Tag Archives: Southern Miss

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.

11 Feb

taking up arms

The Mississippi Mud Monsters have signed a quintet of right-handed pitchers, including a 7-foot-2 Australian and two Mississippi natives who pitched at state colleges. The signings were announced on the Frontier League transactions page. James Boeree, the tall Aussie, pitched at Salt Lake (Utah) Community College from 2021-23 and in the Australian Baseball League before that. He reportedly throws 93 mph. Aubrey Gillentine, a mere 6-3, 220, is an Amory native who pitched at Southern Miss for three seasons before finishing at North Carolina-Charlotte in 2023. Jackson Smith is a Raymond native who pitched at Mississippi College in 2023 and at Northwest Mississippi CC before that. He pitched briefly in independent ball in 2023. Also added to the Mud Monsters’ inaugural roster are Josh Lanham, an alum of NCAA Division II Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.), and Josh Paulina, who pitched at D-II West Chester (Pa.) and at the rookie level in San Diego’s minor league system. … The Mud-sters’ roster now totals 10 players, per reports. The independent team will begin its inaugural season on May 8 at Trustmark Park in Pearl.

10 Feb

spring is in the air

Spring training has officially sprung. Pitchers and catchers are reporting this week and starting workouts in Arizona and Florida. Position players soon will follow. The first Cactus League game is Feb. 20; Grapefruit League play starts the next day. Here’s a list of players with Mississippi ties currently slated to be in big league camps:

40-man roster
Hitters
Nick Fortes (Ole Miss), Miami;
Justin Foscue (Mississippi State), Texas;
Adam Frazier (MSU), Pittsburgh;
Colt Keith (Biloxi HS), Detroit;
Grae Kessinger (UM), Arizona;
Nathaniel Lowe (MSU), Washington;
Jake Mangum (MSU), Tampa Bay;
Hunter Renfroe (MSU), Kansas City;
Austin Riley (DeSoto Central HS), Atlanta;
Chuckie Robinson (Southern Miss), Los Angeles Angels;
Brent Rooker (MSU), A’s;
Matt Wallner (USM), Minnesota;
Jordan Westburg (MSU), Baltimore

Pitchers
Eric Cerantola (MSU), Kansas City;
Garrett Crochet (Ocean Springs), Boston;
J.P. France (MSU), Houston;
J.T. Ginn (MSU), A’s;
Gunnar Hoglund (UM), A’s;
James McArthur (UM), Kansas City;
Doug Nikhazy (UM), Cleveland;
Nick Sandlin (USM), Toronto;
Justin Steele (Lucedale/George County HS), Chicago Cubs;
Chris Stratton (MSU), Kansas City;
Jacob Waguespack (UM), Tampa Bay;
Hurston Waldrep (USM), Atlanta;
Will Warren (Jackson Prep), NY Yankees;
Brandon Woodruff (MSU), Milwaukee

Free agents of note
Kendall Graveman (MSU);
Lance Lynn (UM);
Spencer Turnbull (Madison Central)

Non-roster invitees
Tim Anderson (East Central CC), Los Angeles Angels;
Gavin Collins (MSU), St. Louis;
Blaine Crim (Miss. College), Texas;
Tim Elko (UM), Chicago White Sox;
Matthew Etzel (USM), Tampa Bay;
Jacob Gonzalez (UM), White Sox;
Konnor Griffin (Jackson Prep), Pittsburgh;
Dakota Hudson (MSU), Angels;
Cooper Johnson (UM), Texas;
David Mershon (MSU), Angels;
Braden Montgomery (Madison Central), White Sox;
Ryan Och (USM), San Diego;
Konnor Pilkington (MSU), Washington;
Drew Pomeranz (UM), Seattle;
Cooper Pratt (Magnolia Heights), Milwaukee;
Ethan Small (MSU), San Francisco;
Tyler Stuart (USM), Washington;
R.J. Yeager (MSU), St. Louis

09 Feb

left to wonder

Chances are A.J. Brown will do something impactful in today’s Super Bowl. The Starkville native and ex-Ole Miss star — now an All-Pro receiver for Philadelphia — has 261 catches with 24 touchdowns in his three seasons with the Eagles, nine catches for 120 yards and a score in the current postseason. Baseball fans will watch and wonder how impactful Brown might have been on a major league diamond had he chosen that path. The 6-foot-1, 226-pound Brown was a two-sport star at Starkville High and played in both the Under Armour Football and Baseball All-America Games in 2015. “He was elite at both sports,” Stephen Moritz, a San Diego Padres scout, said in an mlb.com story. Already committed to football at Ole Miss, Brown was drafted out of Starkville by the Padres in the 19th round in 2016 and was signed by Moritz. “You might have an All-Star center fielder on a championship team,” the scout said in the mlb.com article. “So that was the thought process: Hey, there’s way high upside here. It’s going to be relatively cheap. Why not take a chance?” Brown worked out for the Padres in extended spring training in Arizona several times while at Ole Miss but never actually played a pro game. An All-SEC pick and Conerly Trophy winner for the Rebels, Brown was a second-round pick by Tennessee in the 2019 NFL draft and football became his focus. Sorta. Brown, now 27, has said several times over the years that he might give baseball another crack. In the summer of 2023, he took batting practice at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park and impressed Phillies players with his powerful swing. (For the record, Moritz doesn’t want Brown to be too impactful in the Super Bowl: He’s a big Kansas City Chiefs fan.) P.S. Former Southern Miss standout Ryan Och has received a non-roster invite to San Diego’s big league camp. Drafted in the seventh round in 2021, the left-hander has a 3.61 career ERA, reaching Double-A last season. … Billy Hamilton, the ex-big leaguer from Taylorsville, made the All-Caribbean Series team. The speedy outfielder helped Mexico reach the CS title game before losing to the Dominican Republic team 1-0 on Friday. Hamilton went 3-for-14 with six walks (.450 OBP), three runs, an RBI and five steals in five games in Mexicali, Mexico.

07 Feb

preseason poll-pourri

A dose of perspective is necessary when digesting the SEC coaches preseason poll released on Wednesday. Mississippi State is ranked ninth, in the bottom half of the 16-team league. Seems a bit disrespectful for a Bulldogs team that won 40 games and made the NCAA Tournament in 2024 and is a consensus top 20 in the national polls, of which there are many. Such is life in the dog-eat-dog SEC, which has the top four teams and seven of the first 10 in Baseball America’s national Top 25. MSU is No. 18 in the BA poll as well as the d1baseball.com rankings plus No. 19 in the NCBWA and USA Today polls. Ole Miss, which has one of the best newcomer classes in the nation (per BA), is pegged to finish 15th in the SEC but still got votes in the NCBWA and USA Today national polls. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Rebels in a regional this spring. Southern Miss was picked as the preseason No. 1 in the Sun Belt coaches poll. The Golden Eagles, an NCAA Tournament team as the SBC champion in 2024, show up in only one national poll, ranked 27th (in a Top 30) by the NCBWA. USM got votes in the USA Today poll. Jackson State also got some votes in the NCBWA poll and is ranked third among large school HBCUs by Black College Nines. The Nos. 1 and 2 teams are also SWAC schools: Grambling State and Bethune-Cookman. All of this will start shaking out a week from today when the NCAA Division I season launches. … Of note: MaxPreps named Sumrall High, the defending MHSAA Class 4A champion, as the “best team” in Mississippi heading into the 2025 campaign. East Union’s Landon Harmon and Purvis’ Jacob Parker are on MaxPreps’ preseason All-America squad. P.S. Itawamba Community College’s Madden Butler (Corinth) was named the NJCAA Division II player of the week after batting .545 with two homers, six RBIs and seven runs in the Indians’ 3-1 start last week. … East Central CC, ranked No. 2 in the juco D-II preseason poll, opened its season on Thursday with a 14-4 win over South Arkansas.

31 Jan

a growing list

Coming off an outstanding first full season in pro ball, Matthew Etzel is the latest Mississippian in the minors to get an invitation to major league spring training. The former Southern Miss star will go camping next month with Tampa Bay, which acquired the 22-year-old outfielder in a trade with Baltimore last summer. Etzel, drafted out of USM in 2023 by the Orioles, batted .272 with 11 homers, 66 RBIs, eight triples and 45 stolen bases in 2024, playing for three different teams. He finished the season at Double-A Montgomery. He joins a growing list of non-roster invitees with state ties:
Tim Anderson (East Central CC), Los Angeles Angels;
Gavin Collins (Mississippi State), St. Louis;
Blaine Crim (Mississippi College), Texas;
Tim Elko (Ole Miss), Chicago White Sox;
Matthew Etzel (USM), Tampa Bay;
Jacob Gonzalez (UM), Chicago White Sox;
Dakota Hudson (MSU), Los Angeles Angels;
Cooper Johnson (UM), Texas;
Braden Montgomery (Madison Central), Chicago White Sox;
Konnor Pilkington (MSU), Washington;
Drew Pomeranz (UM), Seattle;
Cooper Pratt (Magnolia Heights), Milwaukee;
Ethan Small (MSU), San Francisco;
Tyler Stuart (USM), Washington;
R.J. Yeager (MSU), St. Louis.
P.S. The Mississippi Mud Monsters have hired Robert Carson III, former Hattiesburg High standout and ex-big leaguer, as their pitching coach. Carson pitched in 31 games for the New York Mets in 2012-13 and spent seven seasons in independent leagues, most recently in 2021. He been an indy league pitching coach the last three years. The independent Mud Monsters will start their inaugural season in the Frontier League in May at Trustmark Park in Pearl. The “Mud-sters” have announced three signees to date, none of them pitchers.

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 Jan

money matters

Coming off an injury-shortened campaign that saw him go 5-5 with a 3.07 ERA, left-hander Justin Steele has agreed to a $6.55 million contract for 2025 with the Chicago Cubs. The four-year veteran from Lucedale, a key starter for the Cubs, is 29-21, 3.24, for his career. Steele is among four Mississippians who agreed Thursday to pre-arbitration deals, per a report by MLB Trade Rumors. Garrett Crochet, the ex-Ocean Springs High star, signed for $3.88M with Boston, which recently traded for the All-Star lefty. Southern Miss product Nick Sandlin agreed with his new club, Toronto, on a $1.6M contract, and Ole Miss alum Nick Fortes signed for $1.86M with Miami. Ex-MSU star Brent Rooker got a 5-year, $60M extension from the A’s earlier in the week, saying “This is where I want to be, and I’m hoping that’s what this communicates” at a Thursday press conference. Headed to salary arbitration is former Mississippi State standout Nathaniel Lowe, recently dealt to Washington by Texas. Lowe, who made $7.5M in 2024, has asked for $11.1M, while the Nationals countered with $10.3M — a nice raise either way it goes. … Kirk McCarty, a USM product from Hattiesburg, has re-signed with CTBC Brothers of the Chinese Professional Baseball League, per reports. Erstwhile big leaguer McCarty went 5-3 with a 2.76 ERA last year for CTBC, which won the league title.