2 Mississippians on softball roster…

[Smoked Toag]

Is softball really THAT underdeveloped in MS?

Where does Alabama get all their talent? Ole Miss a few years ago?

That said I’m fine with national recruiting. Just usually can’t pull that off unless you’re a good program.

 

[mstateglfr]

I looked into this a few months ago and was pretty surprised.

1 out of 15 on vball roster.
2 out of 24 on softball roster.
0 out of 27 on soccer roster.
2 out of 10 on golf roster.
0 out of 8 on tennis roster(only 1 is even from the US).
1 out of 14 on basketball roster.
1 out of 13 on cross country roster.
6 out of 36 on track and field roster.

13 out of 147 are from Mississippi. So less than 10%.
And basically half those are in one sport- t&c.

 

[MSUDC11]

You’re talking about a state where slow pitch softball was still an MHSAA recognized sport until a couple of years ago. Things for girl’s high school sports in MS have gotten better but they still have a long way to go.

 

[Leeshouldveflanked]

Is softball really THAT underdeveloped in MS?

Where does Alabama get all their talent? Ole Miss a few years ago?

That said I’m fine with national recruiting. Just usually can’t pull that off unless you’re a good program.

Yep. But it’s getting better with the travel ball. Union County has two players that are D1 players. One at Ole Miss and one signing with USM. Misshsaa having slow pitch as a sport for so long set Mississippi back behind most everyone else. Also if there was a legit D1 talent in Mississippi they usually went out of state.

 

[aTotal360]

This is partially why I likely won't return to Mississippi until my kids go to college. I've got 2 young kids and they love playing sports that aren't really played in MS. Hell, one of mine wants to take up fencing and there's a clinic not too far from us.

 

[WilCoDawg]

Where are you?

 

[mstateglfr]

You’re talking about a state where slow pitch softball was still an MHSAA recognized sport until a couple of years ago. Things for girl’s high school sports in MS have gotten better but they still have a long way to go.

Yep. But it’s getting better with the travel ball. Union County has two players that are D1 players. One at Ole Miss and one signing with USM. Misshsaa having slow pitch as a sport for so long set Mississippi back behind most everyone else. Also if there was a legit D1 talent in Mississippi they usually went out of state.

Slow pitch until recent years does help explain some numbers. Ive read on here that HS volleyball play in MS was pretty de-emphasized for years too.
Even still, less than 10% of female athletes at MSU are from MS. That just seems really low. I dont know what the average is for D1 state universities, but 9% seems low.

None on soccer, none on tennis, only 1 on basketball, only 1 on volleyball, only 1 on cross country. 3 out of 101 student athletes in those 5 programs are from MS. There are surely D1 level HS athletes in those sports in MS, so they are all going elsewhere. I think its worth asking why. Also, if all those programs are winning big with their out of state and out of country recruiting, then cool(hint, they arent all winning big).

 

[NWADawg]

Speaking of out of state talent - There is a freshman pitcher (Brinkley Moreton) in in Lincoln, AR that threw in the 60's this year, has multiple pitches and hit almost 20 HRs on a high school team that played in the state championship. Someone from State needs to be calling her.

https://evo.nsr-inc.com/prospect_detail?prospect_id=208754

 

[Cooterpoot]

Softball is really bad in MS. So is Volleyball and tennis. As for softball, there's barely anywhere with knowledgeable instructors in the state, especially pitching. It's improving overall with numbers, but HS softball this year was some of the worst I've seen in a while.

 

[Smoked Toag]

Yep. But it’s getting better with the travel ball. Union County has two players that are D1 players. One at Ole Miss and one signing with USM. Misshsaa having slow pitch as a sport for so long set Mississippi back behind most everyone else. Also if there was a legit D1 talent in Mississippi they usually went out of state.

I know of one girl that drives from central MS to TN to play travel ball.

 

[Smoked Toag]

Softball is really bad in MS. So is Volleyball and tennis. As for softball, there's barely anywhere with knowledgeable instructors in the state, especially pitching. It's improving overall with numbers, but HS softball this year was some of the worst I've seen in a while.

And I would imagine most all of them are either in Jackson or Memphis. This is why Jackson must survive.

 

[Cooterpoot]

And I would imagine most all of them are either in Jackson or Memphis. This is why Jackson must survive.

Pretty much. But jucos and college kids are giving some lessons too. It's better than it was 20 years ago but growth is really slow.

 

[Dawgg]

I grew up in Alcorn County... they didn't even have fastpitch softball until like 2000. I'm not sure when/if they ever got volleyball, soccer, or tennis.

When I was at Southern Miss, the men's tennis team was in the same apartment complex as I was. Every single one of them was from another country.

 

[aTotal360]

Very northern reaches of Metro ATL

 

[615dawg]

Its a harsh truth, but girls' sports in Mississippi are way behind. All of them. Others have mentioned the MHSAA holding onto slow pitch softball and killing the development of the fast pitch sport, but there are other factors - weak youth/club programs (daddy ball), virtually no pitching development.

Alabama has 5 of their 20 players from in-state. Another 8 are from border states. None from Mississippi. It used to be that the SEC schools had to get the West Coast and Texas leftovers, but now there are developed club programs in the South - just not in Mississippi.

A club team from Birmingham won the ASA 18 Gold club national championship in 2020. 73 teams played in that tournament, MS did not have a qualifier.

Volleyball has a good club team in Ridgeland - one that has three Power 5 signees (none at MSU even though two of the girls' dads were MSU football standouts).


Madkin:

Hazelwood

 

[HotMop]

This is partially why I likely won't return to Mississippi until my kids go to college. I've got 2 young kids and they love playing sports that aren't really played in MS. Hell, one of mine wants to take up fencing and there's a clinic not too far from us.

You trying to tell me he can't learn to string barbed wire in Mississippi?

 

[Cooterpoot]

MS HS are still putting football coaches in softball as a stipend program and that's a damn shame.

 

[WGWFA]

I can remember when Hillcrest and Prep were filled with D1 talent in the mid 2000s. If I remember correctly, there were 2 popular travel teams the; MS Blast and MS Elite.

 

[Muttley13]

Both play for club organization headed by former MSU coach Jenny Hazelwood.

 

[thekimmer]

Softball might indeed be underdeveloped in MS but a lack of in state kids on the roster is not necessarily an indication of that. Most top programs outside a high population warm weather state have few in state players. Looking at a few in the SEC, bama has 5 from AL, UT has 4 from TN. UF on the other hand has about 15 from FL and UGA about a dozen from GA. Where they come from doesn't diminish anything.

 

[WrapItDog]

Hell, one of mine wants to take up fencing and there's a clinic not too far from us.

That will be convenient for treating all those sword fight wounds**

 

[PBRME]

You’re talking about a state where slow pitch softball was still an MHSAA recognized sport until a couple of years ago. Things for girl’s high school sports in MS have gotten better but they still have a long way to go.

In the early 90’s I remember my hometown sent an all star team to the state tournament. They didn’t know it was fast pitch. They were no hit run ruled both games.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

You trying to tell me he can't learn to string barbed bob wire in Mississippi?

FTFY

 

[WilCoDawg]

Well she sucks.

 

[Pink Floyd.sixpack]

The folks at Neshoba

Softball is really bad in MS. So is Volleyball and tennis. As for softball, there's barely anywhere with knowledgeable instructors in the state, especially pitching. It's improving overall with numbers, but HS softball this year was some of the worst I've seen in a while.

Central might disagree with this. They’ve been nationally ranked for the past five years, finishing number one last year.

 

[MadReb]

A long time ago, a guy from Southaven or somewhere in that area showed up at an MHSAA board meeting to try to push for fast pitch softball. The board didn't consider his request because he had not followed procedure to put the issue before the board, but the board let him speak. He made a strong case, I thought. It took almost another 20 years for fast pitch to become a sanctioned high school sport. Yes, Mississippi is way, way behind in softball.