Christian Farmer couldn’t ask for a better opportunity.
Born and raised in the Friendly City, Farmer played baseball at Columbus High School under coach Jeffrey Cook. He continued his playing career at Mississippi Delta Community College for a year before heading east to finish his college education in Starkville. Soon after, he returned to Columbus High to teach and coach at his alma mater, and he’s been there ever since.
Now, Farmer is taking over the Falcons’ baseball program after coach Mickey Allen resigned at the conclusion of the 2021 season. The Columbus native is looking to turn around a Falcons team that has struggled over the past few years.
Farmer is incredibly motivated to succeed at Columbus, both on and off the diamond. He made it clear that success on the field is only half the battle.
“One of my goals is to create team chemistry on and off the field,” Farmer said. “We should be not only tight in the locker room and in the dugout but also come together and compete in the classroom or go to the bowling alley and compete at the bowling alley.”
With the team he’s spent as an assistant at Columbus, Farmer is plenty familiar with the talent on his roster. He was beaming when he talked about the talent and versatility that Columbus has, with multiple players who can play several positions, but he’s especially excited about players like Tyliq Stallings, Kelton Cox and Lakendricks Bankhead.
“(Stallings) is a left-handed hitter, he’s a power bat, and I’m looking for him to make a great contribution to our lineup next year,” Farmer said. “(Bankhead) is an all-around athlete; he can play second base and center field for us, and when we need him to, he can hop on the mound for us.”
Farmer is excited about what his team can do, but he knows that his team will have a lot to work on to be competitors with some tough competition in the area. He said one of his main goals is to establish a new culture in the program, where “doing just enough is not enough.”
He said he doesn’t just want his team to check boxes on and off the field but see the diamond and the classroom as places where they should work to overachieve.
“I’m also looking to raise the competitive morale,” Farmer said. “I want them to apply pressure and really focus on getting their best foot forward.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.