SUMMIT – The Southwest Mississippi Community College baseball season is upon us and, with a new coaching staff and large number of new players, there is an excitement about the program.

A familiar face in a new place is head coach Ken Jackson who takes over the program after six seasons as assistant coach. Joining Jackson in the dugout as his assistant is former Southwest player Justin Hay. Also new to the team is volunteer assistant Ben Slaton. Former player Patric Devlin will serve as graduate assistant.

Jackson said of the looming season, “There is an excitement in the air for the coaching staff-the expectations of what the year will bring (and) the expectations of seeing the players develop.”

Giving a general overview of his squad, Jackson said, “I think you’re going to see a team go out and compete. The wins and losses will take care of themselves. The kids have been working hard so I think you’re going to see a team that plays hard.”

With only four sophomores on the infield, the Bears will rely heavily on freshmen to get the job done. Veteran Trent Gordy returns behind the plate. The Germantown High School product “started half our games last year,” Jackson said, “so obviously, we’ve got some experience there.” Freshmen Walt Aldridge (Parklane Academy) and Kaleb Clarke (Denham Springs, LA) will also be competing for playing time. Clarke will also see some time on the mound.

The Bears have three freshmen looking to handle the chores at first base in Conner Burns (Gulfport H. S.), Duncan Cornfoot (Bay H. S.) and Parklane Academy’s Tanner Whittington.

Looking at the middle of the infield (Jackson used the term ‘up the middle’ because he said the second base and shortstop positions “are kind of interchangeable”), the Bears have Sam Richard (Ridgeland H. S.) back for his sophomore year along with Bryce Laird (Covington , LA), a sophomore transfer from Marion Military Academy. Richard is could also see time on the mound.

Continuing with the middle infield, the Bears have freshman Reed James (Germantown H. S.), who will compete for time at shortstop. Serving as placekicker for the Bears’ football team, James missed the fall baseball season. Rounding out the middle infield are freshmen Jesse Pittman (West Marion H. S.), Dylan Spiers (Pearl River Central H. S.) and Ryan Sticker (Germantown H. S.).

At third base, the Bears have sophomore Cole Guyton (Germantown H. S.) and freshman Brady Anderson (Purvis H. S.).

Trey Wynn (Pearl River Central H. S.) is the lone returning outfielder for the Bears. He spent time last season in left field and also as a designated hitter.

Freshmen looking to spend time in the outfield are Ross Buckley (Germantown H. S.), North Pike’s L. D. Coney, Copiah Academy graduate Zane Frazier, Reed Thames (Germantown H. S.), Jarvis Warner (Hazlehurst H. S.) and Steven Williams (Brookhaven Academy).

Jackson said pitching “is where we have more sophomores, where our depth and maturity is going to hopefully take hold.”

Caleb Crumpler (Picayune H. S.) is a redshirt sophomore, still trying to battle his way back from a 2013 injury that derailed his freshman year with the Bears.

Other sophomore hurlers for the Bears are North Pike’s Brady Badon, Southeastern Louisiana University signee Cliff Hurst (Centreville Academy), Lawrence County graduate Jordan McCaffrey, Jade Whitten (Poplarville H. S.) and Charlie Waddingham (St. Joseph H. S.-Jackson) , a transfer from Mississippi Valley State.

Freshman pitchers for the Bears are Buckley, Spiers and Jacob Buchanan (Livingston, LA).

Asked how he felt the Bears’ experience on the mound would override the team’s inexperience in other positions, Jackson said “I’ve often said this-if you’re going to have a lack of experience, you need to have it either defensively where you have a bunch of freshmen and have sophomore pitching or have freshman pitching and a sophomore defense. The scary part would be if you had no experience anywhere. So, I feel our sophomore experience on the mound should be an advantage for us.”

Something new for the Bears and the MACJC this season is the scheduling and playoff format. No longer will the teams play a North/South schedule with the top four teams from each side advancing to the post-season.

Now, each of the league’s 15 teams will play one doubleheader against the other teams. The top two teams from what were the North and South Divisions will qualify for the playoffs with the next four teams with the best record, regardless of their location, also advancing.

The Bears will still face archrival Co-Lin on two dates and will also meet Coahoma and Mississippi Delta twice (only one doubleheader against each of these teams will count toward the playoff standings).

“I think it’s an exciting time for community college baseball because of the crossover schedule,” Jackson said. “I’ve been here (now) seven years and have never played Holmes, Itawamba, Northeast or Northwest.”

“I think it’s a good experience for everybody,” he continued, “this idea of getting to play other people. I think it’s going to put better teams in the playoffs; at least the top six teams will be in the playoffs for sure. I think that makes it better, more exciting.”

Jackson said Hinds (ranked #2 in the NJCAA pre-season poll), Itawamba, Jones County (#11 pre-season) and Northwest looked to be among the playoff teams this season. As far as the Bears are concerned, Jackson said, “I can’t answer that question. I just hope we fall in that top eight. You’re going to have three or four teams that will stand above everybody else and I think the other four is going to be a dogfight.”

Continuing with the theme of excitement about the season, Jackson said “I think the kids are excited. (With a lot of freshmen on the team) they don’t know what to expect and sometimes that’s good. They don’t know what they’re getting into so they don’t know what to be afraid of. They just go out and play as hard as they can and see what happens.”

The Bears are scheduled to get the campaign underway on February 7, in Pineville, LA, against the Louisiana College JV. Their first schedule home double header is on February 14 against Arkansas Baptist College.

The complete schedule can be found on the baseball page at www.southwestbearathletics.com.