not to be overlooked

Junior college baseball in Mississippi doesn’t attract a lot of attention from the media, and few juco games draw big crowds. But pro and senior college scouts know about the talent in the state. Mississippi juco alumni who played in the major leagues last season include Roy Oswalt, Marcus Thames, Chad Bradford, Fred Lewis, Jason Smith, Tim Dillard and Jonathan Van Every. Among the names to watch in the juco ranks this spring are three preseason NJCAA Division II second-team All-Americans: catcher Phillip Chapman of Northeast, outfielder Dustin Gilmore of Jones County and infielder Ethan Burt of Pearl River. A good baseball fan owes it to himself to check out a Mississippi juco game somewhere this season. You’ll see some players, to be sure.