Tag Archives: high school baseball

30 Sep

just rewards

Konnor Griffin reeled in another player of the year honor on Monday, earning the Minor League Baseball Hitting Prospect of the Year Award from mlb.com. Former Jackson Prep star Griffin, the overall No. 1-ranked prospect, also won Baseball America’s POY award. (And, of course, he was the Gatorade state and national player of the year in high school in 2024.) In his first season in the Pittsburgh system, Griffin batted .333 with 21 homers, 65 steals and a .941 OPS across three levels, reaching Double-A. MLB Pipeline called his performance “the most impressive professional debut in recent memory.” He also was named the shortstop on the Prospect Team of the Year. Former Mississippi Braves reliever Hayden Harris, who reached the majors with Atlanta, was a pegged as a first-team pitcher on that squad, and Jesus Made, who played for Biloxi this season, was the second-team shortstop. … Griffin is an obvious choice for the all-Mississippi minor league All-Star team for 2025. Here’s the rest (with their organization):
Catcher: Chuckie Robinson* (Southern Miss), Los Angeles Angels/Dodgers/Atlanta
First base: Tim Elko* (Ole Miss), Chicago White Sox
Second base: Justin Foscue* (Mississippi State), Texas
Shortstop: Griffin
Third base: Blaze Jordan (DeSoto Central HS), Boston/St. Louis
Outfield:
Kemp Alderman (UM), Miami
Matthew Etzel (USM) Tampa Bay/Miami
Braden Montgomery (Madison Central HS), White Sox
DH: Blaine Crim* (Mississippi College), Texas/Colorado
Starting pitchers:
Khal Stephen (MSU), Toronto/Cleveland
Hurston Waldrep* (USM), Atlanta
Jurrangelo Cijntje (MSU), Seattle
K.C. Hunt (MSU), Milwaukee
Relievers:
Landon Sims (MSU), Arizona
Landon Tompkins (Hinds Community College), Pittsburgh
Justin Storm (USM), Miami
*Played in the big leagues
P.S. Marcus Thames, the Louisville native and ex-big leaguer, won’t be retained as hitting coach by the Chicago White Sox. The veteran coach had been in that post for two years, both of which saw the ChiSox lose 100 games. … Eric Booth Jr. of Oak Grove High and Kevin Roberts Jr. of Jackson Prep are ranked No. 7 and No. 12 on MLB Pipeline’s new list of the top 20 prep players in the 2026 MLB draft. Outfielder Booth, son of the former Southern Miss football star, is a Vanderbilt commit. Roberts, a 6-foot-5, 217-pound right-hander/outfielder, is committed to Florida.

28 Aug

a door opens

After parlaying his monster season in an independent league into a minor league deal with the San Diego Padres, Christopher Sargent Jr. wasted little time making an impact in affiliated ball. In the fourth at-bat of his first game, the ex-Southern Miss standout belted a two-run homer. Sargent, 25, officially signed with the Padres on Wednesday and was in the lineup at catcher for Double-A San Antonio on Wednesday night. His homer helped the Missions beat Frisco 14-11. Sargent hit .384 with 35 homers and 130 RBIs this season for Ogden in his second season in the hitter-friendly Pioneer League. He hit .316 with 19 bombs in 2024. Ogden manager Evan Parker hailed Sargent as a “real dual-threat catcher.” Sargent, 5 feet 11, 185 pounds, played first base at USM from 2021-23 and hit 51 homers while batting .249. He wasn’t drafted after his senior season. A catcher in high school and junior college in Alabama, Sargent began playing that premium position again with Ogden. He joins a San Antonio team that includes former USM left-hander Ryan Och. P.S. In other minor matters: Blaze Jordan, DeSoto Central High product, hit a two-run double in the ninth inning that gave Triple-A Memphis an 8-6 win at Oklahoma City. Jordan has 19 RBIs in 19 games with St. Louis’ Triple-A club and 81 on the year with three different clubs. … Niko Mazza, ex-USM and MRA standout, threw 5 1/3 strong innings to get the win for Low-Class A San Jose in a 2-0 victory against Visalia. Mazza, in his first pro campaign, is 4-3 with a 2.04 ERA in 20 starts for the San Francisco affiliate. … Mason Nichols, a 2025 draftee out of Ole Miss and a Jackson Prep product, notched his first career save with a scoreless inning for Low-A Charleston (Tampa Bay system) in a 1-0 win vs. Augusta. Nichols has yet to allow a run in five relief appearances.

20 Aug

rise and shine

Hit? Check. RBI? Check. Stolen base? Check. Win? Check. Baseball’s No. 1 prospect, Konnor Griffin, batting second and playing shortstop, checked off several notable accomplishments in his Double-A debut on Tuesday night, helping Altoona beat Reading 6-5. He singled in his first at-bat. We shouldn’t be surprised, really. The former Jackson Prep star also got a hit in his first pro at-bat back in April and got two knocks in his first game at the High-A level in June. On the season, Griffin is now batting .331 with 16 homers, 73 RBIs, 97 runs and 60 steals. And he is only 19. “It’s just like popcorn,” Andy Fox, manager of Pittsburgh’s Double-A club, told milb.com. “People pop at different times. He’s just an early popper.” The 2024 Gatorade player of the year in Mississippi is the third recent winner of that award to reach Double-A this season, quite a testament to the caliber of high school baseball in the state. Magnolia Heights alum Cooper Pratt, the 2023 Gatorade winner and Milwaukee’s No. 3 prospect, is playing at Biloxi, while Madison Central grad Braden Montgomery, the 2021 winner and the Chicago White Sox’s No. 1 prospect, is with Birmingham in his first pro season. Of note: The 2022 Gatorade winner, Dakota Jordan (Jackson Academy), is one of the top hitters in the Low-Class A California League in the San Francisco system; a couple of injury setbacks likely have kept him from being promoted. And the 2020 winner, Blaze Jordan (DeSoto Central), is at Triple-A Memphis — at age 22 — in St. Louis’ chain. … Emaarion Boyd, an 11th-round pick out of South Panola in 2022, was promoted to Double-A Pensacola by Miami but did not play Tuesday. He was batting .235 with 43 steals in High-A; he is a .251 career hitter with 134 bags in four years, the first three in Philadelphia’s system. P.S. Jake Mangum, the ex-Jackson Prep and Mississippi State star, got a couple of hits, an RBI and a steal for Tampa Bay — but he also had to watch seven of the New York Yankees’ nine home runs sail over his head in right field at Steinbrenner Field. The Bombers, tying a franchise record for homers in a game, won 13-3. … Nathaniel Lowe hit a game-tying two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth in his second game with Boston, but the former MSU standout then watched Baltimore win 4-3 in 11 innings … Four former Mississippi Braves catchers were in big league lineups on Tuesday: Drake Baldwin (Atlanta), William Contreras (Milwaukee), Shea Langeliers (A’s) and Alex Jackson (Baltimore). Baldwin delivered the game-winning RBIs for the Braves against the Chicago White Sox, and Langeliers hit his 27th home run in an A’s victory.

12 Aug

prospecting

Major league clubs that went prospecting in Mississippi in the July draft turned up some intriguing talent. Nine players picked in this year’s draft have landed on the Top 30 prospect list in their respective organizations; MLB Pipeline has updated its rankings to include new draftees. JoJo Parker, drafted eighth overall out of Purvis High, is No. 2 on Toronto’s list, and Southern Miss alum Jake Cook (third round) checks in as the Blue Jays’ No. 11. J.B. Middleton, the 2025 Ferriss Trophy winner at USM and a second-round pick, is No. 6 on Colorado’s chart. Landon Harmon, former East Union High ace and a third-round pick, is No. 6 on Washington’s list, and ex-Lewisburg High star Talon Haley, a 12th-rounder, was slotted in at No. 14 on the Los Angeles Angels’ list. Mason Morris, Luke Hill, Nick Monistere and Pico Kohn also cracked the new Top 30s. … A pair of first-rounders from the 2024 draft, Jackson Prep’s Konnor Griffin and Madison Central alum Braden Montgomery, are ranked No. 1 in the Pittsburgh and Chicago White Sox systems, respectively. Griffin is the overall No. 1 minor league prospect. Cooper Pratt, a 2023 draftee out of Magnolia Heights, is up to No. 3 on Milwaukee’s chart. Dakota Jordan, a Jackson Academy and Mississippi State product drafted in 2024, remained No. 6 in San Francisco’s system. … Of note: Liam Doyle, who pitched at Ole Miss before transferring to Tennessee, is ranked second on St. Louis’ list; he was the fifth overall pick in July. P.S. A pair of Mississippi high school products went to the bump as starters in the big leagues on Monday. Only one got a good result. Will Warren (Jackson Prep) threw 6 2/3 strong innings for the New York Yankees to beat Minnesota 6-2; Warren is 7-5 with a 4.34 ERA. Garrett Crochet (Ocean Springs) was pulled after four innings — his shortest stint of the year — and took a loss as Boston fell to Houston 7-6. Crochet (13-5, 2.48) yielded a season-high five runs. … Ex-MSU standout Adam Frazier, a trade acquisition last month by Kansas City, went 3-for-4 with an RBI in the Royals’ 7-4 win against Washington on Monday and is batting .333 with nine RBIs and eight runs in 18 games for his new club. K.C. is 59-60 and hanging around in the American League wild card battle.

17 Jul

meanwhile …

While the major and minor leagues were on hiatus for the All-Star break, there were pro games on Wednesday night in the MLB Partner leagues, aka independent ball. A host of Mississippians took the field in American Association games, with former Ole Miss catcher Hayden Dunhurst enjoying the brightest moment. He went 3-for-4 with a double and a run in Lake Country’s 8-0 win against Gary SouthShore. He also called pitches for Luke Hansel’s five-hitter. (Former big leaguer Cody Reed of Horn Lake pitches out of the bullpen for Gary SouthShore but didn’t work on Wednesday.) Ole Miss product Taylor Broadway, who has a 4.45 ERA in 21 games as a reliever for Cleburne, was in the lineup Wednesday as the DH — for the first time — and went 1-for-5 in the Railroaders’ 13-4 win over Kane County. Former Hattiesburg High star Joe Gray Jr. had a hit for Milwaukee — which only had five — in an 11-1 loss to Chicago; Gray is hitting .238 with three homers and 15 RBIs since the Milkmen picked him up on waivers in late May. (Southern Miss alum J.C. Keys pitches for Chicago but didn’t get in Wednesday’s game.) Ex-Mississippi State standout and onetime big leaguer Jacob Robson was 1-for-4 for Winnipeg in a 3-2 loss to Sioux Falls; he has hit seven homers for the Goldeyes. West Point native Steffon Moore threw a scoreless inning with two strikeouts in his second appearance for Kansas City, which lost to Fargo-Moorhead 4-2. Jackson State alum Jaylyn Williams, a .298 hitter for the Monarchs, was 0-for-4 on Wednesday. (Ex-Itawamba Community College star Kyle Crigger, 5-4 with 3.05 ERA for F-M, did not pitch.) … In the Frontier League All-Star Game, the Atlantic team beat the Midwest 5-4. Travis Holt of the Mississippi Mud Monsters had a hit for the Midwest. P.S. Three Mississippi high school players are among the 88 invited by USA Baseball to the Under-18 National Team Training Camp in Cary, N.C: Oak Grove outfielder Eric Booth, Magnolia Heights infielder Cole Prosek and Jackson Prep outfielder Kevin Roberts Jr. Phase 1 of the camp starts Friday. Forty players will advance to Phase 2.

16 Jun

showtime in phoenix

JoJo Parker, the Purvis High star and projected first-round draft pick, is on the list of players from Mississippi schools who have accepted invitations to attend the MLB Draft Combine, which runs Tuesday through Saturday at Chase Field in Phoenix. The Tuesday workout will be televised from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. CDT by MLB Network, with former Mississippi State standout and big league manager Buck Showalter among the crew that will provide analysis. Parker, rated the No. 10 draft prospect by MLB Pipeline, is among the players slated to participate in on-field events that will include batting practice and bullpen sessions. A game for the prep players is on tap for Tuesday night. Also scheduled to attend the showcase are Southern Miss’ Jake Cook and J.B. Middleton; Mississippi State’s Pico Kohn and Ben Davis; Ole Miss’ Mason Morris and Luke Hill; and high school grads Jacob Parker (JoJo’s twin from Purvis), Landon Harmon (East Union), Talon Haley (Lewisburg) and Griffin Enis (Corinth). Middleton, a first-team All-America pick and the state’s Ferriss Trophy winner, and Harmon, the ace of East Union’s MHSAA Class 2A state title club, are top 50 draft prospects. In 2024, per an mlb.com story, 224 of the 305 players who participated in the Combine were drafted, including 75 of the first 100 picks. P.S. Austin Riley, Colt Keith and Brent Rooker are among the top 10 vote-getters at their positions in the MLB All-Star Game ballot standings released today. Ex-DeSoto Central High star Riley is seventh in the National League third base voting, while Biloxi High product Keith is sixth and ex-MSU standout Rooker seventh in the voting for American League DH. The All-Star Game is July 15 in Atlanta.

28 May

wrap it up

Putting a bow on the state’s high school season — which ended with the MHSAA championships in Pearl last week — MaxPreps ranks Magnolia Heights, the MAIS Class 5A champion, as Mississippi’s No. 1 team. The Senatobia-based Chiefs, who had some big wins over out-of-state schools, are No. 22 in MaxPreps’ latest national poll. Madison Central, which beat Brandon in three games for the MHSAA Class 7A championship, is ranked No. 2 in the state, followed by Purvis, West Lauderdale, East Union, Saltillo, Lafayette, Oak Grove, Brandon and Hartfield Academy. West Lauderdale beat Purvis in the MHSAA 4A title series, but Purvis has what many consider the state’s best player: shortstop JoJo Parker. East Union, featuring highly touted pitcher Landon Harmon, was the MHSAA 2A champ. Saltillo won in 6A, Lafayette in 5A. (Seminary won the 3A title and West Union 1A.) Oak Grove lost in the 7A South finals to Brandon, while Hartfield Academy was MAIS 6A runner-up to Presbyterian Christian. … Many of the state’s best players are gathering in Hattiesburg this week for the Crossroads Diamond Club D.M. Howie All-Star Games. The 6A/7A game was slated for Tuesday, the 4A/5A game for tonight and the 1A/2A/3A game for Thursday, all at William Carey University’s Wheeler Field. This is the 50th edition of the event. … The state’s Gatorade player of the year will be announced (by Gatorade’s select committee) next month, and it’ll be quite interesting to see who follows Konnor Griffin as the winner of this prestigious award. If pro prospect status holds any sway, Purvis’ Parker (ranked 14th in MLB Pipeline’s latest draft chart), East Union’s Harmon (No. 47) and Lewisburg’s Talon Haley (No. 84) would be considered top candidates. JoJo Parker’s brother Jacob — they shared the state’s 4A Mr. Baseball title — Oak Grove’s Maddox Miller, Sumrall’s Leo Odom, Petal’s Tanner Beliveau, Hartfield’s J.P. Abt and Magnolia Heights’ Cole Prosek are others worthy of mention. The Gatorade committee considers both on-field and off-field accomplishments. The last seven winners were Jackson Prep’s Griffin (also the national player of the year), Cooper Pratt, Dakota Jordan, Braden Montgomery, Blaze Jordan, Colt Keith and J.T. Ginn. All are currently in pro ball, with Keith and Ginn on MLB rosters. P.S. Update from Enid: Pearl River Community College rallied from an early deficit to beat East Central CC 7-6 on a walk-off double in the ninth inning by Topher Jones. Second-seeded Pearl River, 2-0 in the NJCAA Division II College World Series, advances to the bracket final. Six-seed East Central, 2-1 in Enid, plays Southeastern Iowa tonight in an elimination game, with the winner taking on PRCC Thursday for a berth in the World Series finals. No. 1 seed Pasco-Hernando State (Fla.) is 2-0 in the other bracket.

26 Mar

play ball!

A pair of Mississippi high school products will be on the mound as starting pitchers on Thursday, opening day for most of the major league clubs. Garrett Crochet, out of Ocean Springs, will go for Boston — in his Red Sox debut — at Texas and Justin Steele, ex-George County standout, gets the ball for the Chicago Cubs at Arizona. Steele is 0-1, having lost in the Cubs’ second game in Japan last week. There are state connections in just about every game. Austin Riley is back at third base for Atlanta, which opens at San Diego. Hunter Renfroe likely will be in the lineup for Kansas City against visiting Cleveland. Baltimore, with Jordan Westburg at third base, visits Toronto, where Nick Sandlin now works out of the bullpen. There’s Chris Stratton with the Royals, Brent Rooker with the A’s, Matt Wallner with Minnesota, Colt Keith with Detroit, Will Warren with the New York Yankees, Nick Fortes with Miami. Adam Frazier is back with Pittsburgh after side trips to San Diego, Seattle, Baltimore and Kansas City. Thursday will bring the Washington debut of Nathaniel Lowe when the Nationals host Philadelphia. Tim Anderson, who made the Los Angeles Angels’ club as a non-roster invitee, returns to Chicago, where he was once a batting champ for the White Sox. Marcus Thames is the hitting coach for the White Sox and Bobby Dickerson the infield coach for the Phillies. Brandon Woodruff (Milwaukee), James McArthur (Kansas City) and J.P. France (Houston) will start the season on the injured list. … Of note: Four former Biloxi Shuckers, including the starting pitcher, and a former Mississippi Braves star are expected to be in Milwaukee’s Day 1 lineup, and four former M-Braves and one ex-Shuckers star are projected as starters for Atlanta. (And Ronald Acuna could return to Atlanta’s active roster by late April.) P.S. Ole Miss alum and MLB veteran Drew Pomeranz, 36, was released by Seattle. He was in camp as a non-roster invitee and posted a 4.70 ERA in eight games. … Ex-Rebels star Hayden Dunhurst, a 24-year-old catcher from Carriere, has re-signed with Kane County of the independent American Association.

26 Mar

three stars

J.T. Vance, Mississippi College: In a slugfest at Wheeler Field in Hattiesburg, Vance stood out, belting three home runs Tuesday night to power the Choctaws to a 16-11 victory over William Carey University. Vance, from Union via East Central Community College, now has seven homers for the season. He and Logan Shurden combined to drive in 11 runs for MC (22-9). Carey (26-5), which had a 12-game win streak snapped, hit four homers.
Jackson Ware, Millsaps College: Ware, a grad student, went 3-for-5 and knocked in three runs as the Majors beat Belhaven University 7-3 in the first game of the Maloney Trophy Series at Twenty Field. The Majors moved to 17-6, while Belhaven dropped to 14-9 in the battle of NCAA Division III neighbors.
Harper Jordan, Nicholls State: The Hattiesburg native and ex-Pearl River CC star pitched 2 2/3 innings (one hit, one run) in relief to notch the win as the Colonels beat Southern Miss 7-3 at Keesler Federal Park in Biloxi. Jordan is 3-2 for 11-15 Nicholls. Matthew Russo hit two bombs — one off Jordan — for nationally ranked USM (18-7).
P.S. Brayden Randle, a Texas native, drove in three runs as nationally ranked Ole Miss (19-5) beat Memphis 7-5 at Swayze Field in Oxford, spoiling a homecoming of sorts for the 10 Mississippi prep alums on the Tigers’ roster. The Tigers are coached by Matt Riser, a Picayune Memorial High alum and Pearl River CC product who is in his second year there after a successful run at Southeastern Louisiana. Memphis slipped to 11-13 with Tuesday’s loss.

17 Mar

poll watching

“What helps me as a baseball player is, before the game, knowing that I can affect the game in multiple ways — defensive side of the ball, stealing a bag, scoring runs, getting on base, not just focusing on hitting. I think whenever I go out there aggressively to be able to affect a game in so many different ways, I always like to say, ‘Count the positives.’ If I have more positives than negatives that day, I had a good day.” Those words were spoken by Corey Dickerson after a walk-off hit in a big league game some time back. One can imagine the former MLB outfielder from McComb delivering that same kind of message to his Jackson Academy players, who are off to an 11-2 start in Dickerson’s debut as head coach. The Raiders, who went 4-0 in last week’s Battle at the Beach, have bolted to No. 3 in MaxPreps Mississippi Top 25. Dickerson was a .280 career hitter in the majors, with over 1,000 hits, posted a .323 on-base percentage and won a Gold Glove. The Raiders are hitting .331 as a team with 61 stolen bases and a .963 fielding percentage. Foster Meacham is batting .475, one of three Raiders hitting .400 or better. … Magnolia Heights is No. 1 in the MaxPreps poll, followed by No. 2 Lewisburg, JA, Southeast Lauderdale at No. 4 and Purvis at 5. … Ole Miss (15-4) dropped from 13th to 19th in Baseball America’s new poll and is the only state school ranked. UM is No. 18 and Southern Miss (14-6) No. 19 in both the ESPN and d1baseball.com polls. The two meet Tuesday night (6 p.m.) at Trustmark in Pearl in what ought to be a spirited affair. The Rebels beat the Golden Eagles 15-8 in Oxford last month. … Pearl River Community College moved up a spot to No. 1 in the new NJCAA Division II poll. PRCC (22-4) swept Northwest 16-1 and 13-1 on Sunday, hitting seven homers and allowing just seven hits. Ethan Garner hit two bombs for the Wildcats. East Central dropped from No. 1 to fourth, Jones is sixth, Gulf Coast 21 and Holmes 24. … Millsaps College took two of three from NCAA Division III nationally ranked Center, beating the Colonels 10-4 on Sunday to improve to 13-5, 2-1 SAA. The Majors might crack the d3baseball.com poll this week. … Delta State, ranked 12th in the NCBWA D-II poll last week, is poised to move up at 19-6 and 12-3 Gulf South. Mississippi College, 17-9, 10-5 GSC, with 10 wins in its last 11 games, might crack the D-II Top 25 this week.