By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

POPLARVILLE — Former Picayune High standout Landon Watts is headed to the next level.

Watts, a key relief pitcher for JuCo National Champion Pearl River Community College this season, recently signed a scholarship with the University of Memphis.

In his second season at The River, Watts helped lead Pearl River to third consecutive MACCC Championship and its second NJCAA Division II National Championship in five years. He turned in one of the top reliever seasons in Pearl River history, finishing with 23 appearances and 60 1/3 innings pitched.

He ended the season with a 2.83 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP, and struck out 76 batters against just 17 walks. Watts went 7-3 with five saves overall. He threw six innings of one-run baseball in the National Championship game against South Mountain, striking out nine.

For his efforts, he was named Second Team JuCo All-American and he earned First Team All-MACCC.

As a freshman in 2025, he threw 14 1/3 innings and struck out 16 batters against eight walks finishing with a 1-0 record as he helped PRCC to an MACCC Championship, a Region 23 title and an NJCAA World Series Runner-up finish.

At Picayune, Watts threw 32 innings and held a 0.66 ERA while striking out 35 batters as a senior and he also registered a .333 batting average with 21 RBIs, six doubles, one triple and one homer.

With the Maroon Tide, Watts played for a former Picayune standout in head coach Evan Nichelson. He’ll be following the same path in Memphis, as his head coach will be Matt Riser.

Riser just completed his second season at the helm of the Tigers, a member of the American Athletic Conference. Riser arrived in Memphis after 10 seasons as head coach at Southeastern Louisiana, where he helped guide the Lions to four NCAA Tournament berths and three Southland Conference titles. 

Riser began his coaching career after completing his collegiate career at Tulane, where he played in 2005-06.

With the Green Wave, Riser played in 108 games over the course of two seasons. As a senior, he played in all 64 games and made 57 starts, finishing the season with three home runs, 37 RBI and 16 doubles, helping Tulane to a NCAA Regional Final Appearance. In 2005, Riser played a vital role in helping Tulane to the 2005 College World Series, playing in 44 games as a junior.