.
Whether or not Durkin will remain on Golesh's staff remains unclear as of Monday.
Womack, ESPN's No. 3 recruit in the state of Mississippi, won back-to-back state titles in his sophomore and junior seasons at Mississippi's Hartfield Academy. He entered his senior campaign this fall as the state's reigning Gatorade Football Player of the Year.
Womack has visited LSU, Mississippi State and Texas A&M since late October. He told ESPN that the Bulldogs turned up the heat on his recruitment early last month, eventually hosting him twice in November, most recently during last weekend's Egg Bowl defeat to Ole Miss.
Womack said the Bulldogs' pitched him on becoming the defensive version of star freshman quarterback Kamario Taylor -- an in-state signee in the 2025 class who made his first career start in Week 14 -- and highlighted the program's progress across two seasons under Lebby.
"You can see his ability to go out and get players and build confidence in a locker room that didn't have much when he walked in," Womack said. That takes a lot. You can see what he's doing."'
Womack now stands as the lone ESPN 300 pledge in Mississippi State's 2026 signing class with the three-day early signing period set to open Wednesday morning. Prior to his flip, the Bulldogs' incoming class sat at No. 49 in ESPN's class rankings for the 2026 cycle.