By Robert Wilson 

Senior shortstop and Southern Miss signee Justin Word and junior outfielder and Mississippi State commitment Deuce Jenkins have received most of the attention and publicity on the nationally ranked Jackson Academy baseball team this season.

There’s another talented player from JA that deserves some attention and headlines and he earned it last week by leading the Raiders to a series win over Hartfield Academy in the MAIS Class 4A playoffs.

JA senior outfielder Tai Jones had a .625 batting average with three runs scored, seven runs batted in and two home runs in three games against Hartfield, which entered last week as one of the top five rated teams in Mississippi.

For his outstanding performance, Jones has been named the Box Sports Academy/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Baseball Player of the Week.

Jones – who has committed to McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas – had a home run and a single, one run scored and four RBIs in a 6-4 victory in Game 1, had a single in a 5-1 loss in Game 2, and had a home run and a single, two runs scored and three RBIs in a 10-2 victory in Game 3. 

Jones is hitting .443 with 46 runs scored, 49 RBIs, 10 doubles, 1 triple, 11 home runs and 25 stolen bases for JA, which entered this week with a 27-9 record and a No. 3 ranking in Mississippi and 58 national ranking by MaxPreps.

“Tai Jones is absolutely amazing,” first-year JA head coach Justin Reed said. “He is one of the few leaders that can lead without having to talk much. It’s incredible to be part of. He just brings that energy  every single day. It’s hard to find many teenagers with his makeup and focus. Tai’s presence has such a positive impact on anyone around him. He is having much success this year. I’m determined that his best is still ahed of him.”

Jones is the third JA player to earn Metro Jackson Baseball Player of the Week this spring. Word and Jenkins also earned the award earlier this year. 

Jones hit .306 with 20 runs, 20 RBIs, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs and 11 stolen bases and helped Brandon to a 24-14 record and an MHSAA Class 7A state runner-up finish last season as a junior.

Jones is the son of TA Jones and Monique Cain-Jones. TA played football, basketball and baseball at Redan High in Stone Mountain, Ga., and played football at Jackson State. Monique graduated from Natchez High and Alcorn State. Jones’ sister, Lenzy, plays volleyball and is a seventh grader at Brandon Middle School. Jones’ grandfather, the late Albert Cain, was a head girls basketball coach for 23 years at Franklin County High and passed away in 2002. Jones’ uncle, Travis Jones, was a baseball player at South Carolina, earning the first team second baseman on the All-SEC team and was national player of the week as a junior in 2007. He was a seventh-round draft pick by the Atlanta Braves in 2007 and played for the Mississippi Braves. 

JA plays Magnolia Heights – ranked No. 1 in Mississippi and No. 23 in the country – in the second game of the best of three series in the MAIS Class 4A, Division I semifinals Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at JA.  Magnolia Heights won Game 1 14-4 Tuesday. Game 3, if necessary, is scheduled for Friday at 5:30 p.m. at Magnolia Heights in Senatobia. 

Mississippi Scoreboard selects a baseball player from Hinds, Madison, or Rankin counties each week. Coaches can nominate a player by sending a text to Robert Wilson at 601.506.2276.

PREVIOUS WINNERS

WEEK ONE: Deuce Jenkins, Jackson Academy 

WEEK TWO: Henry Abt, Hartfield Academy

WEEK THREE: Justin Word, Jackson Academy 

WEEK FOUR: Reed Sandberg, Madison Central

WEEK FIVE: Bryce Johnson, Germantown

WEEK SIX: Cash Myrick, St. Andrew’s 

WEEK SEVEN: John William Walker, St. Andrew’s

WEEK EIGHT: Ashby Rayburn, Germantown