By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

HATTIESBURG — Former Gulfport High standout Josh Lee is headed to the next level.

Lee, who was sidelined with an injury this past season at Jones Junior College, is headed here to Hattiesburg to join the William Carey College baseball team.

With the Crusaders, Lee will be reunited with his former high school coach at Gulfport in Jamie McMahon, who is a Carey assistant coach. Lee helped lead McMahon and the Admirals to the Class 6A state championship round as a senior in 2023.

As a senior, Lee earned second team Class 6A All-State honors, and he originally inked a scholarship with Southeastern Louisiana University out of high school. That season, he started 10 games and appeared in one game in relief his during his final campaign at GHS and went 6-2 overall, striking out 64 opposing batters in 64 innings of work. He threw a no-hitter vs. St. Martin.

In the Class 6A South State semifinal series opener on thew road in a hostile environment against Brandon that season, Lee navigated some bad weather early in the game to pick up a complete-game win 5-2 over the Bulldogs.
In that outing, Lee lasted seven innings and allowed two earned runs on four hits with six strikeouts and a walk, as he out-dueled Brandon ace Walker Hooks, an Ole Miss signee. Hooks just pitched for the Rebels in the 2026 College World Series.

Then, in the opening game of the state championship series against Lewisburg, Lee took the loss in a close 2-1 decision lasting six innings and scattering just two hits, two runs and seven strikeouts in a pitchers duel with Baylor signee Cayden Baker.

Lee struck out 88 batters and worked a 1.90 ERA in 55 innings as a junior. He burst onto the prep baseball scene in the “Southern Sixth” that season when he and Cooper Garrison combined on a no-hitter in a win over Ocean Springs. The right-handed starter Lee had a strong outing as he struck out 12 Greyhounds in five innings.

After taking a redshirt year in his lone season at SLU, Lee joined Jones and punched out a season-high 13 in a 5-2 win vs. Gulf Coast. He logged five quality starts and worked into the fifth inning in every start.

He also earned Academic All-MACCC and was a two-time member of the school’s academic honor roll.