By Robert Wilson
Madison Central athletic director and head football coach Toby Collums knew his school had the right guy for the head baseball coaching position five minutes into the interview.
“It was obvious he was our guy,” Collums said. “He was passionate, not only about baseball but also about kids and our community. He will have a clean environment to work in. I like his approach, and no one can argue with his work ethic.”
Madison Central’s new coach is Jake Mills, who comes from Petal, a school with a rich baseball tradition for many decades.
The 36-year-old Mills played first base and was a left-handed pitcher for Lafayette County High (leading his team to the state championship in 2006), Northeast Mississippi Community College and Millsaps College before going into coaching.
Mills was an assistant coach for a year at Northeast Mississippi CC, a semester at Mississippi Delta CC and South Panola for two years before being promoted to head coach at South Panola. He won 75 games in six seasons and then took the head coaching job at Petal where he won 72 games in four seasons. His best season was in 2023 when he led Petal to a 22-11 record and reached the MHSAA Class 7A quarterfinals before losing to Northwest Rankin. Petal finished 18-10 this past year, No. 5 in Class 7A and No. 18 in Mississippi, according to MaxPreps. In addition, Mills’ last season at South Panola in 2021 he lost to Madison Central in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs. Madison Central went on to not only win the state championship but was also ranked No. 1 in the country.
Mills replaced Patrick Robey, who led Madison Central to his third state title in nine seasons as head coach this past year and took over as Belhaven’s head coach. Robey was named national coach of the year in 2021 after his outstanding season with the Jaguars.
“Coach Robey did a tremendous job,” Collums said. “We feel Coach Mills will continue our great baseball tradition. We had a ton of interest in this job and Coach Mills’ name keep coming up over and over, so I called him to gauge his interest and we started the interview process. We were a good fit for him and the community. We are looking forward to having him coach our baseball team.”
. “The biggest thing that that sparked my attention about the job was that the last decade when you look you see they had three state championships,” said Mills, who is married to Shelby Brohaugh Mills, a Madison Central graduate, and they have a 1-year-old daughter, Kate Wallace. “They’ve had five overall state championships as a program. That’s pretty special and I think that gets anybody’s attention. That level of success obviously, when you have the players like I did in ‘21 but then you look at this year‘s team and it was just a good solid club of baseball players with a lot of tradition. It’s a community that is going to back the program but it’s also a community and in a district that believes in in and having success and and does what it takes. Patrick and I are great friends. I thought Patrick did a phenomenal job here and we share ideas. We’ve had a relationship for many years now and he was always good to me as being a young coach as I was coming up just being able to talk with him, but just seeing this program from afar at times and when I was at South Panola, we played in the ‘21 playoffs watching those guys and seeing three guys drafted off that team now and getting to know the alumni and the great players that came through this program is something that I look forward to and I can’t wait to learn more about it.”
Mills had thoughts about being a coach even when he was young.
“I was fortunate enough that my mom (Judy Mills) worked as the secretary for (Ole Miss baseball) Coach (Mike) Bianco so I grew up in a locker room per se,” Mills said. “I grew up at the office, but I always wanted to be in the game. I knew at a very early age that that I wasn’t going to be a pro baseball player like every kid dreams about but I knew I wanted to continue to do this every day.”
Mills had many who influenced him.
“I think the first person that influenced me I would say was my dad (Jimmy Mills),” Mills said. “That’s where I saw hard work, dedication, and sacrifice, all those things he did for us as a family, but also for us to play baseball on the weekends and do the things throughout the week. Baseball allowed my dad and I to bond and be together. He coached me through Little League, that’s where I learned that the value of hard work and then showing up, working hard, and playing hard every day. I was lucky enough to be around coaches like (Millsaps) Coach (Jim) Page, (Lafayette head coach and Northwest Mississippi CC assistant) Coach (Richy) Haralson and (Northeast Mississippi CC head) and (Northeast Mississippi head) Coach (Kent) Farris. They did a lot of things for me. There were a lot of times in life that my coaches were there. They knew me more than just the player. They poured into me, and I became a good baseball player, but they make sure helped me became a better person. Growing up in an office like Coach Bianco’s. He allowed me to ask questions helping with camps and do those things really meant a lot to me looking back.”
“I had the privilege of coaching Jake Mills at both Lafayette High School and Northeast Mississippi Community College, and there’s no doubt he’s one of the most clutch and dependable players I’ve ever been around,” said Haralson, who has been the head coach at Northeast Mississippi CC since 2016. “But even more than his talent on the field, it’s his character that sets him apart. Jake is man of high integrity who does things the right way, every time. He comes from a great family and carries those values into everything he does. Madison Central didn’t just get a great coach – they hit the lottery with Jake Mills.”
“Jake had been around Coach Bianco growing up and when he got to Millsaps his maturity was off the charts,” said Page, who has been Millsaps head coach since 1989 and is member of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame. “That’s a big thing for his success as a player. Then he became a great coach. I remember I spoke at an event at South Panola before the season and I was blown away from Jake’s organization and the players’ respect for him. And he was really green then, too. Jake did a great job at South Panola and Petal. When I saw he was hired at Madison Central I smiled because I know what he will do a tremendous job there with his coaching, and their talent.”
Mills believes it all starts with creating a bond with his players.
“With it being so late in the game the first thing that we have to put at the front is relationships,” Mills said. “It’s important to get to know these guys and allow them to get to know me and getting to know the staff that’s already done a phenomenal job that’s in place here. Just start building a trust amongst one another and with it being in such a great place. There isn’t a lot of things that are going to have to change. There are a few nonnegotiables here that we will get into and talk about, but the biggest thing is just coming in here and building a relationship with these guys. Start getting to know them and seeing them on a daily basis as we get into a routine.”
Former players will never forget what Mills taught them about baseball and life.
“In my four years at Petal Coach Mills taught me a lot,” said Jayden Madison, who graduated this past year and signed with Mississippi Gulf Coast CC. “He taught me that’s it’s not about how good of a baseball player you are but it’s about who you are off the field as well. I would go to him when I had problems within my personal life, and he would always give me a piece of advice that just made the situation a lot better. I credit him for who I am today. Coach Mills taught me how to be a leader, not just by what he said but how he acted. I don’t think he will ever truly know how much of an impact he had on my life.”
“Coach Mills was an absolute blessing for me as a player and a man,” said Dawson Griffin, who played for Mills at South Panola from 2017 to 2021. “He was my dad away from home, and always held me accountable. That was always his biggest preaching point. Coach Mills brings a type of energy you gravitate towards, and somebody you want to play for day in and day out. I’ll never forget the conversations we had while I was being recruited and the help he was for me in choosing my home at Northwest (Mississippi CC). Coach Mills will always be family to me, and I wish him the best of luck on this chapter of his career.”
“Coach Mills is a person that I have tons of respect for and really look up to,” said Gage Hinnant, who played for Mills as a senior in 2022, his first year at Petal. “He is someone that I can always count on to help me out of any way he can, no matter what the problem is. I’ve learned a lot from Coach Mills, but he taught me a lot about the mental side of baseball and those things have helped me even in life. My plan is to be a coach one day and he showed me that the well being of your players is the most important thing.”
Mills met with his players at Madison Central and made a great first impression.
“I’m very excited and happy with the hire of our new head coach,” said Madison Central rising senior Hayden Wilson, who is the most experienced returning pitcher on the team. “Coach Mills spoke to us about his vision for our team going forward. He seems like a great coach and someone who wants to better all of us as players on and off the baseball field. I’m excited to get know Coach Mills better and can’t wait for what is to come.”
“Coach Mills seems like a really good guy who will take care of his players,” said Madison Central rising senior Ryder Busby, a shortstop who is the only position player who started this past season and is returning this year. “He is a coach that takes the development side of the game very serious, and we will learn a lot from him. Coach Mills said that he will not only help us on the field, but off it as well.”
Robey is happy his replacement was Mills and expects the program to continue its success under Mills’ leadership.
“Coach Mills played for some of the best baseball minds in Mississippi in Rich Harlason, Kent Farris and Jim Page,” Robey said. “Jake was raised by blue collar parents, Jimmy and Judy Mills. All great people. Jake is a coach that is always trying to get better. He is a lifelong learner that makes improving himself a yearly priority. That ultimately leads to improving his players’ lives and on field performance. Coach Mills never misses an opportunity to grow his craft and I think that is one thing that separates himself from most high school coaches. He never gets stuck in ‘this is how we have always done things’ mode. He will be a good fit at MC because he will a student first coach, what’s best for each young man. He just made the program better. I’m happy for him and excited to see the program continue moving in the right direction.”
