By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

When the University of Tennessee captured its first-ever College World Series national baseball championship Monday night, a player with deep ties to the “Southern Six” was deep in the middle of the Volunteer celebration.
Alex Perry is a junior infielder for Tennessee that saw limited action on the diamond for the Vols and head coach Tony Vitelleo in this historic season.
Tennessee grabbed the program’s first national title with a 6-5 game three victory over fellow Southeastern Conference foe Texas A&M in the title series at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb.
The top-ranked Vols won 60 games en route to the title, becoming the first SEC team in history to reach 60 victories in a single season and just the fourth conference team to win the SEC regular season title, SEC Tournament title and the MCWS in the same season. The SEC now has won the past five CWS crowns and six out of the past seven.
Perry just completed his first year in Knoxville with his second national championship ring since graduating from North Pike High School.
That’s because Perry spent a pair of seasons as a standout at Pearl River Community College, and was a key performer in 2022 when the Wildcats won the NJCAA Division II Baseball Championship.
Perry committed and then signed with the Vols before his sophomore season at PRCC.

This season for the National Champions, Perry saw action in a reserve role as he scored one run and had two hits in a mid-week win over Bellarmine in mid-April and registered two assists and two putouts in a non conference win over High Point. He also scored one run after being walked in the series clinching win over Albany early in the season, and recorded an assist in his Tennessee debut in a win over Baylor in mid-February.
While in Poplarville, Perry was a massive force in the middle of the lineup on Pearl River’s National Championship squad in 2022. He finished the year with a stellar .385 batting average .506 on-base percentage and a .701 slugging percentage, collecting 72 hits, 69 runs, 62 RBIs and 35 walks. He also slapped 17 home runs, had six doubles and one triple and stole 22 bases.
For his work, Perry was named NJCAA Third Team All-American, All-Region 23 and Second Team All-MACCC.

After that captured the attention of several Southeastern Conference schools, including Tennessee, Perry wrapped up his playing time at PRCC in 2023 and played in 57 games despite battling an injury. He Posted a .368 batting average, tallied 74 hits, 67 runs, and 62 RBI while hitting 16 doubles, nine home runs, and two triples. He drew 37 walks and stole 23 bases, and was named Second-Team All-MAAC.
Chose Tennessee over Ole Miss and LSU, and finished his Wildcat career tied for fifth all-time in career homers with 26.
Perry played for George Lott at North Pike, where he hit .454 as a senior.