By Curtis Rockwell/Sports Director

HATTIESBURG — The collegiate coaching career of former Gulfport High standout Ladd Rhodes continues to look bright.

According to sources close to the situation, Rhodes has been promoted to hitting coach at Southern Mississippi. He just finished his third season as an assistant coach with the Golden Eagles, in his second stint on the Southern Miss staff.

Recently, he shared co-hitting responsibilities with former Golden Eagle assistant Travis Creel. But Creel recently was named as head coach at Jacksonville State, opening the door for the promotion for Rhodes up the coaching ladder.

Rhodes returned for his second stint as a Southern Miss baseball assistant coach during the summer of 2023, upon the naming of current Southern Miss head coach Christian Ostrander into the head coaches role. His responsibilities at Southern Miss have included hitting, outfielders as well as recruiting coordinator for the Golden Eagles.

For his recruiting efforts, Rhodes’ first class in 2024 was rated second best in the Sun Belt Conference by Perfect Game.

Rhodes returned to Southern Miss after spending the last two seasons at Nicholls State as hitting coach and recruiting coordinator, where the team made NCAA postseason play in 2023 for the first time since 1998. The Colonels finished the season with a .289 team batting average, marking the highest mark for the program since the 2010 campaign.

Before joining up with the Colonels, Rhodes served on the Charleston Southern staff as an assistant coach throughout the 2021 season, overseeing the development of the Buccaneers hitters and working primarily with the program’s outfielders. The year prior, he acted as the volunteer assistant coach at Southern Miss for the 2020 campaign where he managed the outfielders and coordinated the Eagles’ base-running efforts. Rhodes also organized all baseball camps and showcases for the program.

Previously, Rhodes handled the hitting, base-running and outfield coaching duties at Jones College for three seasons from 2016-19, structuring the Bobcats’ strength and conditioning efforts as he personally designing both the in-season and offseason workouts while accompanying the team during every on-campus workout. On the field, he helped guide the team to a 37-12 record during the 2019 campaign as the squad posted a .326 team batting average, boasting eight different players with above .300 batting averages.

Initially, Rhodes received his first crack at coaching a graduate assistant at Jones College squad during the 2014 season, assisting a team that eventually tied the school record for wins, won the MACJC South Division, the MACJC Tournament and hosted the Region 23 Tournament. At the plate, the Bobcats flourished under Rhodes’ tutelage, generating a .327 team batting average behind 112 doubles 24 home runs, not to mention seven players with 30-plus RBIs.

Before working to earn his graduate degree, Rhodes managed to compile a successful collegiate career across two separate programs, competing his first two seasons at Jones College before wrapping up his eligibility at Southland member Southeastern Louisiana. While with the Bobcats, the program captured two South Division titles, a state championship and the school’s first ever appearance in the NJCAA DII World Series. The 2011 squad even set a school record for wins and finished national runner-up as Rhodes earned second team All-MACJC, batting .345 with 20 stolen bases.

During his two-year stint competing for the Lions during the 2012 and 2013 campaigns, the Gulfport, Miss. native served as a key member of a competitive SLU program which secured back-to-back berths in Southland Conference Tournament, clinching All-SLC Tournament honors during both postseason appearances.

Rhodes received a Bachelor of General Studies from Southeastern Louisiana in 2013 along with a Master of Science in Sports Management from the Southern Mississippi in 2017. He currently resides in Hattiesburg with his wife, Beverly, daughter, Molly, and son, Major.

He was an All-State standout for Gulfport High during his senior season of 2009 with the Admirals.