Former
baseball coach heads to College World Series
Northeast
Sports Information
 |
Richy Harrelson |
One
season with the Golden Eagles has turned exactly that … golden
as former Northeast Mississippi Community College assistant baseball
coach Richy Harrelson heads to the College World Series (CWS) in
Omaha, Nebraska.
Harrelson helped guide the University of Southern Mississippi to
its first ever Super Regional against the University of Florida
and with a 7-6 win Sunday night against the Gators, Harrelson goes
down in the USM record books as part of the coaching staff to lead
the Golden Eagles to their first-ever College World Series appearance.
Southern Mississippi overcame a 6-1 deficit including a three-run
eighth inning in knocking off the Gators at McKethan Stadium in
Gainesville. Southern Mississippi stunned the nationally-ranked
Florida Gators with a two-game sweep in the best-of-three Super
Regional series in earning the school’s first-ever CWS berth.
Before joining the Southern Mississippi staff, Harrelson helped
guide the 2008 Northeast Mississippi Community College baseball
team to a 32-18 record alongside Northeast head coach Kent Farris.
During Harrelson’s year with the Tigers, Northeast notched
a Mississippi Association of Community/Junior Colleges (MACJC) North
Division runner-up finish and appeared in the National Junior College
Athletic Association’s (NJCAA) Region XXIII Tournament.
Harrelson came to Northeast from Lafayette County High School where
he guided the Commodores to a 105-80 record during his time there
including 14 postseason victories and the 2006 Mississippi High
School Activities Association’s (MHSAA) Class 4A State Championship.
During his final year at Lafayette County, Harrelson led the Commodores
to a 23-11 record while reaching the MHSAA postseason for a fourth
straight year before falling to Neshoba Central in the Class 4A
North State semifinals.
Richy made his mark on the northeast Mississippi baseball community
during his prep career at Iuka High School in Tishomingo County.
During his high school career (1989-92), Harrelson put himself among
the nation’s best.
Harrelson is still listed in the National High School Baseball Record
Book for career hits (236), career runs batted in (226) and career
wins (55).
Harrelson began his coaching career as an assistant with the University
of Mississippi in 1997, before moving to Hillcrest Christian School
in Jackson in 1998 where he was assistant baseball coach, assistant
football coach and taught world history until 2001.
During his time at Ole Miss, Harrelson was a third baseman and pitcher
for the Rebels from 1993- 96. He also played a season in the prestigious
Cape Cod summer league in 1994 and one season as a professional
in 1997.
At Southern Miss, Harrelson oversees the Golden Eagle outfielders,
works with the USM hitters and coaches’ first base. Harrelson
also runs all of the Southern Miss baseball camps and private lessons. |
