Robert Wilson spent 23 years at The Clarion-Ledger/Jackson Daily News as a sportswriter with more than half of those years covering high school sports, mostly in the Metro Jackson area. He helped choose the All-Metro teams in various sports for more than a decade. Wilson rebirthed this team with the Mississippi Scoreboard All-Metro Jackson Baseball Team with 28 players and a Coach and Player of the Year. This is the seventh annual team. With the help of high school and college coaches, Wilson selected the best players and coach for the 2026 season from Hinds, Madison, and Rankin Counties.
The All Metro Jackson baseball team will be published later this week
By Robert Wilson
Justin Reed and Deuce Jenkins – the 2026 The Box Sports Academy/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Baseball Coach and Player of the Year respectively – led Jackson Academy to its best season in 15 years this spring.
Reed – who was promoted from assistant coach to replace head coach Corey Dickerson in December – directed the Raiders to 27 wins – the most 2011 – and a MAIS Class 4A Division I semifinal finish and a No. 7 ranking in Mississippi this season, according to MaxPreps. JA lost 11 games, but six of those were to MAIS 4A state champion Magnolia Heights School, which was ranked in the Top 20 in the country by MaxPreps. Magnolia Heights defeated JA in the 4A semifinals. If not for Magnolia Heights, the Raiders might have brought home their first state title since 2011.
Jenkins, a junior outfielder-pitcher who has verbally committed to Mississippi State, had a .500 batting average (20th in Mississippi by MaxPreps), a .975 slugging percentage (13th in Mississippi) with 48 runs scored (tied for 20th in Mississippi), a school record 63 runs batted in (third in Mississippi), 16 doubles, 4 triples, 11 home runs (tied for ninth in Mississippi) and 17 stolen bases. He also had a 2-0 pitching record in nine appearances and had 30 strikeouts in 19 2/3 innings.
Jenkins broke former Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year and Mississippi State star and current San Francisco Giant minor leaguer Dakota Jordan’s RBI record of 57 in 2022.
The 38-year-old Reed grew up in Northwest Hills Terrace neighborhood in North Jackson, then known for outstanding athletes who went on to become stars like Lindsey Hunter and Aaron Harper in basketball and Daryl Owens and Fred Smoot in football, but Reed stuck to baseball. He got his start playing for Percy Robinson at Grove Park.
“You could tell back then that Justin had it,” Robinson was quoted in a Clarion Ledger story written by Rod Walker in 2006. “I’d say Justin and Mo Williams were the best two baseball players to ever come through Grove Park.”
Like most of Reed’s friends, Williams decided to stop playing baseball to concentrate on another sport. He became a basketball star and played at Murrah High, Alabama and in the NBA. Wiliams was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and is considered one of the best basketball players in Mississippi history.
Reed was an All-State player at Callaway and hit .508 as a junior before transferring to Hillcrest Christian as a senior. The speedy outfielder was the Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior in 2006 and led Hillcrest to a state championship. Baseball America listed Reed as the 87th best high school player in the country. He was drafted in the fourth round of the 2006 Major League Draft by the Cincinnati Reds. Reed signed with Ole Miss, but decided to play pro baseball out of high school. He played 10 seasons in the minor leagues before retiring.
“Baseball has been a part of me since early on in my life,” Reed said. “I started coaching youth baseball early on, where I learned that kids were my true passion. Chris Snopek gave me my first opportunities to coach and that will forever mean the world to me. I’m currently coaching at the Mississippi Yankees where I’ve been for the past several years. Thanks to Melissa Malouf, Wilson Brown and Josh Rodgers for the opportunity to be a part of such a wonderful family. Throughout my journey of coaching, I have been super blessed to coach a lot great talent, but more importantly build a lifetime of friendships. My high school coaching career started at Callaway High School where I volunteered for four years under Coach Tony Calvin. That moment changed my life. After four years, I knew that coaching was my purpose. My journey continued when I was blessed to be named an assistant coach under Gerald McCall at Madison St. Joseph in 2014 where we had a lot of success winning a state championship in 2018. I learned a lot from Coach McCall. I will be forever grateful for that opportunity. After St. Joe, I took my first head coaching job at Hillcrest Christian. It was an awesome experience where I learned a lot. I was there for three years. I then came to JA and was an assistant under Corey Dickerson. In such a short period of time, I learned so much from Corey. He is such an awesome person and I’m truly thankful to have worked under him. He’s been an awesome mentor for me and we still stay in touch. I want to thank Jackson Academy for naming me the interim coach the past season. It was a year I will never forget.”
When Dickerson, who was an outfielder in the major leagues for 12 seasons before retiring, took a coaching position with the Tampa Bay Rays, Reed took over as head coach.
“Coach Reed did an outstanding job leading our program as interim head coach following Coach Dickerson’s departure to Major League Baseball,” JA athletic director Brandt Walker said. “He stepped into a challenging situation, provided stability and leadership, and continuing in investing in our players and program throughout the transition. He is most deserving of this award, and we are grateful for the work he did and the commitment he showed to Jackson Academy baseball.”
In addition to Jenkins, JA had many talented players who helped Reed have a successful season.
Senior shortstop and Southern Miss signee Justin Word hit a team-high .504, had a school-record 63 hits, scored a school-record 60 runs and had 14 doubles, 2 triples and 8 home runs. Senior outfielder and McLennan (Texas) Community College signee Tai Jones hit .438 with 49 runs scored, 51 RBIs, 12 doubles, 1 triple and 12 home runs. Junior pitcher Whit Davis had an 8-3 record and a 2.85 earned average and junior pitcher Tyrese Haggard had an 8-2 record with a 2.95 ERA.
JA set a school record with 35 home runs, breaking the old record of 34 in 2011 when JA won its last state championship.
“Our success this season came from the boys truly becoming one unit,” Reed said. “The staff and players had a tremendous connection. They came to practice with intent daily and they played with passion. The relationship and the bond that the kids had outside the baseball field was inseparable. They played for each other and it was extremely fun to watch. Iron sharpens iron and our guys displayed that at a high level. The boys bought into they roles and our success as a team took off. None of our success this year couldn’t have happened without everyone in that clubhouse this year, and for that I’ll be forever grateful. Thanks to the JA family for such as memorable season.”
Reed is the son of Michael and Shirley Reed. He has an older brother, Michael Reed, Jr. He is married to Christina Reed and they have three sons, Tyler Nichols, Christopher Gordan and Skylar Reed.
“I have two incredible parents who are the true meaning of love and family,” Reed said. “My brother played a huge role in my life. My wife is beautiful. and I’m the proud father of three amazing kids.”
“I thought Justin did a great job leading the JA team,” said Hartfield Academy coach Justin Smith, whose team lost to JA and Reed in three games in the MAIS Class 4A quarterfinals. “ He did a fantastic job of rallying his players and avoiding distractions. His guys played with a ton of passion and love for the game.”
JA named longtime coach Chuck Box to replace Reed in late April. Box won six state championships in 10 seasons at Jackson Prep and had two state runner-up finishes in four seasons at Hartfield before leaving to Texas five years ago as director of program at development for Texas A&M, then the University of Texas.
Jenkins was dominating this season like his coach was when he was high school. And Jenkins did it against the second toughest schedule in Mississippi, second only to nationally ranked Magnolia Heights. He had a .524 batting average with 7 runs scored, 7 RBIs, 3 doubles, and 1 home run in the six games against Magnolia Heights.
“Deuce had a phenomenal season this year,” Reed said. “From his dominant offense, his electric mound performances and his undeniable defense, I saw him grow so much in these past two seasons. The kid works extremely hard and it was awesome to watch him bear the fruits of his labor.”
“Deuce was a tremendous competitor,” Magnolia Heights coach Chris McMinn said. “We watched him change games this year both offensively and defensively against us this year. He is one of the best players in the state and a great young man off the field.”
Jenkins improved in several ways from last season. He dramatically improved his stats from a year ago – a .202 increase in batting average, 14 more runs scored, 37 more RBIs, 11 more doubles, 3 more triples, and 6 more home runs.
“Being a year older, I was able to trust myself more and trust the work that I put in,” Jenkins said. “That, combined with having the right people in my circle, made this year a success. My parents (Justin and Anita Jenkins), coaches, and my hitting coach Roosevelt Brown (a Vicksburg native and former major league baseball player and minor league coach), all helped me more comfortable with myself. It’s having fun.”
In addition, Jenkins more tremendous strides off the field.
“I improved my training sessions and my diet,” Jenkins said. “The training sessions were a lot more intense and detailed, while my diet became more strict. Those changes in itself helped me out a lot this year.”
Jenkins believes JA’s excellent chemistry and togetherness created a winning culture and season.
“I believe we were able to have a great year because of the great connection we had as a team,” Jenkins said. “With all of the changes throughout the season, with the coaching staff and people being in and out of the lineup, that strong connection helped us count on one another more and more as a season went on.”
Jenkins – who is rated No. 28 in the country and the highest rated Mississippian in the Class of 2027 by Baseball America – chose MSU over Alabama, Tennessee, LSU, Vanderbilt, and Wake Forest last October.
Jenkins’ father, Justin, was an All-Southeastern Conference wide receiver at Mississippi State in 2003. A star athlete at Pearl High, Justin Jenkins caught 139 passes for 1,974 yards and 17 touchdowns in his four-year MSU career. He caught 62 passes for 880 yards and nine TDs as a senior in 2003. Jenkins set a then career school receiving TDs record with 17 and had the then third best school marks in several receiving categories.
“The reason I chose Mississippi State was because It was all God’s plan,” Jenkins said. “He guided me every step on the journey and early on in this process Mississippi State was stuck on my heart, for many reasons. I took other visits and was recruited by some great programs. But State represents the total package for me. Of course the family lineage legacy played a role. My parents attending State as well as my uncle (mom’s younger brother) and my aunt (dad’s youngest sister) makes me feel like I’m at home. I want to be able to play in front of my family and friends and have them able to support me front row and center of my next chapter in baseball. I wouldn’t be here without my parents’ sacrifices and my family’s constant support. My family’s been my foundation. This commitment is as much theirs as it is mine.”
Jenkins’ college decision helped him this season.
“Making the commitment to Mississippi State took a huge weight off my shoulders,” Jenkins said. “Just getting the whole recruitment process over with, made everything so much easier. Once that decision was made, I just went to work even harder. I knew that my team would see that work pay off for me.”
Jenkins learned a lot from Reed.
“Over the past two years, Coach Reed pushed me to grow both on and off the field,” Jenkins said. “From day one, he was supportive and encouraging. He allowed me to step into my role as a team leader in my own way. I appreciate the way he believed in me, challenged me to be the best version of myself every day and helped me handle adversity the right way.”
Jenkins’ father isn’t the only athlete in Deuce’s family. His mother Anita played basketball and ran track at Harrison Central High. Jenkins’ sister, Jade, is a freshman starting centerfielder for the softball team at Northwest Rankin High. Jenkins’ aunt, Auriel Jenkins-Evans, played softball at Southern Miss was the Conference USA Most Valuable Player in 2004. She played professionally from 2005-2008.
