Tag Archives: Southern Miss

06 Mar

leading man

Though he doesn’t profile as an old-school leadoff batter, it’s looking like that might be Matt Wallner’s role for Minnesota in 2025. The Southern Miss product, a corner outfielder/DH who goes 6 feet 4, 220 pounds, has been used there exclusively this spring, including in today’s Grapefruit League game, when he hit a three-run bomb off New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said putting Wallner atop the lineup is “a concept in action right now.” The lefty-hitting Wallner is just 2-for-20 this spring, both hits homers, with two walks, two HBPs and seven strikeouts. “He gets on base and hits balls hard,” Baldelli told The Minnesota Star Tribune. That he does. USM’s career homer king, Wallner hit .259 with 13 homers in 75 games for the Twins last season. He posted a .372 on-base percentage, having drawn 24 walks and been hit by a pitch 16 times. He joked in an ESPN interview today that Baldelli calls him “Cement Bones.” He has 29 career homers and 31 HBPs over 169 games. In an 82-80 2024 campaign, Minnesota reportedly used 10 different leadoff batters. Wallner hit there once. He told the ESPN crew that he’s fine with giving it more of a go in 2025.

06 Mar

midweek madness

In the second game of their home-and-home series, Mississippi State got sweet revenge against Southern Miss with an 18-3 massacre Wednesday night at Dudy Noble Field. State (8-4) racked up 20 hits and six walks in just six innings. Five of those hits left the yard, two struck by Nolan Stevens. USM (9-4) shut down the Bulldogs 3-0 on Feb. 18 in Hattiesburg. In the rematch, the Golden Eagles used eight arms to get 18 outs, and seven of those pitchers allowed two runs or more. Go figure. … A six-run inning gave Murray State a 7-4 lead through seven innings in Oxford, but Ole Miss (11-1) rallied for its 10th straight win, 8-7 in 10 innings. Hayden Federico got the walk-off knock for the Rebels. Judd Utermark hit two more homers, giving him seven on the year. … Jackson State moved its home game against UNO to New Orleans, where the Privateers took a 16-10 victory in a game that “featured” 20 hits, 21 walks and seven errors. A reported 289 fans sat through — maybe — the 3-hour, 43-minute game. The Tigers’ Jordan McCladdie drove in three runs and scored three more as JSU slipped to 9-3. … At Poplarville, pitching was the story. Yay! Pearl River Community College beat Meridian 3-1 and Copiah-Lincoln 4-0 in a round-robin. K.K. Clark, from Brandon High (via MSU), threw seven innings of one-run ball with nine strikeouts in the opener, and Camden Clark, out of West Jones, tossed six shutout frames with 10 K’s in Game 2. No. 5-ranked PRCC is 16-4.

05 Mar

prospecting

Twenty-one Mississippians (natives or school alums) appear in MLB Pipeline’s new Top 30 prospect rankings for each big league organization. The highest rated among this group is former Jackson Prep uber-star Konnor Griffin, No. 2 in Pittsburgh’s system before ever playing a regular season pro game. (The ninth overall pick last July, he has been in big league camp this spring.) … Elsewhere in the National Central: Magnolia Heights product Cooper Pratt is No. 3 in Milwaukee’s system and targeted for Double-A Biloxi this season, and K.C. Hunt (Mississippi State), who pitched in Double-A in 2024, is rated No. 25 in the Brewers’ chain. … In the American League Central, former Madison Central star Braden Montgomery — a 2024 first-rounder — is No. 5 in the Chicago White Sox’s organization, and Jacob Gonzalez (Ole Miss) checks in at No. 14. Doug Nikhazy (Ole Miss) is No. 22 on Cleveland’s list, and Eric Cerantola (MSU) is ranked 28th on Kansas City’s. … In the NL East: ex-Southern Miss standout Hurston Waldrep ranks No. 4 in Atlanta’s system. Waldrep made his MLB debut in 2024. Kemp Alderman (Ole Miss) is Miami’s No. 11; Nate Dohm (MSU) is the New York Mets’ No. 19; and Tyler Stuart (USM) ranks 15th in Washington’s system. … In the AL East: Jackson Prep product Will Warren is No. 5 on the Yankees’ list; he also debuted in The Show last season. Cade Smith (Mississippi State) is No. 16 in the Yankees’ chain. Elsewhere in the AL East, Colton Ledbetter (MSU) and Matthew Etzel (Southern Miss) rank Nos. 26 and 27 for Tampa Bay, and Khal Stephen (MSU) is ranked 11th in Toronto’s system. … In the NL West, Dakota Jordan (MSU), a 2024 draftee, is ranked sixth on San Francisco’s list. In the AL West, switch-pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje (MSU) — 15th overall pick last July — is ranked No. 9 in Seattle’s system. The A’s have J.T. Ginn (MSU), who debuted in MLB last summer, at No. 14 and Gunnar Hoglund (Ole Miss) at 16. Justin Foscue (MSU), who got some limited time with Texas in 2024, is rated No. 15 in the Rangers’ chain. … Griffin (43), Montgomery (54) and Pratt (56) are ranked in MLB Pipeline’s overall Top 100. P.S. Props to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College’s James Vines and Dom Jackson for earning the MACCC pitcher and hitter of the week honors. Vines posted a 1.12 ERA and 15 strikeouts in eight innings last week; he is 1-0 with a 2.00 in five games on the season. Jackson hit three homers and drove in 10 runs as the Bulldogs won four of six games. He has seven homers on the season. … Copiah-Lincoln CC’s Tucker Jones, a Northwest Rankin High alum, ranks second in NJCAA Division II with 19 stolen bases in just 12 games for the 15-8 Wolves, and teammate Jennings Kimbrell, a St. Joe product, is 5-0 with a 1.93 ERA, tied for the national lead in wins.

04 Mar

one fine day

Making a strong bid for a role on the New York Yankees’ pitching staff come opening day, Will Warren threw three strong innings against Philadelphia today in the Grapefruit League. The former Jackson Prep star allowed one run with four strikeouts — Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner — and now has an ERA of 1.13 over eight innings. The Yankees’ No. 5 prospect, right-hander Warren apparently has enhanced his repertoire from last season, when he endured a wobbly six-game MLB debut. “Getting ahead is the biggest thing,” Warren recently told mlb.com. “Looking back at some stuff last year, I was always fighting back (in the count).” He is 25-18 with a 4.31 ERA over three minor league seasons after being an eighth-round pick out of Southeastern Louisiana in 2021. … Ex-Southern Miss standout Matthew Etzel, in Tampa Bay’s camp as a non-roster invitee, put on a show today, banging out a double and a home run with three RBIs in the Rays’ 4-1 win against Detroit. Etzel, a 10th-round pick in 2023 by Baltimore, is 3-for-16 this spring. He reached Double-A last season, when he was traded from the Orioles to Tampa. Overall in 2024, the 6-foot-2, 211-pound outfielder belted 11 homers and stole 45 bases. Jake Mangum, another ex-Prep star and Mississippi State alum who is battling for an opening day roster spot with the Rays, went 1-for-2 with a double, a walk and a sac bunt. The 28-year-old outfielder is 4-for-10 in Grapefruit games. … In that same game today in Clearwater, Fla., Biloxi High product Colt Keith was 1-for-3 with a run for Detroit and is batting .375 in 16 spring at-bats. He hit .260 with 13 homers and 61 RBIs as a rookie for the Tigers last year.

03 Mar

weekend wrap

Riding a nine-game win streak, Ole Miss (10-1) has jumped in at No. 19 in the new Baseball America poll released today. Oxford’s Swayze Field was the wrong place for Wright State over the weekend. The Rebels swept three from their visitors, including a 7-3 win Sunday that featured some sparkling relief work from Mason Morris. The junior from Tupelo threw three hitless innings to get his second career win. Ole Miss, 8-0 at home, plays its next five games in Oxford. … For Southern Miss, which cracked the BA poll at No. 24, Matthew Russo hit two homers and drove in five runs to lead the Golden Eagles to an 11-3 win in Sunday’s rubber game at TCU. The Golden Eagles, crushed by Ole Miss last week, will take a 9-3 record into Tuesday’s intrastate clash at Mississippi State. … The Bulldogs (7-4) lost two of three in the Astros Foundation College Classic in Houston over the weekend and tumbled from No. 15 to No. 22 in BA’s rankings. … Jackson State (9-2 with five straight W’s) overwhelmed rival Alcorn State 43-10 in a non-conference series sweep at Smith-Wills Stadium. JSU’s Jordan McCladdie went 8-for-10 with nine runs in the series, and Joseph Eichelberger had a five-hit, five-RBI game on Saturday. … Alcorn, under new coach Carlton Hardy, fell to 0-9. … Mississippi College (9-8, 5-4 Gulf South) moved over .500 with a doubleheader sweep at Union (Tenn.) on Saturday. In the 10-1 win in Game 2, cousins Blake Gollott (2-0) and Coby Gollott (first save), both from the Coast, combined on a three-hitter. … Amari Conley, Holmes Community College’s leadoff batter from Grenada, is hitting .417 with 27 runs, 16 RBIs and 14 steals for the 16-3 Bulldogs, who’ve won nine in a row. P.S. In MLB, Austin Riley, the ex-DeSoto Central High and Mississippi Braves star, blasted his first home run of the spring in Atlanta’s win over the New York Yankees in the Grapefruit League. Off to a slow start this spring after missing the last month and a half of the 2024 season (broken hand), Riley had two hits Sunday and is batting .214 in 14 at-bats. … Former Jackson Prep standout Konnor Griffin, rated the top power prospect in Pittsburgh’s system by MLB Pipeline, hit his first spring bomb on Saturday. (Note: He is also very fast.) The 2024 first-round pick is 2-for-7 in five Grapefruit games and has played exclusively in center field. … Ole Miss product Doug Nikhazy, now on Cleveland’s big league roster, has been impressive this spring, throwing four scoreless innings with four punchouts in Cactus League play. … Ex-Biloxi High star Colt Keith, a breakout rookie with Detroit in 2024, was a guest on MLB Network’s Hot Stove today and talked about his move to first base, dealing with the highs and lows of an MLB season and his Star Wars-themed Bobblehead Night coming on May 9. (He said he’s never watched any Star Wars movies.)

19 Feb

juco snapshot

And then there were none. East Central Community College, the last unbeaten team in the state juco ranks, lost to Northeast CC 10-8 in a round-robin event Tuesday at Decatur. ECCC, No. 2 in the NJCAA Division II poll, is now 8-1, including a 13-5 win over No. 12 Jones College earlier Tuesday. Jayden Adcox hit a big home run for ECCC against Jones, and Langston Cotten went yard against Northeast. But the visiting Tigers prevailed as Drake Douglas and Carter Wells combined for five RBIs and Wells notched the save. Fifth-ranked Pearl River (10-2) beat Holmes and East Miss in a three-way at Poplarville. Jackson Hood homered in both games for PRCC, and Carson Fair closed out the win against Holmes for his fifth save, which leads the nation. Meridian, ranked 20th, moved to 10-3 with a sweep of Gulf Coast and Southwest on Monday at Summit. Chris Fox got a walk-off hit in a 1-0 win against Gulf Coast and Hampton Ross drove in four runs vs. Southwest. At Jackson’s Smith-Wills Stadium on Tuesday, Northwest (9-3) beat Hinds and Coahoma. … Gulf Coast’s Samuel Marsh was named the MACCC pitcher of the week after throwing a 13-strikeout complete game last week vs. Northwest Florida State. East Miss’ Hugh LeMasters (Bay Springs) took hitter of the week honors; he batted .429 (6-for-14) with eight RBIs and four runs in a 4-0 week for the Lions. P.S. Have a day, Judd Utermark. The Ole Miss junior stole home and hit a walk-off bomb in the 10th inning Tuesday as the Rebels (3-1) beat Arkansas State at Swayze Field. … Mississippi State (3-1) had as many errors as hits (four) in a 3-0 loss at Southern Miss (5-0). Joey Urban homered for the Golden Eagles, and five pitchers combined on the shutout. … Left-hander Brandon Mitchell, who won 22 games over five seasons at New Orleans, is the latest addition to the Mississippi Mud Monsters’ inaugural roster. He was 5-2 with a 7.28 ERA in the indy Pioneer League in 2024. The Mud-sters, of the indy Frontier League, have announced 17 player signings to date. The season starts in May.

18 Feb

lesson plans

We’ll learn a little more about Southern Miss and Mississippi State today. Both unbeaten but only lightly tested, they’ll renew their old rivalry in a 6 p.m. contest in Hattiesburg. The Golden Eagles outscored Lafayette 39-13 in a four-game sweep to start the season and the Bulldogs — freshly ranked No. 16 by Baseball America — whipped Manhattan 35-5 over three games. Ozzie Pratt leads USM hitters with a .500 average, a homer and seven RBIs. Drey Barrett is batting .385. USM used 15 pitchers against Lafayette, and they posted a collective 3.16 ERA. The Bulldogs’ pitching was even better: 1.96 from 12 hurlers. Aaron Downs is hitting an absurd .571 with a homer and seven RBIs, and Bryce Chance is at .556. Hunter Hines (.455) homered in the Dogs’ opener and now has 55 for his career, fifth-most in school history. MSU leads the all-time series with USM 86-44 and won last year’s game 5-4 at Pearl. Charlie Foster (0.00 ERA in one inning of work) is slated to start for State, which last played at Taylor Park in 2018, against Colby Allen (0-0, 6.00, over three innings), a Starkville Academy product. … We might learn a little more about Carlton Hardy’s first Alcorn State team today, as well. The Braves, coming off a season-opening 12-10 loss at Mississippi Valley State on Monday, host 0-3 Manhattan at 3 p.m. at Rat McGowan Stadium in Lorman. Alcorn, 6-43 in 2024, was picked to finish 11th (Valley was 12th) in the 12-team SWAC in a preseason poll of coaches and SIDs. Hardy, a former Grambling State player, came to the Braves from NCAA Division II Savannah State, where he had a fairly successful 18-year run. He led the Tigers to a 31-17 record in 2024. Alcorn hasn’t had a winning season since 2009. P.S. Left-hander Zack Morris, a former Arkansas and TCU pitcher, and righty Chris Barraza, a New Mexico State and Arizona alum, have signed with the Mississippi Mud Monsters, the new independent team set to play at Trustmark Park in May. The 6-foot-3 Morris put up a 3.63 ERA in the Frontier League in seven appearances last summer. Barraza was a 10th-round pick by the Los Angeles Angels in 2023 and pitched two seasons in Low-Class A (3.96 ERA).

16 Feb

what’s that sound?

Before the big storms rolled through Mississippi on Saturday night, there was thunder emanating from Trustmark Park in Pearl. Belhaven University blasted Mount Saint Mary 27-3 and 12-0 in a doubleheader, completing a sweep of the series between NCAA Division III schools. The Blazers (3-0) banged out 36 hits, nine for extra bases, including two home runs at the spacious park. In the opener, Blake McCarthy homered and drove in six runs; Owen Abney went deep and knocked in three runs while scoring three times; and Hunter Harrell picked up four RBIs. In Game 2, Abney — a former Jackson Prep star — went 3-for-6 with four RBIs and Cole Fletcher drove in a pair of runs. The pitching victories went to Gunner Staten and Kade May. Mount Saint Mary, down from New York to start its season, is now 0-3 and coming off a couple of rough years (11-29 and 13-27). … At Twenty Field in Jackson, D-III Millsaps flashed some power, as well, getting homers from Gray Berry and Evan Scott in an 11-8 win against Edgewood (Wisc.). Berry and Scott drove in three runs apiece for the Majors (3-0). … Down in Hattiesburg, Southern Miss (3-0) put up 25 runs in a sweep of Lafayette (Pa.). Davis Gillespie homered and smacked a walk-off sac fly in a 7-6, 10-inning win in the opener, then homered again and drove in four more runs in an 18-4 romp in Game 2. Ozzie Pratt, Matthew Russo and Tucker Stockman had three hits each in an 18-hit attack in the nightcap. Pratt and Drey Barrett contributed homers Saturday for the Golden Eagles, who’ll wrap up the four-game series with the Leopards today at Taylor Park. P.S. Here’s a name to know: Pablo Roque, a Dominican Republic native and transfer from Miami (Ohio), is batting .524 with a homer, five doubles, a triple, nine RBIs, 11 runs and three steals for East Central Community College. The Warriors, ranked No. 2 in NJCAA Division II, are 6-0. … Ex-Mississippi State standout Nathaniel Lowe lost his arbitration case with the Washington Nationals and will have to “settle” for a $10.3 million contract for 2025. Lowe, who hit .265 with 16 homers for Texas last season, had asked for $11.1M.

15 Feb

pitching in

This one goes out to the ones who pitch. A boatload of state college pitchers showed no love for hitters on Valentine’s Day. Yes, Mississippi State scored 30 runs in a doubleheader demolition of Manhattan on Friday, but not to be overlooked are the mound efforts of starters Pico Kohn (no runs, one hit, 11 strikeouts in five innings) and Karson Ligon (one run, eight K’s in four innings). The visiting Jaspers scored just four runs on the day. For Southern Miss, in a 9-2 victory against visiting Lafayette, J.B. Middleton delivered six scoreless innings. Ole Miss took down nationally ranked Arizona 2-1 as Hunter Elliott, looking like his old self, threw five shutout innings at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Delta State’s Drake Fontenot and Dylan Farley combined for 13 shutout innings in the streaking Statesmen’s 6-0 and 3-0 sweep of Lee University to open Gulf South play. Fontenot punched out 11 in seven innings. Mississippi College beat GSC foe West Georgia 3-1 as Caleb Peterson held the Red Wolves to one earned run over five innings. Andrew Shirah went 7 1/3 innings (two earned runs) for William Carey in a 9-2 win at Abraham Baldwin AC. Shirah is 3-0 with a 2.84 ERA for the 6-2 Crusaders and has won 21 games in his three seasons at WCU. At Trustmark Park in Pearl, Belhaven opened its season with a 7-3 win against Mount Saint Mary and with Colton Sylvester limiting the New York-based visitors to a lone earned run over six innings. And Millsaps beat Edgewood 10-4 as Nick Tarantino allowed one earned run with nine K’s in five innings.

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.