Tag Archives: Pearl River Community College

22 Jan

polling strong

Four Mississippi junior colleges are ranked in the top 20 of the NJCAA Division II preseason poll, led by East Central Community College at No. 2. Pearl River, the defending state (MACCC) champion, is ranked fifth, Jones College 12th and Meridian 20th. ECCC won 55 games in 2024 and reached the semifinals of the D-II World Series in Enid, Okla. The Warriors open the season Feb. 6 at home against South Arkansas. Pearl River, 49-10 last season, opens Jan. 31 against Northwest Florida in a multi-team event in Panama City Beach, Fla. Mississippi has produced two national champions in the last 10 years: PRCC in 2022 and Jones in 2016. Hinds was runner-up in 2014. … Ranked No. 1 in the first NJCAA D-II poll of 2025 is Brunswick (N.C.) CC. Of note: Defending Region 23 and national champ LSU-Eunice has moved to Division I.

23 Aug

spotlight on …

A trio of former Mississippi high school standouts stuffed the box score Thursday night in a High-Class A game at Brooklyn’s Maimonides Park. Bryson Ware and Emaarion Boyd combined for six hits for Jersey Shore in a 10-1 win over the host Cyclones, with Kellum Clark getting a knock for the losers while having a hand in four double plays. Ware, a Germantown High product who also passed through Pearl River Community College and Auburn en route to pro ball, picked up four hits with a double, a triple, an RBI and two runs. The third baseman, a 2023 draftee, is batting .348 in 14 games since Philadelphia moved him to Jersey Shore. He hit nine homers in Low-A ball. Boyd, who starred at South Panola, produced a triple, two runs, two RBIs and a stolen base, his 22nd. The Phillies’ No. 23 prospect (by MLB Pipeline) in his third pro season, center fielder Boyd is batting .238. Clark is an ex-Brandon High and Mississippi State standout who was drafted in the 20th round last summer. In 48 games for Brooklyn, the New York Mets’ High-A club, the first baseman is batting .217 with three doubles and eight RBIs. He smacked 30 homers in three seasons in Starkville but has yet to find that stroke in pro ball, with just one career bomb, none in 2024. P.S. Another state prep product, Spence Coffman out of Tishomingo High, got a shot at Low-A ball after hitting .295 with eight doubles, 24 RBIs and 19 steals this year in rookie ball, where he had been toiling since being drafted in the 19th round in 2022. Coffman, 20, a shortstop, is 6-for-27 (.222) in nine games for San Diego’s Lake Elsinore club; he was placed on the development list on Thursday but remains with the Storm.

07 Aug

surfing the wire

Several Mississippi products were on the move in the minors the past couple days, including 2024 MLB draftees Cam Schuelke, Cole Tolbert and Colby Holcombe being assigned to Class A clubs in their respective organizations. Schuelke, the submarine-style right-hander from Mississippi State, was assigned to Low-A Lynchburg by Cleveland after going in the 19th round of last month’s draft. Schuelke was 5-3 with two saves and a 4.21 ERA in 32 games at State this season. Tolbert, who had a 7.71 ERA in six appearances at Ole Miss, was sent to Low-A Salem by Boston, which drafted him in the 18th round. Tolbert, from Laurel, was on Pearl River Community College’s national title team in 2022. Holcombe, an MSU and Northeast Mississippi CC alum, was placed at Low-A Dunedin by Toronto, which took him in the ninth round. MSU product Eric Cerantola, a fourth-year pro, was promoted to Triple-A Omaha by Kansas City; he had a 2.78 ERA in 24 games in Double-A. Former Bulldogs standout K.C. Hunt moved from High-A Wisconsin to Double-A Biloxi in the Milwaukee chain; he was 7-1 with a 1.95 ERA at two levels of A-ball this season. Ex-MSU star Cade Smith, 6-6 with a 3.47 ERA in Low-A ball, was promoted to High-A Hudson Valley by the New York Yankees. And Landon Tompkins, a Northwest Rankin and Hinds CC product, moved up to High-A Greensboro in the Pittsburgh system; he had a 3.86 ERA and seven saves at Low-A Bradenton.

01 Jul

on a good roll

Landon Harper, the former Southern Miss closer from Meridian, has developed into a middle-relief weapon for the Mississippi Braves. The right-hander threw four shutout innings Sunday, allowing just one hit, in a game the M-Braves would win 3-2 in 11 innings over Montgomery at Trustmark Park. Since being promoted to Double-A on May 25, Harper is 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA and a 0.78 WHIP in eight appearances. Harper pitched at Northeast Lauderdale High and Pearl River Community College before moving to USM in 2022. He posted 12 saves for the Golden Eagles that season, when they won 47 games and topped LSU in the Hattiesburg Regional before falling to Ole Miss in the Super Regional. Drafted by Atlanta in the 14th round in ’22, Harper had six wins and five saves at Low-Class A Augusta in 2023. P.S. Throwing almost nothing but fastballs, ex-Ole Miss star Lance Lynn worked six shutout innings with six punchouts for St. Louis in a 2-0 win Sunday over Cincinnati. Lynn, 37, winning his second straight start, is 4-3, 3.59, this season and has 140 career wins and 1,990 career strikeouts. … Ocean Springs High product Garrett Crochet struck out 11 batters for the Chicago White Sox against Colorado, the left-hander’s sixth double-digit strikeout effort in 18 starts. He has 141 K’s in 101 1/3 innings, 56 K’s in 37 2/3 June innings. … Former Mississippi State star Colton Ledbetter, playing in High-A for Tampa Bay, had a nice June: .297 with five homers and 16 RBIs for Bowling Green. A second-round pick in 2023, the lefty-hitting outfielder is batting .261 with nine homers and 38 RBIs on the season.

16 Jun

caught in a draft

A host of Magnolia State products will have the opportunity to enhance their draft stock at the upcoming MLB Draft Combine, which runs Tuesday-Sunday at Chase Field in Phoenix. Jackson Prep’s Konnor Griffin; former Madison Central High star Braden Montgomery of Texas A&M; Mississippi State’s Dakota Jordan, Hunter Hines, Jurrangelo Cijntje, Khal Stephen and Nate Dohm; Ole Miss’ Hunter Elliott; Pearl River Community College’s Conner Ware; Lewisburg High’s Samuel Richardson; and former Lewisburg standout Brady Tygart of Arkansas are on the list of scheduled attendees. Griffin, Montgomery, Cijntje and Jordan are ranked among the top 29 draft prospects by MLB Pipeline. The draft is July 14-16. Players will get to participate in technological evaluations of their “cognitive skills, speed of processing, athletic performance and on-field talent,” per a story on mlb.com. A pro-style workout, strength tests and a game for prep players are also on the docket. Of note: Griffin — the Gatorade national player of the year — said in an MLB Central appearance last week that he doesn’t plan to participate in on-field activities. Asked on MLB Central to evaluate himself as a draft prospect, Griffin, in a polite and unassuming manner, said: “I know the skill set that I have. I feel like I’m a five-tool guy … one of the few five-tool guys in this draft.” An LSU commit, he pitched and played shortstop and outfield while at Prep but projects as an outfielder in pro ball. MLB Central’s Mark DeRosa said Griffin also has the “sixth tool,” aka makeup: “It’s beyond real.” … Montgomery’s Texas A&M team is in the College World Series in Omaha, though the first-team All-America outfielder is sidelined with an ankle injury. … Jordan won the Ferriss Trophy as Mississippi’s top college player. … Elliott had elbow surgery earlier this year and did not pitch for Ole Miss this season. … Ware, a Germantown High alum and LSU signee, made only seven appearances for PRCC, posting a 1.80 ERA and two saves. … Richardson, a preseason All-America pick and top draft prospect, had an off year, batting .211 with seven homers, per MaxPreps. … Vicksburg native and former big leaguer Dmitri Young is among the ex-players slated to work with the attendees, and former Mississippi State star and MLB manager Buck Showalter will be part of the MLB Network crew covering the event.

20 May

honor society

Dakota Jordan, who has had a bunch of good days swinging the bat for Mississippi State this season, had a good day Monday without ever touching one. The former Jackson Academy star from Canton won the state’s Ferriss Trophy, was named one of the 25 semifinalists for the national Golden Spikes Award and also earned second-team All-SEC recognition. Jordan is batting .363 with 17 home runs, 63 RBIs and 51 runs through 55 games for the nationally ranked Bulldogs, who play Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament at Hoover, Ala., on Tuesday night. … MSU shortstop David Mershon and pitcher Khal Stephen made first-team All-SEC, and Ole Miss outfielder Andrew Fischer was a second-team pick. … Former Madison Central High standout Braden Montgomery, now at Texas A&M, was named first-team All-SEC and also a Golden Spikes semifinalist. … Southern Miss pitcher Billy Oldham and DH Slade Wilks earned first-team All-Sun Belt honors, and pitcher Niko Mazza, shortstop Ozzie Pratt and outfielder Dalton McIntyre — a Ferriss finalist — were pegged on the second team. Banks Tolley, an Ole Miss transfer from Madison, was named the Sun Belt’s newcomer of the year and ex-Pearl River Community College star Luke Lyon, now at Troy, was a second-team All-SBC pick. … Pearl River CC’s Michael Avalon was named the MACCC coach of the year and the Wildcats’ Hollis Porter, an MSU transfer, earned player of the year honors. PRCC won the regular season title in the conference. … In the MHSAA State Championships that begin Tuesday at Pearl’s Trustmark Park, two of the seven classification Mr. Baseball winners will take part: Ty Long of Class 4A Ripley and Landon Harmon of 2A East Union. Long is a USM signee, Harmon an MSU commit. Tupelo’s Lake Reed was the 7A winner, West Jones’ Camden Clark in 6A, South Jones’ Cole Richardson in 5A, Mooreville’s Mason McMillin in 3A and Pine Grove’s Gehrig Shinall in 1A.

14 May

survival of fittest

The top three teams in the NJCAA Division II poll — and five of the top 17 — are playing today in Poplarville, all in the six-team Region 23 Tournament, from which one team will emerge and move on to the juco World Series. In the first round: No. 1-ranked East Central Community College, a 50-game winner, plays Meridian, which is ranked 17th; No. 2 Pearl River, the MACCC regular season champion and the top seed in the regional, plays upstart Hinds; and No. 3 LSU-Eunice, the seven-time national champ, plays eighth-ranked Jones. The SEC Tournament has nothing on this little get-together at Herring Park. ECCC is the defending region champ. PRCC won in 2022 and went on to claim the national title. LSU-E won the 2021 regional and the national title.
A few players to watch:
ECCC: Mo Little (.370, 11 homers, 71 RBIs, 18 steals) and Luke Cooley (8-1, 2.11 ERA, 105 strikeouts)
PRCC: Hollis Porter (.415, school-record 20 homers, 71 RBIs) and J.T. Schooner (11-3, 3.76, 92 K’s)
LSU-E: Tyson LeBlanc (.353, 54 RBIs, 50 runs, 30 steals) and Blake Lobell (12-0, 1.99, 105 K’s)
Jones: Brady Thomas (.389, 16 homers, 63 RBIs) and Beau Bryans (6-1, 3.82, 99 K’s)
Meridian: Blake Priester (.366, 14 homers, 65 RBIs) and Landon Waters (8-1, 2.05, 106 K’s)
Hinds: Thomas Marsala (.395, 12 homers, 54 RBIs) and Lincoln Sheffield (7-4, 3.59)
P.S. Props to William Carey University and closer John Snyder, whose 13th save nailed down a 6-5 win on Monday against Oklahoma Wesleyan in the NAIA Opening Round tourney at Hattiesburg. Carey (35-14) has won nine straight. … In the NAIA regional at Shreveport, Blue Mountain Christian’s opener against Talladega on Monday was suspended by rain.

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.

18 Apr

hard times befallen

Expectations were not great for the Chicago White Sox heading into this season. Marcus Thames, the Louisville native and ex-East Central Community College star hired as the club’s new hitting coach in the off-season, surely knew this. But just as surely, he did not expect the times to be this hard. The White Sox can’t hit. They split a doubleheader against visiting Kansas City on Wednesday despite scoring just four runs on 11 hits and going 1-for-16 with runners in scoring position. The team ranks last in MLB in runs, home runs and OPS and 29th in batting. They are 3-15. Injuries to some key players are partly to blame for the ice-cold start, but not solely. “We have guys who are capable of being better,” Thames said in a recent mlb.com story. The ChiSox won just 61 games in a tumultuous 2023 season. Manager Pedro Grifol’s staff changes included the hiring of Thames as the team’s third hitting coach in three years. The former big league slugger has earned a strong reputation as a coach after stops in New York (Yankees), Miami and Los Angeles (Angels). But his skills are being tested with a club projected by USA Today to win just 69 games. “This game is tough,” he told mlb.com, “but at the same time we have to battle and compete.” P.S. Thames’ alma mater, No. 4-ranked East Central CC, took a pair from No. 2 Pearl River CC, 3-1 and 7-2, in the big juco showdown in Poplarville. PRCC’s 29-game win streak was halted. The Wildcats are 42-7, 22-2 in the MACCC. ECCC, which was No. 1 in NJCAA Division II at one point, is 42-4, 18-4. The Warriors rode the bat of Mo Little and the arms of Marbin Lezcano and Luke Cooley to the impressive sweep.

17 Apr

clash of titans

For one day at least — make that today — the center of the state’s baseball universe is Dub Herring Park in Poplarville. Pearl River Community College (42-5), ranked No. 2 in NJCAA Division II and riding a 29-game win streak, hosts East Central CC (40-4), which is ranked No. 4 and started the season with 31 straight wins while rising to No. 1. The host Wildcats are 22-0 in the MACCC; ECCC’s Warriors are 16-4. PRCC hits .345 as a team with 77 home runs. The big bopper in the lineup is Hollis Porter, raking at .431 with 18 homers and 56 RBIs. The Wildcats’ pitching staff features a 2.43 ERA and three eight-game winners, led by J.P. Robertson (8-0, 2.28). Mo Little, a preseason All-America pick, leads ECCC with a .372 average, nine homers, 62 RBIs and 16 steals. Luke Cooley is the Warriors’ ace: 6-0, 1.89 ERA, 13.3 K’s per nine innings. Today’s twinbill starts at 3 p.m. … Two other big doubleheaders are on today’s MACCC docket: No. 12 Jones College (33-9) visits Meridian, which was ranked 13th in preseason, and No. 15 Northwest (31-12) hosts East Mississippi.