Meet the Sun Herald All-South Mississippi Baseball Team for the 2023 season
Another strong season of baseball on the Coast looked awfully familiar in the end.
Four teams reached the state championship series and East Central and Resurrection walked away champions for the second straight year.
Gulfport and St. Stanislaus also reached the finals in Pearl and came away runner-ups in 6A and 3A, respectively.
For his team’s resiliency under adversity, Bo Long of East Central earns the honor as Coach of the Year. His senior stalwart on the mound and in the hot corner, TJ Dunsford, earns Player of the Year.
Coach of the Year
Long and his Hornets were able to make history despite bumps in the road along the way. Injuries impacted East Central’s rotation and lineup through the first half of the regular season and the Hornets didn’t reach full strength until the home stretch divisional play.
They got hot fast and became the first team in school history to win two state championships in a row.
Player of the Year
TJ Dunsford, East Central
The 5A Mr. Baseball winner ended his career a two-time champion after another dominant season as a two-way star.
Dunsford had a 1.151 OPS at the plate and 116 strikeouts from the mound, both career-bests. He also set career-highs in hits and on-base percentage. Dunsford had 17 hits in the playoffs and two in the title-winning game over Saltillo.
Fan’s choice Player of the Year
Colby Wilson, D’Iberville
Wilson was again one of the top catchers in the state. The senior hit .449 and struck out only four times in 113 plate appearances. The fan poll resulted in Wilson earning 62 percent of the vote with over 600,000 votes.
Gulfport’s Ethan Garner came in second with nearly 400,000 votes.
Sun Herald Starting Nine
These were South Mississippi’s best players, regardless of position.
TJ Dunsford, East Central: The Southern Miss signee slashed .413/.555/.596 with four home runs and 28 RBIs. He also tossed 75.1 innings with a 1.30 ERA.
Peyton Lacy, Pass Christian: Another Southern Miss-bound senior, Lacy slugged .705 and put together a 1.165 OPS at the plate, while also striking out 95 batters and working a 1.09 ERA.
Seth Farni, St. Stanislaus: The Ole Miss signee once again swung one of the strongest bats on the Coast, slugging .771 with eight home runs and 30 RBIs. Farni also struck out 55 batters in 31 innings.
Chesley Rhodes, St. Stanislaus: The junior hit .441 with a 1.291 OPS. Rhodes hit eight home runs and drove in 44 RBIs.
Colby Wilson, D’Iberville: Wilson, a Pearl River C.C. signee, had 44 hits as a senior with a 1.195 OPS at the plate.
Walker Frederic, Resurrection: Frederic batted .421 with a 1.254 OPS. He had 45 hits, 12 doubles and scored 40 runs.
Cole Tingle, Resurrection: The Coaches 1A Player of the Year batted .400 with a 1.037 OPS, driving in 34 runs. Tingle also struck out 80 batters from the mound and worked a 2.25 ERA.
Logan Fontenelle, Biloxi: Fontenelle enjoyed a breakout season, batting .416 with 28 RBIs while also pitching a 2.67 ERA with 93 strikeouts.
Hunter Parker, Vancleave: The junior recorded 39 hits and scored 25 times while dominating on the mound with 95 strikeouts and a 1.32 ERA.
All-South Mississippi Team
Ian Henry, Biloxi: The East Mississippi commit picked up 30 hits and scored 31 runs as a senior.
Nate Trochessett, East Central: The junior picked up 47 hits and drove in 28 runs. He hit his first career home run in the South State final.
Anthony Tanner, East Central: Only a sophomore, Tanner made his mark in a loaded lineup with an .853 OPS and 34 hits.
Logan Terry, East Central: The PRCC signee put together an OPS of .850 with 26 hits and 20 RBIs.
Eli Smith, East Central: The senior toed the rubber for 65.1 inning and struck out 74 batters as he worked a 1.93 ERA.
Ethan Surowiec, Gulfport: The Ole Miss commit had 47 hits at the plate with eight home runs and 32 RBIs. Surowiec also struck out 46 batters.
Ethan Garner, Gulfport: The junior Tulane commit batted .434 and was among the Coast’s leaders in hits with 55.
Josh Lee, Gulfport: Bound for Southeast Louisiana, Lee threw 77.1 innings with 91 strikeouts and a 3.24 ERA.
Nico Williams, Gulfport: Williams hit .325 his junior year with a 1.006 OPS. He tossed 58.2 innings and worked a 2.75 ERA with 89 strikeouts.
Ellis Newman, D’Iberville: Newman batted .367 with 33 hits and 23 runs scored in his junior season.
Eli Page, D’Iberville: The senior pitched 46.2 innings with a 0.75 ERA. Page earned the win in seven of 10 appearances.
Brady Howell, George County: The Copiah-Lincoln commit had a .929 OPS at the plate while also striking 74 hitters and building a 3.30 ERA.
Tri Gaughf, Harrison Central: The junior MGCCC commit struck out 84 batters in 51.1 innings with a 2.45 ERA.
Brock Cantrell, Ocean Springs: The senior PRCC signee hit .337 for the Greyhounds at the plate and struck out 54 batters while sporting a 2.10 ERA on the mound.
McCarty English, Ocean Springs: The Southern Miss signee finished his career with a strong senior season, striking out 87 batters with a 2.42 ERA.
Jack Jordan, Ocean Springs: The sophomore had a team-high .932 OPS and 30 hits. He drove in 21 runs.
Max Askew, Resurrection: The senior put together an OPS of .990 with 37 hits and 39 runs scored.
Luke Schnoor, Resurrection: Schnoor slashed .406/.481/.613 with 43 hits, four home runs and 32 RBIs as a junior.
Levi Foshee, Resurrection: Foshee spent his final high school season at RCS where he pitched 64.1 innings and struck out 66 batters along with a 2.07 ERA.
Nicholas Watts, Resurrection: The senior picked up 30 hits, 22 runs scored and 27 runs driven in.
Jesus San Miguel, Resurrection: San Miguel recorded 25 hits and 27 runs scored as a junior, while also striking out 38 batters with a 2.39 ERA.
Hugh LeMasters, St. Stanislaus: LeMasters, an EMCC signee, hit .364 with a 1.004 OPS. He picked up 43 hits, 31 RBIs and scored 37 times.
Hill Gainey, St. Stanislaus: Also an EMCC signee, Gainey pitched 66.2 innings with 69 strikeouts and a 2.42 ERA.
Dylan Welter, Pass Christian: The senior Millsaps College commit hit .421 with a 1.149 OPS and 18 RBIs.
Brendan Necaise, Pass Christian: The sophomore pitched 51.1 innings with 54 strikeouts and a 2.93 ERA.
Quinton Emerick, Pass Christian: Emerick hit .333 with an .887 OPS with 24 hits and 15 RBIs.
Kyler King, Picayune: The PRCC commit had 32 hits and scored 30 runs in his junior season.
Brady Robertson, Picayune: The junior tossed 56 innings with 67 strikeouts while working a 2.50 ERA.
Tanner Busby, Picayune: A PRCC commit, Busby threw 50.2 innings with a 1.52 ERA and 58 strikeouts.
Caleb Dyess, Pearl River Central: The Pearl River C.C. signee picked up 34 hits, scored 37 runs and pitched 74.1 innings with 113 strikeouts and a 1.98 ERA.
Conner Dyess, Pearl River Central: The younger Dyess had a .918 OPS his junior year with 32 hits and 30 runs scored.
Jacob Johnson, Pearl River Central: Johnson pitched 67.1 innings, striking out 68 with an ERA of 1.87.
Asher Henley, Vancleave: The junior third baseman picked up 40 hits with 19 RBIs.
Tyler West, Vancleave: The junior had 33 hits at the plate and 64 strikeouts from the mound while working a 2.13 ERA.
Hunter Harper, Vancleave: Harper pitched 63 innings, striking out 40 batters and working a 2.22 ERA. The sophomore also had 30 hits from the plate.
Honorable mention
Judson Byars, Biloxi; Daniel Ruiz, Harrison Central; Jeremy Mares, St. Stanislaus; Carson Ryder, East Central; Andrew Marble, East Central; Brandt Dickerson, East Central; Brason Owenby, East Central; Dawson Hall, Gulfport; Max Garrett, Hancock; Keilon Parnell, Pascagoula; Will Gray, Ocean Springs; Griffin Frye, Ocean Springs; Chris Hart, Pearl River Central; Isaias Ryan, Pearl River Central; Gage Kamlade, Pearl River Central; Lake Fincher, St. Martin; Tristen Junkert, St. Martin; Hayden Hall, St. Patrick; Jeremy Mares, St. Stanislaus; Levi Tapp, Vancleave; Hunter Ross, West Harrison
