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HATTIESBURG, Miss. – College baseball season is still a few months away from the first pitch at Pete Taylor Park, but on Thursday morning, we got an early look at what the roster will look like beyond 2027.
Head coach Christian Ostrander announced 15 signees for the 2028 season, with the main focus for this class appearing to be on pitching, as 10 are pitchers by trade. And that doesn’t count Laurel’s Clay Tolbert, who does a bit of everything. The class covers five states, but Mississippi (seven players) and Louisiana (five) did most of the heavy lifting. Four of the 15 are coming from the junior college ranks.
The Golden Eagles wrapped up their 10th consecutive 40-win season in May, which is the longest active streak in college baseball. It was also the first season Southern Miss won both the Sun Belt regular-season and tournament championships. The Golden Eagles have won three of the last four SBC tournaments since entering the league in 2023.
Keeping that momentum going means finding the next wave of players who can handle what comes with wearing the Black and Gold. Somewhere in this 2028 group is a future Friday night starter, a closer that patrons of The Pete will one day rise to their feet for, or a bat that comes up in clutch moments.
Here’s a closer look at all 15 newcomers.
Tolbert didn’t have to look far for his college home. The West Jones standout plays infield and pitches, and he grew up about half an hour up I-59. He’ll be showing up to Southern Miss with some serious hardware, too.
The 6-foot-3, 205-pounder was named the 2026 Class 6A Mr. Baseball as a junior after a ridiculous season on the mound for the Mustangs. He went 6-2 with a 1.06 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 53 innings and gave up only 20 hits all year.
He was just as dangerous at the plate, hitting .420 with a .564 on-base percentage, three home runs and 28 RBIs. Whether his future in Hattiesburg is on the mound, in the infield or both, Tolbert has the kind of resume that will really resonate with local fans.
If you want to know what kind of hitter Estes is, open the Pearl River Community College record book, because his name is all over it now.
The 6-foot, 205-pound outfielder from Madison, Miss., is one of three Wildcats from last spring’s national championship team headed to Hattiesburg, as we wrote about when they committed to Southern Miss in September.
Pearl River won its third straight MACCC championship and the NJCAA Division II national title, and Estes was a big reason why. He put together one of the best freshman seasons in program history, hitting .423 with 13 home runs and 75 RBIs. That average ranks third on PRCC’s single-season list, the RBI total ranks second, and his four triples tied the school record. Add 82 hits, 19 doubles, 68 runs, 34 walks and 11 stolen bases, and you’ve got a guy who does a little bit of everything.
He saved some of his best work for the biggest stage. Estes went 7-for-15 with three homers and five RBIs at the NJCAA World Series to make the all-tournament team, and he was named First Team All-MACCC. Before that, he was a second-team all-state pick at Germantown High.
Abt didn’t lose a game as a freshman at Pearl River. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound right-hander from Brandon, Miss., went 7-0 with a save, a complete game and a 3.54 ERA. He struck out 45 over 48 1/3 innings and earned Second Team All-MACCC honors as a pitcher.
He also saw time at second base, chipping in five hits, a home run and six RBIs. That won’t surprise anyone who saw him at Hartfield Academy, where he hit .368 with eight homers and 46 RBIs while also posting a 2.49 ERA with 75 strikeouts in 64 2/3 innings.
Also worth noting: JP will join his brother Henry Abt, who is a freshman on Southern Miss' 2027 ballclub. Southern Miss baseball is one big family, and sometimes that's meant to be taken literally.
McAdory has a habit of ending up on championship teams. Before he helped Pearl River win it all, the 6-foot, 224-pound right-hander from Lucedale, Miss., was part of George County’s 2024 state championship squad. He earned 6A all-state honors in both 2024 and 2025.
As a freshman with the Wildcats, McAdory made 13 appearances, including 10 starts, and racked up 44 strikeouts in just 30 innings. That’s better than 13 strikeouts per nine innings. Coming out of high school, Perfect Game rated him the seventh-best right-hander and the No. 32 overall player in Mississippi.
Hodges spent last season just up the road at Jones College in Ellisville, and he was about as tough to hit as it gets.
The 6-foot, 185-pound right-hander from Watson, La., went 10-1 with a 1.55 ERA in 21 appearances. He struck out 77 and walked only 12 in 64 innings, and opponents hit just .192 against him. A strikeout-to-walk ratio better than 6-to-1 will put a smile on any pitching coach’s face, and especially Coach Oz's.
Hodges knows about winning, too. As a senior at Live Oak High School, he helped the Eagles go 33-8 with a District 5-5A title and a state runner-up finish.
Lee arrives ranked as the No. 7 overall player in Louisiana, and his numbers back it up. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound right-hander at Alexandria Senior High went 6-4 with two saves and a 2.60 ERA last season. He struck out 91 batters in 56 innings and earned LBCA Division I All-State honors.
Two outings stand out. Lee threw a three-hit, 11-strikeout shutout over five innings against Pineville, which earned him KALB Athlete of the Week honors. Then he opened the state playoffs by blanking Captain Shreve over seven innings on three hits with 10 strikeouts. The bigger the moment, the better he seems to get.
One other intriguing note: Lee was committed to LSU at one point, but Southern Miss was able to flip the talented pitcher. The Golden Eagles have established an incredible recruiting pipeline in Louisiana over the last several years.
At 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds, Boudreaux looks the part, and the radar gun is starting to agree. The Lafayette, La., native also plays first base at Teurlings Catholic. He added several miles per hour to his fastball between 2025 and 2026, touching 93 mph at fall showcase events while putting together several scoreless appearances.
He has represented Team Louisiana at the Prep Baseball Future Games and played travel ball with Knights Knation and the Acadiana Cajuns. A pitcher with that kind of size who’s still adding velocity has a lot of room to grow, and few programs and coaches develop arms better than Southern Miss and Coach Oz.
Boudreaux won’t be the only Lafayette kid in the class. Hawkins is a 6-foot-2, 200-pounder from St. Thomas More Catholic. Last spring he earned Prep Baseball Louisiana honorable mention all-state honors as a corner infielder and was named the Mizuno Sports USA Louisiana Player of the Week in March.
Prep Baseball Report ranks him as the No. 8 overall prospect in Louisiana. Along with Lee, that gives Southern Miss two top-10 prospects from the state in the same class.
Wooten has been a reliable lefty for a while now. As a sophomore at Parkview Baptist, the 5-foot-11, 180-pound southpaw from Prairieville, La., went 3-1 with a save and a 1.52 ERA, striking out 40 in 27 2/3 innings.
He nearly matched that as a junior with a 1.54 ERA, which earned him a spot on The Advocate’s All-Metro team and Class 3A honorable mention all-state honors last spring.
Demoran played three seasons at D’Iberville High School before transferring to Jackson Academy for his senior year, and he’s coming off a strong season. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound right-hander posted a 1.80 ERA with 74 strikeouts in 50 2/3 innings. That earned him a spot on the Sun Herald’s All-South Mississippi Starting Nine and made him a finalist for South Miss 6 Sports Player of the Year.
He can hit, too. Over three seasons at the plate, Demoran batted .385 with 14 doubles, three home runs and 36 RBIs. He’s also the latest Jackson Academy product headed to Hattiesburg, following infielder Justin Word in the incoming 2027 class.
Page is another big right-hander, listed at 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, and he gives Brandon two representatives in this class along with Abt. Last season at Northwest Rankin, he made 14 appearances with seven starts, going 4-1 with a 3.67 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 42 innings.
He earned Class 7A all-district honors and was recently picked for the Prep Baseball Mississippi Preseason All-State showcase.
Atkinson’s 2026 didn’t go the way he hoped. An injury cost him most of last season. Still, there’s a lot to like about the 6-foot-4, 198-pound two-way player from Kosciusko.
As a sophomore, he earned Class 4A all-state honors and helped Kosciusko High School reach the north state championship series. Before that, he hit .353 as a freshman at Leake Academy. A healthy senior season would go a long way, and the Golden Eagles are clearly betting on what he can become.
Jones, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound left-hander from Thompson’s Station, Tenn., pitched out of the bullpen at Grace Christian Academy last season and made the most of it. He went 2-1 with a 2.33 ERA in seven relief appearances, striking out 42 in 30 innings.
His two best outings were five scoreless innings with nine strikeouts against Friendship Christian in the Middle Region Tournament and five more scoreless innings with seven strikeouts against Columbia Academy. He also hit .263 with three doubles, three triples, two homers and 11 RBIs.
Boyd is the only catcher in the class, and he brings a sturdy 5-foot-11, 223-pound frame from Orange Beach, Ala. Last spring he hit .377 with nine doubles, three triples, four home runs, 26 RBIs and 28 runs scored.
His real strength is getting on base. He drew 20 walks and was hit by 10 pitches, so pitchers have a hard time keeping him off the bases. He was an honorable mention pick for AL.com’s Coastal Alabama Terrific 22 and made the “Double Dozen” All-Star teams for both Mobile and Baldwin counties.
Moering, a 6-foot-1, 175-pound infielder from Dallas, Ga., helped North Paulding High School to a 32-8 record, a Region 5-6A title and a state runner-up finish last spring.
Prep Baseball ranks him as the No. 17 overall prospect in Georgia, and he played in the 2026 Perfect Game National Showcase. He’s coming from a winning program and has played against top competition, which should help him fit right in at The Pete.
Needless to say, the future of Southern Miss baseball remains extremely bright. Stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI for more baseball coverage throughout the offseason.
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