MHSAA/MAC & C SPIRE COLLABORATE TO CREATE BASEBALL/SOFTBALL AWARDS

CLINTON, Miss. – The Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) and the Mississippi Association of Coaches (MAC) have collaborated with C Spire to create the inaugural Mr. Baseball and Miss Softball awards, which will be announced during the second week of May, prior to North/South Championships.

“Building off the success of starting our Mr. and Miss Basketball awards, we are thrilled to add the award for baseball and softball to recognize our student-athletes and the schools they represent,” said MHSAA Executive Director Rickey Neaves. “C Spire continues to be an outstanding and visionary partner, and we are thankful for that support and helping make these awards a reality.”

In addition to social media and website announcements of the Mr. Baseball and Miss Softball winners, presentations will be made during state championships games for each sport, and a special awards luncheon will be hosted during the week between softball and baseball state championships. Softball state championships will be played in Hattiesburg at the University of Southern Miss (May 16-20) while baseball will be played in Pearl at Trustmark Park (May 30-June 4).

One Mr. Baseball and one Miss Softball will be selected from each MHSAA classification with the selections being based on the regular-season body of work. The selection process will include representatives from the MAC committee, coaches throughout the state, and members of state-wide media. Criteria will include on-field performance as well as being a good teammate, displaying sportsmanship, and conducting oneself with integrity.

“It takes a great effort from many coaches in the state to build a list of nominees and go through the process of discussing and voting, and the MAC greatly appreciates the time our coaches invest to do this the right way,” said Johnny Mims, Executive Director of the MAC. “It’s exciting to see this award grow to more sports than before, and we are thankful for the relationship with C Spire and Orien Watson to assist in allowing us to do more for our student-athletes, coaches, and schools.”