Tag Archives: college baseball

22 Jan

two weeks notice

Gather the hats and hooters: Feb. 5, a mere two weeks from today, is the start of the college season in Mississippi. Tougaloo College visits Mississippi College (and new coach Jeremy Haworth); William Carey travels to Florida to play Ave Maria University; Millsaps takes on Randolph-Macon in a tournament in Montgomery, Ala.; and Blue Mountain hosts Judson College in New Albany. Delta State plays its first game at refurbished Ferriss Field on Feb. 6, when Mike Kinnison’s Statesmen host Harding. … Belhaven, making the move from NAIA to NCAA Division III, opens on Feb. 16 at Huntingdon in Alabama. … Alcorn State will launch the Brett Richardson era on Feb. 19 in the MLB Urban Invitational in New Orleans. Richardson, a longtime Florida A&M assistant, replaced Barret Rey last summer. … The state’s Big 4 D-I schools open at home on Feb. 19: Mississippi State — which is showing up in most of the national preseason polls — against Florida Atlantic, Ole Miss vs. Florida International, Southern Miss vs. Eastern Illinois and Jackson State vs. Tennessee-Martin. Mississippi Valley State is on the road that day against Nicholls State. P.S. Also opening on Feb. 5 is Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, which will play Jackson State (Tenn.) CC in a twinbill at MGM Park in Biloxi. The Bulldogs are playing their home games at the Shuckers’ stadium this season.

21 Jan

campus notes

Delta State junior Jacob Swiney was named to the Preseason All-Gulf South Conference squad announced on Wednesday. The Biloxi native, also cited as a top player in NCAA Division II by Collegiate Baseball, batted .396 with three home runs and 35 RBIs last season, making All-GSC first team. Junior college transfer pitchers Dalton Moats and Jacob Howell were listed on the GSC’s top newcomer list. The Statesmen were pegged for a third-place finish in the league. … Mississippi College’s Will Elliott and Perry Turner also made the list of top newcomers in the GSC. Elliott, a junior outfielder from Oxford, is a transfer from Alabama. Turner, a junior pitcher, came in from Jones County Junior College. MC, still in transition to D-II, is not yet eligible for the GSC championship. … Millsaps College outfielder Isaac Glenn was an honorable mention pick on the d3baseball.com preseason All-America team. The junior from Madison hit .436 with 17 doubles and 45 RBIs in 2015. He led the Southern Athletic Association last year in slugging and on-base percentage. … Jackson State had three players named to the Black College Nine preseason All-America team. Third baseman Jesus Santana and DH Sam Campbell were named to the first team and outfielder Lamar Briggs to the second team. Santana led the Tigers and the SWAC with 12 home runs in 2015. … Former USM and MLB standout Chad Bradford will be the keynote speaker at the Southern Miss Dugout Club Banquet on Feb. 6. Bradford played at Byram High School and Hinds Community College before signing with USM. He went 5-4 with a 3.59 earned run average and three saves in 1996, his only season with the Golden Eagles. The submarine-style right-hander, featured in “Moneyball,” pitched for 12 years in the majors, posting a 36-28 overall record with a 3.26 ERA. He served as pitching coach at Hinds CC in 2014-15. … Tougaloo, one of three GCAC schools that play baseball, will be eligible to compete for the Association of Independent Institutions Baseball Championship this year. A total of 15 teams will vie for eight spots and a chance to play for one of the three NAIA Tournament bids given to the tournament champion, runner-up and third-place finisher. The Bulldogs went 7-40 in 2015 in the first year of coach Earl Sanders’ second stint with the program. P.S. Former Mississippi Braves third baseman Wes Timmons is the new coach at Shorter University, which plays in the Gulf South Conference.

22 Dec

poll position

If the Collegiate Baseball poll is out, then the season can’t be far behind. Mississippi State, coming off a 24-30 season but welcoming back 16 lettermen, is ranked 11th in the NCAA Division I poll released on Monday. The D-I start date is Feb. 19, with the Bulldogs opening in Starkville against Florida Atlantic. Neither Ole Miss nor Southern Miss, who had winning seasons in 2015, made CB’s “Fabulous 40.” There are four SEC schools in the top seven, with Florida opening at No. 1. For what it’s worth, State was ranked No. 20 in CB’s 2015 preseason poll. Ole Miss was unranked but made the NCAA Tournament field, the only one of the Big 3 to do so. … The college season in Mississippi actually starts on Feb. 5 – just 45 days away! — when Tougaloo College visits Mississippi College and William Carey University travels to Florida to play Ave Maria University. For MC, the game at Frierson Field in Clinton will mark the debut of coach Jeremy Haworth.

14 Nov

wait for it …

Oxford High’s Jason Barber, the Gatorade Player of the Year in Mississippi in 2015, has officially signed with Ole Miss, which announced a boatload of early signees this week. Mississippi State inked highly regarded Magnolia Heights products Riley Self and Dustin Skelton, among others, for its 2017 team. Southern Miss picked up juco stars Colt Smith and LeeMarcus Boyd from Northwest Mississippi Community College. Barber had a tremendous 2015 season: 10-0, 0.00 ERA as a pitcher, .337, eight homers as a hitter. Boyd’s numbers suggest an impact player: .330, 18 steals, 42 runs, 29 RBIs in 49 games at NWMCC. Of course, there is a catch. The “excitement,” if it can be called that, of the early signing period in college baseball is always tempered by the realization that the best of the signees may never put on the uniform of their chosen school. The MLB draft tends to snap them up. See Austin Riley, State signee from the fall of 2014, now a hot prospect in the Atlanta Braves’ system. It’s a quirky issue the other major sports don’t have to deal with. P.S. Conference USA might have scored a hit with its decision to hold its tournament at MGM Park, the new home of the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers, in 2017 and 2018. The Coast, with its casinos and beaches, might just draw some big crowds. Dates for the events haven’t been announced, but they’ll fall somewhere in mid-May.

09 Oct

campus notes

Southern Miss will play the first eight games of the 2016 season at home in Taylor Park, but the more interesting aspect of the schedule is where the Golden Eagles will play 10 of their road games. In addition to the annual games against Mississippi State (April 1) and Ole Miss (April 5) at Trustmark Park in Pearl, USM will visit three other minor league ballparks. USM is slated for three games in a March 4-6 tournament at Pensacola’s scenic Bayfront Stadium. The Eagles have two March games set for MGM Park in Biloxi and a three-game C-USA series March 18-20 against Marshall at Appalachian Power Park in Charleston, W.Va. USM opens the season Feb. 19 against Eastern Illinois. … After last weekend’s fall ball scrimmages in Oxford, Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco singled out four pitchers for their work. Good stuff is expected from junior left-hander Wyatt Short, the Southaven product who was an All-SEC pick in 2015. The other three drawing praise were newcomers: juco transfer David Parkinson and freshmen Andy Pagnozzi and Parker Caracci. Caracci is from MAIS powerhouse Jackson Prep. … Pitching also has been in fashion of late at Mississippi State. In Sunday’s scrimmage, lefty Daniel Brown threw three shutout innings with five strikeouts. On Monday, Austin Sexton tossed four shutout innings with four K’s. And on Tuesday, freshman lefty Jared Padgett worked three scoreless innings. Padgett, from Florida, was a 26th round pick by the Chicago Cubs in June. P.S. Former Ole Miss left-hander Austin Wright was rated the top prospect in independent ball by Baseball America. Wright, who recently signed with Arizona, went 5-11 with a 4.46 ERA for Windy City in the Frontier League. He had a 4.26 ERA in four years in the Philadelphia system before being released – but he also has a fastball that reaches the mid-90s.

25 Sep

campus notes

Ole Miss fans of a certain age will remember John Shaw, a star second baseman for the Rebels from 1968-70. Shaw is among the five athletes being inducted into the Ole Miss M-Club Alumni Hall of Fame this weekend. Shaw led the SEC in stolen bases three straight years, twice earned all-league honors and helped Tom Swayze’s team win the SEC championship in 1969. … Southern Miss will again host the C-USA Tournament at Taylor Park. Dates are May 25-29, 2016. USM has hosted the tournament five times previously but never won the title as the host school. The Golden Eagles’ lone tournament championship came in 2010, when the event was in Houston. … USM started fall ball on Sunday, with 16 newcomers joining a crop of returnees that includes five regulars – second-team All-C-USA pick Tim Lynch among them — from a 36-win team. … Mississippi State needed to do some rebuilding after last year’s disappointing finish, and coach John Cohen may have the parts to put together a better club in 2016. State’s recruiting class was ranked No. 3 in the nation by Collegiate Baseball. Among the 22 newcomers are three players who were drafted by MLB clubs and three state players of the year. Here’s one to watch: Nate Lowe, a first-team NJCAA All-America pick and the Florida juco player of the year. He hit .373 with 17 home runs and 53 RBIs at St. Johns River State College. … Ole Miss’ recruiting class was rated No. 23 by Collegiate Baseball, USM’s was not in the Top 25. … One of Jackson State’s big signees for 2016 was C.J. Newsome, a 5-foot-7 outfielder from Columbia High. Newsome, who batted .350 and stole 25 bags as a senior, was drafted by Miami in the 38th round in June. There must have been a big sigh of relief at J-State when Newsome didn’t sign.

16 Sep

boys of fall

Fall ball has launched in Starkville. Mississippi State held its first scrimmage on Tuesday night, with the Gray beating the Maroon 3-1 at Dudy Noble Field behind Luke Reynolds’ three RBIs. Brent Rooker homered for the Maroon in the six-inning contest. Fall ball at MSU will conclude the weekend of Oct. 16-18 with the Bulldog World Series. State’s team features nine players who earned all-star honors in their respective summer leagues. … Ole Miss will start fall practice with an intrasquad game on Friday at Oxford-University Stadium. Fall camp runs until Nov. 1. The Rebels return 16 players from last season’s NCAA Tournament team, including six starting position players. UM has announced its spring schedule, which will begin on Feb. 19 at home against Florida International. In the annual rivalry games at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Ole Miss will face Southern Miss on April 5 and State on April 26. The date for the USM-State game hasn’t been announced.

11 Sep

campus notes

Wes Thigpen, a former Mississippi State catcher, was recently hired as the new pitching coach at Hinds Community College, replacing former big leaguer Chad Bradford. Thigpen was a graduate assistant at State the past two seasons. He played at Meridian CC before starting for the Bulldogs in 2010 and ’11. He also played pro ball in the Detroit Tigers’ system. … Southern Miss has announced it will play host to two games against longtime coastal rivals at MGM Park in Biloxi next season. The Golden Eagles will meet South Alabama on March 2 and Tulane on March 22. MGM Park, home of the Double-A Biloxi Shuckers, formally opened on June 6. … When fall ball starts at Mississippi State, outfielder Brent Rooker might have a little swagger in his walk. He was named the New England Collegiate Baseball League Most Valuable Player and its second-best prospect by Baseball America. He finished first in the league in home runs (10), RBIs (33) and runs (36) and third in batting (.360). Rooker hit .257 with two homers in 74 at-bats for the Bulldogs in 2015. … Ole Miss shortstop Errol Robinson is also coming off a strong summer. Playing in the top-drawer Cape Cod League, he hit .312 with 25 runs and 15 steals, made the All-Star game and was rated the No. 9 prospect. … Jackson State’s Jamal Wilson, a senior right-hander, was rated among the Valley League’s top prospects. He went 2-3 with a 5.16 ERA during the summer league’s regular season and 1-1, 2.25 in the playoffs. … William Carey may have made a key pick-up for 2016 when it added former Petal High and Jones County Junior College catcher Tyler Graves to its roster. As a sophomore at JCJC in 2014, Graves was named NJCAA D-II Spalding National Defensive Player of the Year and was a third team All-America pick. He had 28 assists and batted .371. He signed with Delta State out of JCJC but didn’t play there in 2015.

27 Aug

campus news

Mississippi State alumnus Mitch Moreland recently made a $100,000 donation toward the new Dudy Noble Field, the MSU Bulldog Club announced today. In recognition of his generosity, the indoor batting cages at the facility will be named for him. Moreland, now with the Texas Rangers, starred at State from 2005-07, batting .332 for his career and helping the Bulldogs reach the College World Series in his final season in Starkville. Moreland’s donation will go toward the $40 million renovation plan for venerable Dudy Noble. … Delta State will dedicate a statue honoring former coach Dave “Boo” Ferriss and unveil its new-look stadium on Oct. 3. The statue, crafted by Kim Sessums of Brookhaven, is located in front of Ferriss Field, which has undergone renovations. The ribbon-cutting ceremony will be part of the annual Statesmen Baseball Reunion activities. … Fall ball will begin soon, and Alcorn State players will go to work under new coach Brett Richardson, who recently replaced Barret Rey. Richardson was a longtime assistant at Florida A&M, where he also played. The Rattlers won the MEAC championship this past season. Rey won a SWAC championship with the Braves in 2011, his second year at the helm, but wasn’t able to repeat that success. The Braves were 16-40, 7-18 SWAC, in 2015. … It will be interesting to track the progress of the four players from MAIS juggernaut Jackson Prep who signed with SEC schools back in November. Parker Caracci is at Ole Miss, Noah Hughes and Jake Mangum at State and Gene Wood at Alabama. … Ole Miss’ pitching staff should get a big boost from the return of Brady Bramlett, who was drafted by Oakland in the 22nd round in June. He was 7-4 with a 3.74 ERA for the Rebels in 2015. … New Mississippi College coach Jeremy Haworth has bolstered the Choctaws’ roster since his arrival. Recent additions include outfielder Will Elliott (an Alabama transfer from Oxford), outfielder Parker Thurman (Mississippi Valley State/Pearl), infielder/outfielder Chance Whitten (East Central Community College) and pitchers Perry Turner (Jones County JC), Scott Szush (Southeastern Louisiana) and Matt Payne (Volunteer State CC).

02 Jun

that’s a wrap

Ole Miss went a long way for its short stay in the NCAA Tournament. Losses to Maryland and Cal State Bakersfield in the Los Angeles Regional over the weekend ended the Rebels’ season – and put a lid on the college season in the state. A year after making a deep run at the College World Series, a rebuilt UM team finished 30-28. Not a glittery record, but, yes, it did come against a tough slate. Reliever Wyatt Short (4 wins, 11 saves, 1.38 ERA) emerged as a Big Man on Campus (subcategory: pitcher) for the Rebels. The Rebs’ BMOC hitter was Sikes Orvis, who belted 16 homers, drove in 53 runs, scored 41 and slugged .587. … Southern Miss had a good year – a 35-16-1 regular season and a third-place finish in C-USA – that ended on a sour note. After going 1-2 in the league tournament in Hattiesburg, the Golden Eagles did not get a bid to the NCAAs. This year marked the 25th anniversary of USM’s first regional appearance; it would have been sweet if the current bunch could have duplicated the feat. Right-hander James McMahon (11-1, 1.56 ERA) was perhaps the biggest man on any campus in the state, winning the Ferriss Trophy as the state’s best player at a four-year school. Tim Lynch (.313, nine homers, 32 RBIs, 38 runs) was USM’s best all-around hitter. … Mississippi State endured what was likely the most disappointing season among the state’s four-year colleges. The Bulldogs, nationally ranked early in the year and 13-0 at one point, finished 24-30, 8-22 in the SEC. BMOCs for the Bulldogs were Jacob Robson (.324, 41 runs) and Trevor Fitts (2-4, 2.03, six saves). … Jackson State could not manage a third straight SWAC championship but wound up 32-25, getting a monster year from Melvin Rodriguez (.422, seven homers, 65 RBIs). The Tigers’ other BMOC: Vincent Anthonia (5-3, 4.45). … Alcorn State went 16-41 but did make the SWAC Tournament. BMOCs: Scotty Peavey (.345, 11 homers, 46 RBIs) and Cedric Walker (6-3, 7.59). In Aaron Stevens’ first year as coach, Mississippi Valley State ended 8-35-1, an improvement on 2014 (4-38). BMOCs: Kalik May (.335, four homers, 22 steals) and Tyler Case (3-10, 7.20). Delta State overcame a slow start to wind up 25-18, falling short, however, of a Division II regional bid. The Statesmen were led by BMOCs Jacob Swiney (.396, 35 RBIs, 32 runs) and Jonathan Moody (5-2, 4.04). In its first year back in D-II, and in Brian Owens’ final season as coach, Mississippi College finished 12-34. BMOCs: Hunter Bolin (.342, 24 RBIs, 24 runs) and Brooks Fortenberry (2-6, 5.87). New coach on campus: Jeremy Haworth. Southern Athletic Association player of the year Keith Shumaker (.390, 52 runs; 8-3, 2.48) led Millsaps to a 29-14 mark and a trip to the D-III regionals. Adam Kowalczyk, an All-Southern States Athletic Conference selection, hit .329 with 14 home runs and 66 RBIs as a BMOC for Belhaven (33-24). The Blazers’ best pitcher was Ben Allison (7-4, 4.15). William Carey wound up 30-23, led by All-SSAC picks Tyler Richardson (.385, 50 runs) and Gavin Culpepper (9-2, 2.75). Seth Davis (.396, eight homers, 40 RBIs) was an All-SSAC performer for Blue Mountain, which finished 17-27. The Toppers’ other BMOC: Dylan Earnest (4-6, 4.52). Tougaloo went 7-40 in Earl Sanders’ first year as coach. BMOCs: Lige Mims Jr. (.305, four homers, 28 RBIs) and Bennie Warner (2-7, 8.10).