By Robert Wilson
Jackson Prep’s Konnor Griffin – the No. 1 rated baseball player in the country in the Class of 2024 by Perfect Game – continues to get invites to national events.
Griffin is in Cary, North Carolina this week, participating in the USA Baseball PDP League with some of the best high school players in the country.
He was invited last week to be one of 37 players to play in the 2023 High School All-American Game as a part of the Major League Baseball All-Star week in Seattle. The game is scheduled for July 7 at 3:30 p.m. Central on MLB.com. Griffin also was one of eight players to participate in the 2023 MLB-USA Baseball High School Home Run Derby Saturday at 1 p.m. Central on MLB.com.
“We are so proud of Konnor for making the MLB All-American Game,” Prep coach Brent Heavener said. “It just shows how much his hard work his paying off. He is showing once again why he is one of the best players in the country. Konnor is one of the most gifted players I have been around. But the type of person he is makes it even better. We feel like we are raising good baseball players and good young men. He will be a great representative for Jackson Prep and for the state of Mississippi.”
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Griffin led Jackson Prep to its sixth consecutive and Mississippi record MAIS Class 6A state championship, a 31-4 record, and a No. 19 national ranking by Perfect Game.
A right-hander whose fastball tops out in the mid-90s, had a 7-1 record and a 1.38 earned run average with 81 strikeouts and only 15 walks in 50 2/3 innings.
Griffin, a right-handed hitter, had a .537 batting average with 43 runs, 30 runs batted in, 6 doubles, 2 triples and 8 home runs. His batting average ranks third in school history behind Gene Wood (.606 in 2014) and Luke Maddox (.579 in 2009). An accurate eye at the plate, Griffin had only nine strikeouts in 82 at-bats and walked 22 times and had .636 on-base percentage. Blessed with the ability to hit with power to all fields, Griffin had a .951 slugging percentage.
A slick-fielding shortstop with great range and lightning quick instincts, Griffin made only six errors and had a .932 fielding percentage and turned nine double plays.
Griffin was named the PriorityOne Bank/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Baseball Player of the Week.
Griffin – who has committed to LSU – is projected by Baseball America as the No. 1 high school player in the country for the 2024 MLB Draft. If Baseball America’s projection comes true, Griffin would be the highest high school player to be selected in the Major Baseball Draft in Mississippi history.
Griffin made the decision to skip his sophomore year and become a junior and join the Class of 2024 last summer. He also decided not to play football or run track and field but did play basketball. Griffin led the team with 12.3 points, 7.4 rebounds per game, 26 blocked shots, and 51.9 percent field goal percentage and led Prep to its second consecutive MAIS Overall Tournament championship this season. He had 15 points and 15 rebounds in the Overall title game over Clinton Christian Academy.
Griffin was named to the third team on the PriorityOne Bank/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson boys basketball team this season. He is the only player to make the Metro Jackson basketball and baseball teams, quite an accomplishment. Griffin, Prep’s Duncan Mathews (football and baseball) and Madison Central’s Isaiah Spencer (football and basketball) were the only athletes to make two All-Metro Jackson teams this season.
Griffin is also playing in the Perfect Game National Showcase and PG All-American Game in Phoenix and the East Coast Pro in Hoover, Ala., this summer.
