Travis Creel - Baseball Coach

Travis Creel

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
travis.creel@usm.edu
Phone:
266-6542

Former Southern Miss baseball standout Travis Creel returns for his sixth season with the program as an assistant coach, overseeing the Golden Eagle offense as well as working with the team’s defense and in its recruiting efforts.

Creel has been an integral part of five NCAA Tournament teams, two that have reached Super Regionals and three others that made it to the regional championship round. Since returning to Hattiesburg, his offenses produced big numbers with a penchant for extra base hits each season.

The team’s batting average has increased in each season under Creel, including its highest batting average since 2018 last spring with a .294 to go along with the team’s most doubles (135) during his six seasons. The team’s hit total (631) finished No. 19 nationally, while the doubles sum ranked No. 12. The Golden Eagles now have also finished nationally in the Top 30 in doubles in each of the last four seasons, including its highest ranking in 2024. The squad also lead the league in average and doubles in Sun Belt contests.

Both Slade Wilks and Ozzie Pratt led the team with 20 doubles apiece, marking the fourth consecutive season a Southern Miss player finished with at least 20 doubles in a campaign. The Golden Eagles also drove in over 400 runs (416) for the second-straight season under his tutelage.

Wilks also registered the school’s second longest hitting streak at 36 games, while Dalton McIntyre collected 92 hits en route to a .388 season average. It marked the first time Southern Miss enjoyed team leaders with 90 or more hits in back-to-back seasons for the first time in 2005-06.

In 2023, Creel saw the program collect a team batting average of .283 this season with 88 home runs and 458 runs scored. That run total was the most scored by the program since the 2018 campaign. It also marked the only time in school history the team finished with 80 or more homers for the third-straight season. In addition, Matthew Etzel finished No. 3 in the country in sacrifice flies with nine.

Southern Miss finished No. 22 nationally in doubles with 133 as well as No. 23 in hits nationally as well, ending the year with 639. They also bettered their national finish in all but one major offensive category from the previous season.

In 2022, Southern Miss posted 82 home runs and had stretches of 11-straight games (May 7-27) and 10 consecutive contests (March 13-April 1) with at least one home run. Southern Miss also collected five players that hit 10 or more homers, which happened for the first time since 1998.

Dustin Dickerson led the team in doubles with 24, which ranked tied for No. 12 in the NCAA. He ranked tied for sixth on the school’s single-season list with Gabe Montenegro, who belted the same amount of doubles in 2021. Christopher Sargent added 21 home runs, marking the 11th Golden Eagle to hit 20 or more homers in a season. His total ended at ninth on the single-season chart.

The Golden Eagles finished No. 17 nationally in being hit by pitches (100), 30th in doubles (124), 37th in hits (617) and 44th in home runs.

As for defense, the Golden Eagles finished 2022 in fielding percentage at .977.

In 2021, Creel oversaw an offense that enjoyed being ranked among the nation’s leaders statistically in home runs (No. 17), doubles (No. 23) and walks (No. 32).
Southern Miss, which improved its batting average each month during the season, finished with 83 homers during the year. The home run total was the most by the program since the 2017 season and only the team posted a higher number of round-trippers just two times since the 2004 campaign.

Creel mentored Reed Trimble, a second-year freshman, who posted a team-high tying .345 batting average with a team-best 17 home runs and 72 RBI. His RBI total ranked tied for No. 1 in the nation as he earned both All-American and Freshman All-American honors. Trimble was taken in the 2021 MLB First-Year Player Draft in the Competitive Balance B Round to the Baltimore Orioles with the No. 65 pick overall.

Gabe Montenegro batted .383 over the final 45 games as he finished the year with 24 doubles and a team-best 15-game hitting streak earning second-team C-USA honors. Montenegro was one of three Golden Eagles honored by the league as Trimble and Charlie Fischer were the lone two Southern Miss position players to garner first-team honors. Fischer batted .304 with seven homers and 37 RBI as the team’s designated hitter.

The Golden Eagles also posted a .975 fielding average, committing just 50 errors, which was the fewest by the team in a full season since 1975.

In his first season returning to the Golden Eagles, Creel oversaw an offensive that averaged 6.4 runs per game while having to work five newcomers into the everyday lineup. Despite the team’s youth, the Golden Eagles managed to post four one-run victories as well as post a .975 fielding percentage defensively.

Creel holds the duties as recruiter as well as overseeing the Golden Eagle offense for the program, a role he enjoyed at Louisiana Tech for the 2018 and 2019 seasons. In all, Creel worked for the Bulldogs for three seasons joining the Bulldogs staff in 2017 as an assistant coach and director of camps.

In 2019, Creel mentored two All-Conference USA selections while at Louisiana Tech, including Mason Mallard, who was a first-team all-league pick. In his three seasons, the Bulldogs won 30 or more games each year and enjoyed one NCAA Tournament appearance.

In 2018, Creel helped guide the LA Tech offense to a top-five C-USA ranking in walks (second), batting average (fourth), doubles (second), hits (third), home runs (fourth), on-base percentage (second), runs (third), slugging percentage (fifth), stolen bases (second) and triples (second).

Under his guidance that season, Tech saw four hitters named to C-USA postseason awards list, as Hunter Wells (1st Team), Parker Bates (2nd Team), Steele Netterville (All-Freshman) and Taylor Young (All-Freshman) all earned league recognition as underclassmen.

Creel joined Louisiana Tech after spending two seasons at Jones County Junior College, helping guide the Bobcats to a 2016 NJCAA Division II National Championship. During his stint with the Bobcats, Creel served as the hitting coach, infield coach and recruiting coordinator.

Prior of joining the Bobcats, Creel began his coaching career serving as the hitting coach at Meridian Community College for a season. During that year, Creel also worked with the infield.

Originally from Ocean Springs, Creel was a member of the Golden Eagles for five seasons, lettering for the program from 2010-13, and playing in two NCAA Tournaments. He also was a redshirt freshman on the squad's College World Series squad in 2009.

Creel holds the Southern Miss single-game record for hits in a game with six and in two separate seasons, led all of Conference USA in sacrifice hits. During his senior campaign, Creel reached base in nine consecutive plate appearances at one point during the year.

A two-time team captain, Creel was awarded the Colonel Fletcher Leadership Award following the 2013 campaign.

Creel has earned both a Bachelor of Science (2012) and Master of Science in Sport Coaching Education (2015) from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Creel and his wife, Alison, have three sons, Brody, Carson and Hardy.