STARKVILLE — Ayden Alsobrooks insisted that he chose to play baseball at East Mississippi on his own.
The senior pitcher/outfielder for Starkville Academy was one of seven Volunteers who gathered in the school cafeteria Wednesday to sign letters of intent to play college baseball, but he was the only one to have such a close connection with his chosen school.
But he said there was no pressure to choose EMCC, where his father, Scott Alsobrooks, serves as president.
“Dad supports me with everything,” the younger Alsobrooks said. “Whichever way I would have gone, he would have supported me.”
But there were other things about the Scooba school that appealed to the younger Alsobrooks.
“I got a little history with East MIssissippi, but I couldn’t think of a better program to go to,” he said. “I love the coaches over there. I love it down there, and I can’t think of a better place.”
And being the first school that came calling also helped.
“They always wanted me,” Alsobrooks said. “They were the first team that recruited me.”
It was a big day for Starkville Academy’s baseball program, as having seven players from one class sign to play at the next level is not an annual happening.
“This would be a huge number of anybody in the state,” Vols baseball coach Thomas Berkery said. “Jackson Prep had six or seven last year, and everybody talked about it. They had a lot of D-1 guys, and we’ve got six JUCO guys and one D-1 guy, and that by no means is shortchanging these guys and their accomplishments. This is definitely a huge number for any Mississippi school.”
Making it a bit more special is that most of the group has been together for years.
“For the most part, these guys have been together, when you talk about travel ball, Little League stuff, probably since they were 8 or 9, traveling the country, playing different tournaments,” Berkery said.
That shared history was a recurring theme of the afternoon.
“Except for Evan (Siary), who’s from out of state, I’ve been playing with them since childhood,” said Harris McReynolds, a middle infielder who signed to play with Northeast Mississippi. “Rec ball, travel ball, it’s just been amazing. It’s special.”
McReynolds found Northeast to be special as well, choosing the Tigers over East Mississippi.
“I just liked Northeast better,” he said. “It just fit me. The facilities are fantastic, I mean, it’s awesome. I love those coaches. It’s a great spot, nice area.”
And one specific aspect of the facilities appealed to McReynolds.
“It’s an all-turf field,” he said. “No bad hops. I like that. Our infield is turf, so I’m used to it.”
Siary’s story is unusual in that the right-handed pitcher was a Mississippi State recruit before he was a Starkville Academy player.
“Evan Siary transferred in from South Carolina,” Berkery said. “He was a Mississippi State commit and wanted to get closer to campus, get his family here. The way the timetable worked out for them, he just ended up here a year early instead of next year.”
“The process started the summer right after my freshman year,” Siary said of recruiting. “The coaching staff and the program really made me feel like I was at home.”
Siary said he is comfortable throwing a fastball, change-up, curveball and slider, although “I’m going breaking ball if I have to get an out,” he said.
But Siary is not the only one of the signees to be new to Starkville Academy. Berkery said Hayes Davis transferred from Starkville High School for his senior year, and the coach wanted to credit the Yellow Jackets coaches for their role in Davis’ development.
In fact, Berkery acknowledged many people who play sometimes hidden roles in the growth of student-athletes, from coaches in different baseball organizations to medical people to trainers to parents.
“Along the way there’s been tons of different sacrifices made to get them to more ball games, to play in more tournaments, to travel long distances to play good competition,” Berkery said. “It’s one of those deals where it takes a village, and as you can see by the turnout today, I think the village is here.”
Davis and Colby Allen are headed to Northwest Mississippi.
“I felt a good connection with the coaches,” said Davis, whose primary position is catcher. “I just fell in love with the coaches right when I got there. I like the atmosphere there, and they’ve always been a good team.
“They always produce guys to the next level, and that was one of the things that stuck out to me.”
Third baseman Colby Allen is happy to have a high school teammate going to college with him.
“Hayes committed before I did, but it’s going to be cool we’re going together,” the third baseman said. “It’s going to be fun.”
“I was really happy today when I saw he was coming with me, so it’s going to be fun to get to go to work with him,” Davis added.
John Paul Buckner, primarily a pitcher, felt a connection to Holmes Community College, although it took a while to get there.
“I really felt like that was where I was supposed to go,” said Buckner, acknowledging he prayed on the decision. “It was a long, hard decision, but that’s what I felt I needed to do, so I’m excited about it.”
Buckner said that just being down there with his future teammates sealed the deal for him, while Randall Futral said his path to Jones Community College began close to home.
“We had a little workout at Starkville Academy and then I got to visit down there,” Futral said. “I really liked the coaches. They’re really nice, the facility is nice, and I love the campus.”
Jones coach Wes Thigpen recently joined the Bobcats, coming over from Mississippi Gulf Coast.
“The coach who is there now is in his second year, pretty new to the program, so it’s a whole new staff,” said Futral, who chose Jones over East Mississippi.
Any team with seven seniors ticketed for college baseball will be expected to win big, and the Volunteers are eager to get their last prep season started.
“It’s going to be a special team this year,” Siary said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun to be playing with them, and we’re just going to get after it and compete all season long.”
“All these guys are great,” Futral added. “The talent that’s up here, that we can all be together at the same school, it’s going to be fun.”
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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 33 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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Related Photos
Ayden Alsobrooks signs his letter of intent to play baseball at East Mississippi Community College on Wednesday at Starkville Academy. Tom Rysinski/Dispatch Staff
Colby Allen signs his letter of intent to play baseball at Northwest Mississippi Community College on Wednesday at Starkville Academy. Tom Rysinski/Dispatch Staff
Evan Siary signs his letter of intent to play baseball at Mississippi State University on Wednesday at Starkville Academy. Tom Rysinski/Dispatch Staff
Harris McReynolds signs his letter of intent to play baseball at Northeast Mississippi Community College on Wednesday at Starkville Academy. Tom Rysinski/Dispatch Staff
Hayes Davis signs his letter of intent to play baseball at Northwest Mississippi Community College on Wednesday at Starkville Academy. Tom Rysinski/Dispatch Staff
John Paul Buckner signs his letter of intent to play baseball at Holmes Community College on Wednesday at Starkville Academy. Tom Rysinski/Dispatch Staff
Randall Futral signs his letter of intent to play baseball at Jones Community College on Wednesday at Starkville Academy. Tom Rysinski/Dispatch Staff
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