NEMCC All-American Colby Holcombe commits to Mississippi State baseball
Jul. 29—BOONEVILLE, Miss. — Colby Holcombe will join Mississippi State's tradition-rich baseball program after a record-breaking true freshman campaign at Northeast Mississippi Community College.
"I'm very excited," Holcombe said. "Playing in the SEC has always been a dream of mine since I was a little kid. All the competition is going to be there. I'm ready to get after it."
Holcombe, who caught the attention of scouts over the past year with a fastball that approaches triple digits on the radar gun, was not selected in the 2022 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft despite being the No. 134 ranked prospect in the entire nation.
His next opportunity to enter the MLB Draft will come after his second season with the Bulldogs. That should give Holcombe plenty of time to add to his already sparkling resume.
"Colby is very, very directional in where he wants to go. He felt college was his best route," said Tigers head coach Richy Harrelson. "His goal is to be a professional baseball player. If he does what he is capable of doing (at MSU), that 2024 draft is going to be a huge day for him."
Holcombe was well decorated during his lone season at Northeast. He became the first Tiger to earn Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) Pitcher of the Year recognition.
The Florence, Ala., native was the recipient of first-team All-American honors from the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). Holcombe was also a NJCAA All-Region 23 and All-MACCC first-team performer.
He was a three-time MACCC Pitcher of the Week winner. Holcombe secured this award twice in a row after setting new career-highs in consecutive outings with 14 and 15 strikeouts, respectively, during victories over East Central Community College and Copiah-Lincoln Community College.
His first such distinction came after throwing the first five frames of a combined no-hit shutout against Kaskaskia (Ill.) College in the nightcap of a doubleheader sweep. It was the first no-hitter by a Northeast hurler in 14 seasons.
Holcombe allowed only three total hits in his initial three starts. He tossed a complete game one-hitter with 12 punch outs in his inaugural collegiate win, which was a 1-0 thriller by the Tigers over Jefferson (Mo.) College.
He holds the program record for most strikeouts in a single season with 115, which easily led the MACCC and was fourth best in the country. Holcombe had a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 3.71 with only 31 bases on balls issued all year.
The 6-7, 225-pound right-hander topped Northeast with a 2.60 earned run average (ERA) in a team-best 65.2 innings of work. Holcombe compiled a 7-3 overall record with an unblemished 6-0 mark during the regular season inside The Plex.
Holcombe was superb for the Tigers during the month of April. He won each of his five appearances, including decisions over nationally ranked opponents Pearl River Community College and East Central, with 52 strikeouts compared to 11 walks in 30 innings.
"I wouldn't change (coming to Northeast) for nothing," Holcombe said. "The thing I'm going to remember most is playing with all the guys. We had a lot of good chemistry. We were all so close."
