Tag Archives: college baseball

13 Feb

four to follow

On the eve of opening day for NCAA Division I programs, here’s a player to keep an eye on for each of Mississippi’s so-called Big 4. … At Southern Miss, coming off a Sun Belt title and an NCAA trip, Davis Gillespie will be a big bat in the lineup. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound outfielder/first baseman batted .318 with eight homers, 44 RBIs and 46 runs — great run production in 57 games as a redshirt freshman in 2024. He played well in the star-studded Cape Cod League over the summer, hitting .268 with five doubles and seven RBIs. An Alabama native, Gillespie was a two-way standout in high school. … At Mississippi State, also an NCAA tourney team a year ago, Sawyer Reeves — cool name — is one of several newcomers who’ll fill key roles for the Bulldogs. Reeves, a portal pickup who played three years at The Citadel, hit .304 with five homers and 31 RBIs last year. The South Carolina native, 6-3, 205, is penciled in at second base for 2025. … At Ole Miss, coming off a rough year (27-29), freshman Owen Paino, a lefty-hitting shortstop, is one to watch. The New York state Gatorade player of the year in 2024, the 6-3, 205-pound Paino was rated a Top 100 draft prospect last year by Baseball America. He was described as a fluid defender with power potential. … At Jackson State, which won 36 games a year ago, Jordan McCladdie is not going to sneak up on anyone in 2025, having been named the SWAC preseason player of the year. After transferring to JSU from a junior college in 2024, the Georgia native hit .364 with four homers, six triples, 42 RBIs, 71 runs and 40 steals in 55 games. A lefty-hitting outfielder, the multi-tooled McCladdie lists at 6 feet, 190. … Southern Miss opens Friday at home against Lafayette (Pa.); Mississippi State, ranked in some preseason polls, welcomes Manhattan for a twinbill; Ole Miss begins against Arizona in the Shriners Showdown round-robin in Arlington, Texas; and Jackson State plays Grambling State in the Cactus Jack HBCU Classic round-robin in Houston. Also, Mississippi Valley State hosts Western Illinois, while Alcorn State, in coach Carlton Hardy’s debut, will also play Western Illinois in Itta Bena. P.S. Itawamba Community College freshman Jud Files was named the MACCC pitcher of the week; the Mooreville native threw five no-hit innings in a 12-1 win over Olney Central, striking out eight and walking two for the 6-1 Indians. … On the high school front, MaxPreps ranks Sumrall No. 22 and Jackson Prep No. 23 in its preseason national Top 25. Purvis checked in at No. 75 and George County No. 93.

11 Feb

small world

Home cooking was just what Delta State seemed to need. After a 1-3 start on the road, the NCAA Division II Statesmen returned to Ferriss Field in Cleveland and outscored Spring Hill 37-17 in a three-game sweep last weekend. Preseason All-Gulf South Conference pick Dylan Coleman has lived up to that billing, batting .467 with a homer, 10 RBIs and nine runs as DSU’s offensive leader. Jacob Hill is at .409 and Dylan Bundy at .346. More good news for the Statesmen: They start GSC play at home this weekend against Lee University. Lee is 5-2, having played only home games. … Mississippi College climbed over .500 on Monday with a 13-1 rout of Blue Mountain Christian in a small-college matchup at Frierson Field in Clinton. Jordan Evans went 3-for-5 with two doubles and four RBIs for the Choctaws (4-3). Six MC pitchers combined on an eight-hitter and hung an 0-for-4 collar on BMC’s Hayden Redding, who came in batting .444 with three homers, eight RBIs and 10 runs for the now 5-4 Toppers. MC starts GSC play at home this weekend against West Georgia. … In a D-III matchup, Millsaps College beat MUW 14-1 on Monday in Jackson as E.J. Ousley drove in five runs for the Majors (1-0). … Bridley Thomas of William Carey University is 12-for-12 on steal attempts and is batting .381 with 13 runs. Carey (5-2) is ranked ninth in NAIA. … In the junior college ranks, Copiah-Lincoln Community College is 8-1 with eight straight wins, including a walk-off (on a Trey Davidson knock) on Sunday against St. Charles CC. Caleb Brooks is hitting .483 for the Wolves. … Hunter Azemar has belted four homers and driven in 13 runs to pace Holmes CC to a 7-1 start. … Meridian, ranked 20th in the NJCAA D-II preseason poll, is also 7-1. Brayden Martin is batting .360 with nine steals for the Eagles, and Connor Gehr is 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA and 11 strikeouts in nine innings. P.S. Joe Gray Jr.’s long and winding road in pro ball has led the former Hattiesburg High star to Lake Country (Wisc.) in the independent American Association. Drafted in the second round by Milwaukee in 2018, Gray reached Double-A in the Brewers’ system in 2023 and again with Kansas City last year before being released. He played for three different Atlantic League teams after that, batting a combined .211.

01 Feb

fast starts

Names to know from Friday, the first day of college games:
Eli Collins (from Laurel via Southern Miss) went 4-for-4 with a home run and five RBIs to pace NAIA No. 9 William Carey to a 13-3 win against visiting Pikeville (Ky.).
Austin Garrison (East Mississippi CC transfer from Gulfport) got six hits in eight at-bats with a pair of homers and seven RBIs as Blue Mountain Christian swept William Woods (Mo.) 12-8 and 9-1 at Millington, Tenn.
Wes Warnock (from Vicksburg via Mississippi Delta CC) went 3-for-6 with two RBIs and a run to lead Delta State to a 6-5 win over Palm Beach Atlantic at West Palm Beach, Fla.
Jordan Evans homered in a 2-for-5 game for Mississippi College in a 3-2 loss to Arkansas-Monticello at Houston.
Kyrent Cole was 2-for-3 with an RBI, four runs and two steals as Rust College fell to Miles (Ala.) 12-11 in New Orleans.
Jaxon Milam was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a steal for fifth-ranked Pearl River Community College in a 6-4 victory vs. Northwest Florida State at Panama City, Fla.
P.S. In the Caribbean Series, former Taylorsville High star Billy Hamilton went 1-for-3 with two walks, two runs, two steals and an RBI as Mexico beat Puerto Rico 8-1 in the opening round at Mexicali, Mexico. Hamilton, 34, an 11-year big league veteran, is a free agent who played in the Mexican League last summer and in the Mexican Pacific League this winter.

24 Jan

one week out

Opening day is coming … it’s practically here. The major college season in the Magnolia State begins a week from today, on Jan. 31, when five teams take the field in various locations. NCAA Division II Delta State opens against Palm Beach Atlantic in Florida, and Mississippi College takes on Arkansas-Monticello in the Houston Astros Winter Invitational. Also on Jan. 31: NAIA William Carey University hosts Pikeville (Ky.), NAIA Blue Mountain Christian welcomes William Woods (Mo.) for a twinbill and NAIA Rust College plays Miles (Ala.) in the Ron Washington Classic in New Orleans. DSU, Carey and BMC are coming off strong seasons that ended in the postseason. The Statesmen, who finished 33-24, bowed out in the D-II South Regional. The team returns, among others, third-team All-America selection Dylan Coleman, a Madison native who batted .398 with 17 homers and 58 RBIs in 2024. Carey went 37-16 and reached the NAIA World Series. Again. The Crusaders welcome back, among others, coach Bobby Halford, the NAIA Hall of Famer who is about to embark on his 40th season at the Hattiesburg school. BMC enjoyed its best season, going 31-23, reaching the final of the SSAC Tournament (losing to Carey) and getting an NAIA regional invite. Elsewhere, NAIA Tougaloo hosts Southeastern Baptist of Laurel on Feb. 4. NCAA D-III Millsaps College opens at fellow D-III member MUW on Feb. 11, and D-III Belhaven University begins against Mount Saint Mary (N.Y.) on Feb. 14 at Pearl’s Trustmark Park. … The NCAA Division I schools start the 2025 season on Feb. 14. Southern Miss opens at home against Lafayette (Pa.); Mississippi State, ranked in some preseason polls, welcomes Manhattan; Ole Miss begins against Arizona in the Shriners Showdown round-robin in Arlington, Texas; Jackson State plays Grambling State in the Cactus Jack HBCU Classic round-robin in Houston; Mississippi Valley State hosts Western Illinois; and Alcorn State, under new coach Carlton Hardy, will also play Western Illinois in Itta Bena. P.S. Ex-Southern Miss standout Tyler Stuart has received a non-roster invite to Washington’s big league spring camp. He’s one to watch — and hard to miss: The 6-foot-9, 250-pound Stuart, the Nationals’ No. 19 prospect (per MLB Pipeline), was acquired from the New York Mets last summer in a deal for big leaguer Jesse Winker. Right-hander Stuart is 11-10 with a 3.31 ERA over three pro seasons; he was outstanding in Double-A the past two years but scuffled after the Nats promoted him to the Triple-A level.

10 Jun

wrapping it up

The college season in the Magnolia State was tinged with disappointment. To paraphrase the Billy Beane character from “Moneyball,” If you don’t win the last game of the season, the rest is irrelevant. Winning the last game is what every team is gunning for. But while no school from Mississippi won a national championship, there was plenty of stuff to be proud of. William Carey made yet another trip to the NAIA World Series. The Crusaders won the SSAC Tournament, then hosted and won an NAIA regional before ending their run at 37-16. R.J. Stinson was a Ferriss Trophy finalist and John Snyder a second-team All-America. Southern Miss, under first-year coach Christian Ostrander, won the Sun Belt Tournament and got an NCAA Tournament bid, finishing 43-20, the program’s eighth straight 40-win season. Mississippi State rallied from a sluggish start to earn an NCAA bid and finish 40-23. The Bulldogs’ Dakota Jordan won the Ferriss Trophy, and Connor Hujsak made the SEC All-Tournament team after delivering two game-winning knocks. Delta State reached the GSC Tournament championship round and earned an NCAA Division II regional spot. Led by All-GSC third baseman Dylan Coleman, the Statesmen finished 33-24. Jackson State reached the title game of the SWAC Tournament and was three outs from winning it. The Tigers finished 36-20 and were ranked No. 2 in Black College Nines’ final HBCU Large School poll. Belhaven — led by CCS pitcher of the year Brett Sanchez and player of the year Owen Abney — reached the semifnals of the CCS Tournament and ended the season with a 25-17 mark. The Blazers also swept all three games from Maloney Trophy rival Millsaps. Blue Mountain Christian reached the SSAC Tournament final — losing to Carey — and earned the school’s first NAIA Tournament bid. The Toppers, who finished 31-23, beat Carey in a three-game series for the first time, and Arderrius Townsend was a first-team All-America choice. MUW went 22-15, setting a school mark for regular season wins. Southeastern Baptist of Laurel posted a 17-15 record, including a win over Division I Alcorn State. It was an especially tough year for Ole Miss, which wobbled in at 27-29, 11-19 in the SEC. The Rebels’ season ended in gut-wrenching fashion: a walk-off loss to Mississippi State in the SEC tourney. Mississippi College‘s season also ended with a thud: a three-game sweep at the hands of rival Delta State. The Choctaws wound up 20-25, 10-20 in the GSC. Millsaps endured a 14-27 campaign that ended with two one-run losses to Centre (Ky.) in the SAA postseason. Both Alcorn State and Mississippi Valley State struggled again, the Braves going 6-43 (5-25 SWAC) and the Delta Devils 12-34 (4-26). NAIA member Rust finished 16-33 overall (10-11 GCAC) but did win a couple games in the GCAC Tournament. Tougaloo went 13-35, 8-13 GCAC. P.S. Seven players from Mississippi jucos earned All-America honors in NJCAA Division II. Pearl River Community College first baseman Hollis Porter — the MACCC player of the year — was a first-team pick, along with Meridian catcher Blaise Priester. PRCC outfielder Bryce Fowler, Hinds outfielder Thomas Marsala and Jones infielder Brady Thomas made the second team, and East Central pitcher Luke Cooley — the conference pitcher of the year — and outfielder Mo Little were on the third team. ECCC got an at-large bid to the juco World Series and reached the semifinals, finishing 55-9.

30 May

there’s a drive …

Power matters in college baseball. Power wins. Twelve of the top 20 teams in total home runs are in the NCAA Tournament, seven of them as No. 1 seeds, three more as 2-seeds. The national leader in homers — with 147 — is SEC champion and No. 1 overall seed Tennessee, which is hosting the Knoxville Regional where Southern Miss was shipped. Virginia, which is hosting the Charlottesville Regional where Mississippi State was assigned, ranks ninth in homers with 113. Both teams feature multiple players who can rake. Neither USM (41-18) nor State (38-21), both 2-seeds, would be regarded as teams that rely heavily on power. USM has hit just 63 homers this season, ranking 138th overall. State’s got 73, barely cracking the top 100 at No. 98. Tennessee has five players with double-figure homer totals, led by Christian Moore with 28 and Billy Amick with 19. USM’s leader is Slade Wilks with 14. Indiana, USM’s first-round opponent in the regional, blasted 78 homers this season, and Northern Kentucky, the 4-seed in Knoxville, hit 86. On the flip side, USM’s pitching, which has posted a 5.00 ERA (54th nationally), has done a fair job of limiting long-ball damage, allowing 60 homers. MSU pitchers, in a remarkable turnaround from 2023, have put up a 4.15 ERA this season, 12th-best in the country. They’ve yielded 63 homers. The Bulldogs’ first-round opponent is St. John’s, which has only 41 homers. The 4-seed in Charlottesville is Penn, which has hit 55. Virginia’s top slugger is Harrison Didawick, who has 23 bombs, leading three others in double digits. Dakota Jordan is sitting on 17 for the Bulldogs, though his power tailed off down the stretch. Hunter Hines has hit 15 bombs. There is more to the game than hitting home runs, of course, but it certainly helps to have that weapon in your lineup. Nothing changes a game like a three-run bomb.

24 May

comin’ on strong

In the Baltimore Orioles’ loaded minor league system, it ain’t easy to stand out, especially for a player not ranked among their top prospects. But there at High-Class A Aberdeen goes Matthew Etzel, putting up eye-catching numbers. The Southern Miss product, a 10th-round pick by the Orioles in 2023, is hitting .293 with four homers, 23 RBIs, 20 steals, six doubles, two triples, 26 runs and a .392 on-base percentage. The lefty-hitting outfielder — 6 feet 2, 211 pounds — ranks in the top 11 in five offensive categories in the South Atlantic League. You won’t find Etzel’s name on MLB Pipeline’s chart of the Top 30 Baltimore prospects, four of whom rank in the top 22 on the overall minor league prospect chart. But his star is rising. He typically bats cleanup and plays center field for the IronBirds. “He is super exciting, definitely under the radar,” Aberdeen hitting coach Zach Cole recently told Orioles Beat. “He’s a guy that could climb the system pretty quick.” Etzel batted .317 with seven homers, 51 RBIs and 23 steals for USM’s Sun Belt Conference championship team in 2023, his only year in Hattiesburg after transferring from a Texas juco. P.S. Etzel’s alma mater rallied to win, 6-5 over Troy, in the SBC Tournament on Thursday and gets today off in Montgomery, Ala. … Jackson State won big again — 11-6 over Bethune-Cookman — in the SWAC Tournament in Atlanta and plays again today against the BCU-Texas Southern winner. … Mississippi State, afer losing to Vanderbilt in the SEC tourney, tackles top-seeded Tennessee in an elimination game today at Hoover, Ala. … Congrats to MHSAA state champions Brandon (Class 7A) and East Webster (3A), both of which completed sweeps on Thursday at Trustmark Park in Pearl.

10 May

noteworthy

Belhaven University is sitting pretty in the CCS Tournament. The NCAA Division III Blazers won their opener Thursday and have ace Brett Sanchez primed to go today against LaGrange (Ga.) in a winners bracket game at Maryville, Ky. With Colton Sylvester (7-1) tossing a six-hitter and Eli Britt and Hunter Harrell combining for six RBIs, second-seeded Belhaven whipped Huntingdon (Ala.) 8-1 Thursday. … William Carey University is the No. 2 seed behind Mid-America Christian (Okla.) in the four-team NAIA Opening Round tournament the Crusaders are hosting next week at Wheeler Field in Hattiesburg. Blue Mountain Christian is the fifth seed in the five-team Shreveport Bracket hosted by LSU-Shreveport. The top-seeded Pilots feature several Mississippi juco players, including Hinds Community College alum Vantrel Reed, their top hitter at .393 with eight homers and 58 RBIs. … Jackson State’s Myles White was named the SWAC co-hitter of the week after going 9-for-15 with eight RBIs and four runs in the Tigers’ sweep of Mississippi Valley State last weekend. White, who went 0-for-4 in a 5-0 loss at nationally ranked Louisiana-Lafayette on Tuesday, is batting .346 with 31 RBIs and 36 runs for the 30-17 Tigers. … MUW’s season ended Tuesday with an upset loss to Westminster (Mo.) in in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament at Fulton, Mo. The Owls finished 22-15. … The New York Yankees have claimed ex-Mississippi State pitcher Colby White on waivers from Tampa Bay. White had a 17.61 ERA in nine appearances at Triple-A Durham; the right-hander, whose career ERA is 2.83, missed all of 2022 and a chunk of 2023 after arm surgery. … MSU product J.P. France, recently demoted to Triple-A by Houston, reportedly has a shoulder injury that may sideline him for a lengthy period. An 11-game winner in 2023, he was 0-3 with a 7.46 this season when the Astros sent him down. … Former Southern Miss star Matt Wallner, sent to the minors after a 2-for-25 start with Minnesota, hit his fifth homer for Triple-A St. Paul on Thursday. The lefty slugger is batting .353 with four homers in May. … Ex-Ole Miss standout Jacob Gonzalez, the first player drafted — 15th overall — out of the state in 2023, went 2-for-4 Thursday to boost his average to .306 for High-Class A Winston-Salem in the Chicago White Sox’s chain. Gonzalez, a shortstop, has three homers, 12 RBIs and five steals.

05 May

blast from past

Joining a list that includes Mark McGwire can be pretty impressive, at least when it comes to hitting dingers. Mississippi State alum Brent Rooker blasted two home runs in one inning on Saturday, becoming the first Oakland player to do so since McGwire in 1996. Rooker, born in 1994, told mlb.com he grew up a St. Louis Cardinals fan in Germantown, Tenn., and followed McGwire during the slugger’s time with the Redbirds. “Being able to do anything the same as him is a huge accomplishment, and something that’s really cool for me,” Rooker said. Rooker’s bombs came in a 10-run third inning that propelled the surprising A’s to a 20-4 win over visiting Miami. Oakland is 17-17 with six straight victories. Rooker, a 2023 All-Star who also homered on Friday, is batting .240 with eight homers and 20 RBIs in 22 games, having spent 10 days on the injured list last month. As a BTW: Ex-Ole Miss standout Nick Fortes hit his first homer of the year for the lowly Marlins, 9-26. Also overshadowed by Rooker’s exploits was a four-hit game by another former Bulldogs masher, Nathaniel Lowe, who led Texas to a 15-4 rout of Kansas City. Lowe started the season on the IL and is batting .333 with a homer and four RBIs in 13 games since his return. He picked up two of those RBIs on Saturday. “I’m three weeks late to the party,” he told mlb.com, “so I have to get going.” The Rangers, 18-16 and second in the American League West to Seattle, visit division rival Oakland for a four-game series beginning Monday. P.S. William Carey University beat Blue Mountain Christian for the SSAC Tournament championship, the third tourney title in the last four years for coach Bobby Halford, who has a shelf full of trophies over his 39-year career. The Crusaders (34-14 with eight straight wins) will host an NAIA Opening Round tourney next week. BMC also gets an NAIA bid. … Delta State won an elimination game in the GSC Tournament and will play again today against Lee in Oxford, Ala. … Hinds Community College swept host Northwest Mississippi CC in their MACCC playoff series and advances to next week’s NJCAA Division II Region 23 Tournament in Poplarville. No. 1-ranked East Central, No. 13 Jones and Meridian all won their best-of-3 series openers on Saturday and will play again today.

01 May

big wednesday

The Mississippi Braves play an 11 a.m. matinee today at Trustmark Park in Pearl, the pro game against Pensacola serving as an appetizer of sorts for tonight’s Ole Miss-Mississippi State clash at the same venue. The televised non-conference game (6:30 p.m./ESPN2) between the Rebels (23-20, 27th in ncca.com’s RPI) and Bulldogs (29-15, 28th in RPI) could have implications for their NCAA Tournament chances. UM took two of three from State in their SEC series last month. … Meanwhile, in Jackson, Tenn., William Carey University and Blue Mountain Christian will begin play today in the SSAC Championship. Carey (30-14) is the No. 2 seed and will open Pool B play against Thomas U. BMC (29-19) is the 8-seed and draws top-seeded Faulkner to start Pool A play. The winners of the two four-team pools will meet for the championship, with both getting bids to the NAIA Tournament. … The Belhaven University-MUW game originally scheduled for tonight in Clinton has been cancelled. The Blazers (23-15) have finished their regular season and will compete in the CCS postseason next week. P.S. The pairings are set for the MACCC’s best-of-3 play-in series, which begin Friday: East Central, ranked No. 1 in NJCAA Division II, hosts Northeast; No. 12 Northwest hosts Hinds; No. 13 Jones hosts East Mississippi; and Meridian hosts Copiah-Lincoln. The series winners advance to the NJCAA Division II Region 23 Tournament next week in Poplarville, home of regular season champion Pearl River, ranked No. 2 nationally. … Eli Huebner of Meridian was named the MACCC hitter of the week after batting .500 with three homers, including two grand slams in one inning, in four games, while PRCC’s Caleb Dyess earned pitcher of the week honors following his six-hitter in the championship-clinching 7-1 win against Northwest on Saturday.