Maney Miller, Brookhaven High

The job of a pitcher is to limit the opposing offense from hitting the ball and if possible, strike their batters out.

Sounds simple, but it can be one of the hardest things to accomplish in all of sports.

Brookhaven High senior right-hander Maney Miller made the complex look easy in 2022 every time he took the mound for the Panthers.

The local king of the strikeout, Miller has been tabbed as The Daily Leader All-Area Most Valuable Defensive Player.

Miller struck out 105 batters in 62 innings of action this season for coach Matt White. He went 6-0 in 13 pitching appearances for a 13-7 Brookhaven High team.

He makes every pitch count as Miller issued 32 walks this season and faced a combined total of 255 batters.

Miller got the season started by striking out 10 against Wesson. He then struck out a season high 15 against Enterprise, 10 versus West Ouachita (La.), 14 against Natchez and 13 in the biggest game of the year, a region title-clinching win over West Jones.

An All-Area selection last season as a junior, he was picked for the MAC Second Team All-State after his senior season and was also played in the Crossroad Diamond Club All-Star Game.

Miller’s fastball sits in the mid-80s and his curveball and changeup keep batters off balance in the box.

When he wasn’t pitching, Miller played shortstop for the Panthers. He also produced at the plate by driving in a team-high 16 runs in 2022.

Next season he’ll pitch at Pearl River Community College as Miller signed with the Wildcats in November. Former BHS left-hander Byrion Robinson was a member of the PRCC pitching staff this year and will likely return to play next season for the national championship winning Wildcats after getting a redshirt season in his first year due to an arm injury.

You’d be hard pressed to find a player who individually meant more to the success of his team over the last four years than Miller did for Brookhaven High.

His 250 career strikeouts as a member of the Ole Brook varsity team tell a story of a high school pitcher that never let the batter know what was coming next.