Support your hometown high school sports team because these players and coaches put forth a lot of effort and hard work to be the best they can be and by going to their games you show them that you appreciate their efforts. If you want to have an added incentive, go to the game to see if you can find a prospect I can put on this page. I want your input to make this page the best it can be.
| 1997 | March | April | May | June | July | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Jan | Feb | March | April | May |
06/28/98 - In the latest issue of Mississippi Hoops, Kevin Henderson mentioned three juniors-to-be and a sophomore-to-be that have a chance to be very good basketball players:
06/26/98 Remember these two names. They have a chance to be two of the best linemen in Mississippi the next couple of year.
The first player is Amory HS's defensive end Daniel Booth. Daniel, who is an A and B student, is a hardworking young player who started on Amory's line last year as a sophomore. That along tells you the quality of player this kid is. Being 6-4, 240 pounds sure doesn't hurt. Watch this young man because, if he continues to improve, the sky could be the limit for him.
The second player is Madison Central's offensive lineman Doug Buckles who is 6-6, 290 pounds. According to my source, Doug's coach Mike Justice believes Doug has big-time talent. Doug is a great kid who comes from a great family, according to my source.
Isn't it amazing. When I was in high school, 6-1, 210 pounds was considered big. Look at the size of the two kids I just mentioned. And they are barely out of the 10th grade. Amazing.
06/26/98 - Von Hutchins, of Cathedral HS in Natchez, has recently camped at Ole Miss and will camp at Auburn later this summer. He ran a 4.4 at Ole Miss is what I heard. BTW, he is an honor roll student.
06/23/98 - Did you know highly touted Tupelo HS offensive lineman Donald Tucker is former NBA player and Houston HS standout Terry Catledge's nephew?
06/23/98 - Two Ripley High School football players who bear watching this upcoming football season are senior-to-be DT Bradley Boyd (6-2, 308, 4.9), a two-time State Class 3-A Superheavyweight Powerlifting Champion and junior-to-be WR Lavell Tate (5-8, 135), the 1998 State Class 3-A 135-lb Class Powerlifting Champion. Lavell caught 7 passes for 160 yards and 2 TDs in the Spring Jamboree.
According to my source, Bradley has tremendous quickness and instinct for the ball.
06/23/98 - Former standout Indianola Academy freshman track star Noah Bryant will transfer to Central Hinds. No word as to where his dad Ace Bryant will wind up.
06/22/98 - I drove over to Starkville to see Starkville Academy and West Point play an American Legion game. This was the first time to see Starkville Academy LHP Trey Wall (Senior, 6-0, 185) pitch. Trey has good location and a sneaky fastball. He shut down West Point for most of the game until he tired in the last couple of innings due to the hot weather. I was told Miss State has looked at Trey recently.
This was the second time I have seen Oak Hill Academy C/OF Walt Simmons play, and I can say I continue to be very impressed with this kid. He hit another home run. For someone who has been sick the last week, he sure looked good hitting the ball. At this time, I have no idea where Walt will be playing college ball next season. However, he is definitely a talented enough hitter to play at the D-I level.
According to a source of mine, a third player to watch is West Point High School senior pitcher Collins Hughes. Collins, who is 6-2, 180, throws a consistant 83 mph fastball and occasionally hits 85 mph. He also has a high 60's curveball and a change up. He has received letters from Ole Miss and Miss State, so far. He is a good athlete who also is the starting quarterback for West Point High School.
06/20/98 - I went over to West Point last night to see catcher Walt Simmons and pitcher Caley Chrismond play. Both of these two kids played for Oak Hill Academy in West Point, Mississippi and are very talented baseball players. Caley, an excellent student, has offers from a couple of colleges (East MS CC and Belhaven) and is being looked at by Bevil (AL) State and, possibly a small college in south Alabama. Caley, a graduated senior, is 5-9, has excellent control, pitches very intelligently, and has a good fastball, although not overpowering, and good curve ball. Walt, who I wrote about yesterday, is an excellent hitter who hit the ball hard everytime last night. He even hit a home run. I was told it was either his 3rd or 4th in three games. What is amazing is he is recovering from a illness that caused him to lose 15 pounds and is not at full strength. Based on what I saw, this young man has the chance to be a great player in college ball. He is being looked at by several colleges. What really shocks me is no D-I school seems to be giving him much attention. Since he doesn't seem to be heading to a D-I school, powerhouse junior colleges such as Meridian CC or North Florida CC ought to be recruiting him. I know he would certainly entertain offers from both of them, according to my source. Caley is the same type player and could do well at these same colleges. If you know the coach at either of these colleges, please let him know he has a good chance to sign two extremely talented players in these two kids (both great kids, according to my source).
06/19/98 - Have you heard of Oak Hill Academy (West Point, MS) baseball player Walt Simmons? It appears he is one of those Mississippi players that I talk about once in awhile who for reasons beyond me was overlooked by D-I colleges.
Let me give you some facts about Walt:
You tell me why he was overlooked? Keep an eye out for this young man. You will be hearing about him in the future.
06/14/98 - Starkville Academy's Trey Wall and Nelson Prouty made the District 4 team which will compete against 7 other District teams in the State Games of Mississippi. New Hope head baseball coach Stacy Hester will lead the D-4 team in a College World Series type format. Wednesday June 24 at 12:00 the teams will showcase their talents for several college and major League scouts at Meridian CC. The first game is set for Thursday June 25 at 1:00.
06/12/98 - Starkville HS has an senior offensive lineman by the name of Andrew Ouart that bears watching this upcoming football season. Andrew, 6-2, 265-lb guard, was a starter last year. He benches 350, suats 500+, runs a 5.0 forty and is a very good student who has already made a qualifying ACT score. Keep an eye on this young man.
06/12/98 - David Midlick, former University of Mississippi point-guard, has been named head basketball coach at Indianola Academy. Midlick, who coached varsity boys at Greenville Washington school two seasons ago before a year spent out of coaching, will coach varsity and junior high boys and varsity girls, replacing Ace Bryant, who recently resigned. Midlick inherits a boys varsity team that won the District II Class AAA and was runner-up in the North Class AAA. The team advanced to the second round of the Class AAA state tournament. The boys return only one starter (junior John Kirk Manning), however, and will lose Byrant's sophomore son, 6-5, 250-lb. Noah Bryant. On the varsity girls side, the team returns its top three scorers (senior Katherine Gantz, senior Rachel Sudduth and junior Jane Anna Harris),leading rebounder (Gantz) and last year's top sub (junior Katie Burkhalter) from it's district championship team. Harris was named All-District, while Gantz and Sudduth were named All-District and All- North Class AAA. Additionally, the team should get a boost from three rising sophomores who helped the IA junior high girls win a district championship (Elizabeth Long, Margie Scroggins and Marcy Lancaster) and a 5-11 transfer from Central Delta Academy (Leah Carlsen). High school principal Charlie Mason, who coached the junior high girls to the district championship last season , will return with 16-year coaching veteran Debra Domino taking over the 7th grade girls team. Domino spent the last 16 seasons at Humphreys Academy in Belzoni. Her 1998 HA junior high girls team won the Class A District II championship.
06/12/98 - Immanuel Christian School baseball player Todd Gibson was voted the winner of the Spirit Award this past year by Immanuel teachers and coaches. Todd, who batted .436 this past baseball season, also was awarded the Golden Glove Award which signifies the top defensive player on Immanuel's baseball team. Todd plans on attending East MS CC (Mayhew campus) and may try and walk-on in baseball.
06/08/98 - A up and coming freshman-to-be football player to watch this coming season is Shamon Hoskins of Weir HS. Shamon, who is 5-8, 130-lbs, is a lefthanded QB who happens to be the younger brother of Dicenzo Miller, last year's Clarion-Ledger Player-of-the-Year.
06/06/98 - Mississippi high school girls basketball players Latoya Thomas of Greenville and Catrina Frierson of Vicksburg are ranked as the #1 and #11 players in the nation by Reebok, respectively. Frierson has been invited and will participate in the Nike All-American Basketball Camp to be held in Indianapolis in July.
06/01/98 - Here is The Clarion-Ledger's 1998 All-State Baseball Team:
Player of the Year: Jermaine Van Buren of Hattiesburg HS.
Coach of the Year: Larry Knight of Hattiesburh HS.
| Position | Name | School | Class | Key Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitcher | Matt Butler | Hattiesburg | Junior | 13-0, 2.00 ERA, 130 SO |
| Pitcher | Jermaine Van Buren | Hattiesburg | Senior | 13-0, 0.85 ERA, 162 SO |
| Catcher | Gerald McCall | Meridian | Senior | .438, 6 2B, 5 HR, 26 RBI |
| Infielder | Michael Brown | Vicksburg | Senior | .414, 5 2B, 5 HR, 26 RBI |
| Infielder | Steven Dowe | Parklane Academy | Senior | .385, 25 RBI, 10-1, 136 SO |
| Infielder | Clint Farrar | Clinton | Senior | .429, 8 2B, 10 HR, 37 RBI |
| Infielder | Glen Morris | Hillcrest Christian | Senior | .402, 13 2B, 9 HR, 36 RBI |
| Outfielder | Shane Bazzell | New Hope | Senior | .406, 14 2B, 6 HR, 51 RBI, 17-1, 192 SO |
| Outfielder | Derry Hammond | West Point | Senior | .444, 7 2B, 17 HR, 43 RBI |
| Outfielder | Arturo McDowell | Forest Hill | Senior | .447, 9 2B, 5 3B, 3 HR, 33 SB |
| Utility | Brian Owens | Northwest Rankin | Senior | 15-2, 1.28 ERA, 129 SO |
| DH | Seth Champion | Indianola Academy | Senior | .446, 9 2B, 10 HR, 38 RBI |
06/01/98 - The latest issue of Baseball America had its Draft Preview (Draft starts June 2nd). Only
three Mississippi High School or College players were listed in the Top 100 Prospects:
No. 47 - Arturo McDowell, OF from Forest Hill HS in Jackson, MS.
No. 48 - Jermaine Van Buren, Pitcher from Hattiesburg HS.
No. 85 - Justin Moates, Pitcher from Meridian CC.
According to Baseball America, The top 12 players, draftwise, from Mississippi High Schools and Colleges are as follows:
No. 1 - Jermaine Van Buren, RHP, Hattiesburg HS (Top 5 Round Potential)
No. 2 - Arturo McDowell, OF, Forest Hill HS (Jackson) (Top 5 Round Potential)
No. 3 - Jason Moates, RHP, Meridian CC (Top 5 Round Potential)
No. 4 - Derry Hammond, OF, West Point HS (Top 5 Round Potential)
No. 5 - Charles Hamilton, RHP, Hollandale Simmons HS
No. 6 - Chris Reinike, RHP, Mississippi State U
No. 7 - Cliff Lee, LHP, Meridian CC
No. 8 - Brad Freeman, SS/OF, Mississippi State U
No. 9 - Jeremy Jackson, LHP, Mississippi State U
No. 10 - Jason Huisman, SS, University of Mississippi
No. 11 - Shane Bazzell, RHP, New Hope HS (Columbus)
No. 12 - Gerald McCall, C, Meridian HS
06/01/98 - A couple of Ackerman HS football players to watch this season are:
If any of you have additional info on these two kids, please email it to me.
06/01/98 - I recently received info on a freshman football player from Starkville Academy by the name of Brad Fuller. I was told he is 5-8, 150-lbs with 4.69 speed and gained over 980 yards while scoring 11 TDs in 7 games this past season. If you can confirmed this, please email me.