How good is HS baseball in Mississippi?
Do the players play for high profile Summer League teams or stay with their HS teams?
Why do we not see more Mississippi kids at the showcases?
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It's competitive, but you won't find the numbers here (1/12 the pop. of CA, 1/9 the pop. of TX, 1/5 the pop. of FL, 1/4 the pop. of GA where so much of the talent is located). The top summer programs are the Jackson 96'ers and the Mississippi Stars. A few of the better Northern Miss. players occasionally play for Dulin's Dodgers in Memphis.
It's a rural state, so the numbers are lower and it doesn't attract a lot of D-1 attention. Also, it is a high minority state (the highest African-American pop. state in America at around 36%), and we all know how that goes, what with limited scholarships in baseball. Football and Basketball just attract more attention from those kids. NBA first rounders from HS such as Monte Ellis, Jonathan Bender, Travis Outlaw, Al Jefferson, recently. Lots of college players from MS are/have been in the NBA: Antonio Dyess, Mo Williams, Clarence Witherspoon, Erick Dampier, Justin Reed, Jackie Butler, Jeff Malone, Machmoud Abdul-Rahoof (or whatever Chris Jackson changed his name to), James Henderson, Leterial Green, etc.
Ron Polk at MSU has traditionally gone out of state, mostly FL, for players, but they are getting a few more now. Ole Miss is doing a better job of recruiting MS lately. USM in Hattiesburg is in a little baseball mecha and are recruiting it, along with parts of Louisiana and getting most of their needs met there.
A lot of kids go to JUCO's and D-II, D-III programs. Some don't qualify.
All that said, HS baseball in MS is getting better.
It's a rural state, so the numbers are lower and it doesn't attract a lot of D-1 attention. Also, it is a high minority state (the highest African-American pop. state in America at around 36%), and we all know how that goes, what with limited scholarships in baseball. Football and Basketball just attract more attention from those kids. NBA first rounders from HS such as Monte Ellis, Jonathan Bender, Travis Outlaw, Al Jefferson, recently. Lots of college players from MS are/have been in the NBA: Antonio Dyess, Mo Williams, Clarence Witherspoon, Erick Dampier, Justin Reed, Jackie Butler, Jeff Malone, Machmoud Abdul-Rahoof (or whatever Chris Jackson changed his name to), James Henderson, Leterial Green, etc.
Ron Polk at MSU has traditionally gone out of state, mostly FL, for players, but they are getting a few more now. Ole Miss is doing a better job of recruiting MS lately. USM in Hattiesburg is in a little baseball mecha and are recruiting it, along with parts of Louisiana and getting most of their needs met there.
A lot of kids go to JUCO's and D-II, D-III programs. Some don't qualify.
All that said, HS baseball in MS is getting better.