By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

VANCLEAVE — Despite growing up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Vancleave’s Justin Edwards has only been a part of prep baseball in Jackson County for six seasons.

But this week, the Bulldog mentor can become just the ninth head baseball coach in Jackson County history to win a state championship.

Edwards and his Bulldogs face Lafayette for the Class 5A state title beginning Wednesday night at 7 p.m., at Trustmark Park in Pearl.

Edwards graduated from Gulfport’s St. John High School, which merged with Mercy Cross to form St. Patrick in 2007. He came to Vancleave after serving six seasons as an assistant coach on the Gulfport High staff under veteran Admirals mentor Jamie McMahon.

“Justin has a ton of energy and passion for the game,” McMahon said Sunday, of his former pupil. “They have been on the brink of going to state last few years so they have been successful each year. When he left us, I could see him taking over a program and being extremely successful. He has leadership qualities and is a winner.”

After helping McMahon build the Gulfpot program into a state title contender in the largest classification, including a trip to the Class 6A state finals in his final season on the staff in 2017, Edwards joined the Bulldog program just after they had won the Class 4A state championship in 2018 which is still the only state championship in a major team sport for the school.

And despite that version of the Bulldogs capitalizing on a senior-laden class to capture that crown, Edwards never hesitated in taking over.

“My eyes lit up immediately when the job came open,” Edwards said. “I was excited. I had heard so much about the Vancleave community and the people and it’s always been a great program. I knew it was the type of program that I wanted to coach. Culture never graduates.”

Upon leaving St, John after a standout career on the diamond for the Eagles, Edwards was an infielder at the University of New Orleans from 2008-09 following a standout stint at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. 

All Edwards has done as a head coach is guide the Bulldogs to six consecutive South State playoff appearances during his tenure while most of the time having to battle it out with arch-rival East Central in region play.

Vancleave was able to dethrone the Hornets this season atop Region 4-5A after the Hornets had claimed back-to-back Class 5A state championships the past two seasons. The Bulldogs eliminated East Central in three games in the Class 5A South State semifinal round.

“It certainly added some pressure to it,” Edwards said. “Playoffs are intense enough. You stack a rivalry on top of that along with the fact that they were back-to-back state champs, and that made it that much more profound.

“It’s special for sure,” Edwards added, about the trip to the state finals. “These guys have put in so much work this year and to see it all come together like this is truly an amazing feeling. I’m excited about getting to experience it with this group of players and coaches. I love these guys to death and can’t wait to step on the field with them for one last series together.”

McMahon, who guided his Admirals to a pair of state championship appearances in both 2017 and last season as well, is happy to see Edwards enjoy his success with the Bulldogs.

“I’m glad they are getting that opportunity to play for it this year,” McMahon added. “They put it in a lot of work and I’m glad he and his players and staff are getting this chance. I don’t believe it will be the last, Justin does a great job.”