West Lauderdale catcher Darren Farmer has been named Mississippi’s Mr. Baseball as part of the Clarion-Ledger's All-State team. Farmer, a draft choice of the Milwaukee Brewers, had a record-breaking season for the Class 4A state champions.
Farmer stroked 18 home runs, collected 60 RBI and finished with a .535 batting average, numbers his coach Jerry Boatner says are among the best he’s seen in a coaching career that includes a dozen state championships.
Farmer has signed to played collegiate baseball at Meridian Community College. Jackson State and Alabama-Birmingham showed interest.
Sumrall's Larry Knight was named Mississippi Coach of the Year by the Clarion-Ledger. Knight led Sumrall to a perfect 36-0 season and a second straight Class 3A state championship.
Knight has won six state titles in 16 years of coaching with the last two coming at Sumrall. Knight has been at Sumrall for three years after starting his high school coaching career at Hattiesburg - his alma mater.
Knight's Bobcats are the first undefeated state champion in Mississippi in 13 years.
Softball: All-Stars to square off in Decatur
The top prep softball players in Mississippi will gather in Decatur during for the state’s annual slowpitch and fastpitch all star games on Friday and Saturday, June 19 and 20.
The weekend starts on Thursday with a banquet in their honor. The Mississippi Association of Coaches is the sponsor for the event and Newton County High School is the host school.
Slowpitch games on Friday will be played at 5:30 p.m. with the Class 1A-2A-3A teams from the North and the South, followed by the Class 4A-5A all-stars facing off at 8 p.m.
Fastpitch teams take to the field on Saturday with the 1A-2A-3A matchup at 10 a.m., followed by the 4A-5A contest at 2 p.m.
Football: McCain now coaches Kosciusko
A new football coach has been named at Kosciusko High School as Stan McCain moves over from West Lauderdale, where he’s coaches for the past 11 years.
McCain will bring along his defensive coordinator at West Lauderdale. Chris Richmond will assume those duties at Kosciusko. The other assistant coaches on the KHS staff are expected to remain.
Under McCain, West Lauderdale reached the state Class 3A finals five years ago and has been in the state playoffs the last six seasons. McCain’s overall record at West Lauderdale was 81-50.
McCain’s coaching background also includes assisting at Lamar School, Wayne County and one year as an assistant at West Lauderdale before taking on the head coaching position.
Basketball: Kennedy new coach at Picayune
The new head girls basketball coach at Picayune is Biloxi boys assistant coach Jason Kennedy.
It’s actually the second time in as many years that Kennedy has accepted a basketball coaching job for the Maroon Tide. He took the boys’ head coaching position last year, but the Biloxi school board kept him from getting out of his contract, so he remained with a Biloxi team that won the state Class 5A title last year.
Kennedy will replace Kristi Mitchell, who coached Picayune for the past three seasons but has resigned to focus primarily on her duties as softball coach.
The new basketball coach’s resume also includes time as an assistant coach at Bogue Chitto and Riley high schools, and at Southwest Mississippi Community College.
Kennedy knows his new assistant coach quite well, as wife Lacey will take on those responsibilities for the Maroon Tide. She was a head coach at St. Patrick’s High School two years ago.
Picayune moves up to Class 5A this season and will be seeking the school’s first playoff berth in nearly four years.
Also of note…
Oak Grove High pitcher Devin Brewer tells the Hattiesburg American newspaper that he plans to sign a baseball scholarship with Brigham Young University. During the past season, Brewer did not lose in six decisions, including four shutouts. He fashioned an earned run average of 1.54.
