By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

A quartet of “Southern Six” prep baseball standouts are moving on to the next level after excelling in junior college action.
And three of them played at Jones most recently.
Eli Walker of Gulfport, Brandon Rhodes of St. Stanislaus and Marquette Green from D’Iberville are all moving on from Ellisville while Resurrection’s Joe Scarborough completes the crew.
Walker is headed to Mississippi State, while Rhodes is headed to Belhaven. Also, Scarborough is headed to Jacksonville State and Gibson to Brewton-Parker College.
Walker, a pitcher from Gulfport, had an 8-4 career mark with a 3.28 ERA. In 79.1 innings pitched, he allowed 64 hits, walked 38 and struck out 69.
Gibson, an infielder/outfielder from D’Iberville, was a career .287 hitter with a pair of home runs and 43 RBIs. He had 14 career doubles and drew 58 walks over two seasons.

Rhodes, a redshirt freshman pitcher from St. Stanislaus, was 2-0 with a save during his only season with Jones. In 24.2 innings pitched, he allowed 19 hits and struck out 15 and opponents only batted .204 against him.
Scarborough played his juco ball at East Mississippi Community College. He saw time both in the infield and on the mound for the Lions this season. He played in 48 games and hit .245 with nine home runs and 34 RBIs, and he also went 2-2 on the hill.
Scarbough will be joined on the Gamecocks by four players from Jones as well, as the Bobcats are sending as many as 10 players on to the senior college level.
It ties the 2011 and 2012 teams as the second-largest class in program history.

Brady Thomas, Colton Hegwood, Brice Deaton and Connor Brooks are also heading to Jacksonville State. 
Thomas, an NJCAA Division II All-American, All-Region 23 and All-MACCC performer, led the team with a .377 batting average, an OPS of 1.284, 16 home runs, 68 RBIs and 49 walks. Thomas also pitched during his only season at Jones, recording 26 strikeouts in 18.1 innings and notching seven saves. He prepped at Northwest Rankin.
Hegwood, a redshirt sophomore infielder from Brandon, batted .304 with five home runs, nine doubles, five triples and 29 RBIs. He had 21 stolen bases, which tied Sanders with the team lead. He originally signed with Louisiana Tech before transferring to Jones.  
Deaton, a pitcher from Pontotoc, went 10-3 during his two seasons at Jones. In 94.1 innings pitched, he allowed 95 hits, walked 36 and struck out 81.
Brooks, a pitcher from Northwest Rankin, was 1-2 with a save in 21 career appearances as a Bobcat. In 23.1 innings pitched, he allowed 20 hits and struck out 35. Opponents batted .230 vs. Brooks.

Also from Jones, Gatlin Sanders is joining Walker at Mississippi State. An infielder/outfielder from Madison Central, Sanders ended his Bobcat career on a 46-game reached base streak. He was All-MACCC as both a freshman and a sophomore, starting all 105 games he played in with a career .378 batting average, six home runs, 83 RBIs, 35 doubles and had 31 career stolen bases.

Beau Bryans is headed to the University of Alabama from Ellisville. Bryans, an All-MACCC performer as a sophomore, went 7-1 with a 3.44 ERA and 110 strikeouts, third-most in the NJCAA, in 70.2 innings pitched in 2024. Bryans was 8-2 with 133 strikeouts in 83.1 career innings pitched and opponents only batted .154 against him. 
Also, Trent Hillen, a pitcher from Morgan City, Louisiana, shined in his only season at Jones and now he is headed to Northwestern State. Hillen led the team in innings pitched this season with 80.0. He allowed 63 hits, walked 38, struck out 91 and posted a 4.05 ERA. He originally signed with Nicholls State out of high school.
Jones could possibly have one or two more players sign in the coming weeks.