By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

ELLISVILLE — Former East Central high All-State standout T.J. Dunsford is back on Mississippi soil.

The 2023 Class 5A “Mr. Baseball” in the state of Mississippi, Dunsford recently transferred to Jones Junior College where he is expected to be a consistent contributor for the Bobcats this upcoming season.

Dunsford originally signed with Southern Miss out of high school before ending up at Lurleen B. Wallace Community College last season in Andalusia, Ala.

While there, he played in 51 games at Lurleen B. Wallace as a true freshman last season. He hit .313 with eight doubles, three triples, three home runs and he drove in 40 runs. He also scored 43 runs and stole 13 bases.

In addition, the versatile right-hander had five appearances on the mound, going 1-1 in 9.2 innings of work with a 2.79 earned run average.

Dunsford and former Ocean Springs standout Brock Cantrell helped the Saints finish 37-17 last season.

Dunsford joins former East Central teammate Andrew Marble at Jones.

Last season, Marble appeared in 10 games on the mound for the Bobcats making nine starts and going 6-1 with a save and 3.17 ERA. He struck out 47 in 48.1 innings and held opponents to a .243 batting average. He struck out a season-best nine vs. Southwest Tennessee, posted four quality starts and went at least six full innings three times.

On the prep level, Dunsfprd became one of the most highly decorated Hornets ever playing for veteran head coach Bo Long at East Central.

The Hornets went 28-11 his senior year and won their second straight Class 5A State Championship. He was named Mr. Baseball after slashing a .413 batting average and posting a 1.30 ERA on the mound with 116 strikeouts.

He was the two-time Class 5A Player of the Year, earning that honor in each of his junior and senior seasons in guiding the Hornets to the state title in each season. He was also named to the Class 5A First Team all-State quad for three straight seasons.

The versatile 6-foot, 210-pounder also played linebacker on the football team at East Central.

Despite Dunsford’s departure, Cantrell remains at Wallace after a solid season last year in which he made 14 appearances on the mound for the Saints including 12 starts and finished 4-5 overall in almost 47 frames of work with a 4.44 ERA.