Richy Harrelson Added to the Baseball Coaching Staff
7/10/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
July 10, 2008
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Southern Miss head baseball coach Corky Palmer announced today the addition of Richy Harrelson to the Southern Miss coaching staff.
Harrelson will serve as the volunteer assistant coach replacing Graham Martin who held the position for two seasons with the Golden Eagles.
"Richy is a Mississippi guy with a good baseball background," Palmer said "He understands the game very well and we are excited to have him as a part of our staff."
Harrelson joins the Golden Eagles from Northeast Mississippi Community College where he was an assistant coach last season for the Tigers.
"This is such an amazing opportunity for me," Harrelson said. "It is an exciting and humbling experience for the opportunity to work with the Southern Miss coaching staff."
In 2008, Harrelson made an immediate impact with the Northeast baseball program, helping head coach Kent Farris' bunch to a 32-18 mark, a runner-up finish in the MACJC North Division and an appearance in the Region 23 tournament in his first season as assistant baseball coach.
Harrelson jumped to Northeast from Lafayette County High School in Oxford, Miss., where he was head baseball coach for the Commodores from 2001-07 and led the school to the 2006 Class 4-A State Baseball title.
Harrelson began his coaching career as an assistant at Ole Miss 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.
Later in 2001 Harrelson accepted the head baseball coaching position at Lafayette County H.S. where he led the Commodores to their first winning season in five years in 2003. Since the '03 campaign, Harrelson coached the `Dores to four consecutive playoff appearances from 2004-07. His 2006 Lafayette County squad captured the Division, North-Half and 4A State titles en-route to finishing the season ranked as the top ranked team in Mississippi among all classifications.
As a player, he was a third baseman and pitcher for the Ole Miss 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.
A Tishomingo County native, who spent his prep days at Iuka High School, Harrelson will oversee the outfielders, work with the hitters and coach first base for the Golden Eagles. He will also run all of the Southern Miss baseball camps and private lessons.
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