First and Second All-Metro Team Listed at the Bottom
By Robert Wilson
Konnor Griffin lives in Florence, Sam Starnes graduated from Puckett High.
But Griffin and Starnes – the 2023 PriorityOne Bank/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Baseball Player and Coach of the Year respectively – play and coach for two other Rankin County schools.
Griffin – the No. 1 player in the country in the Class of 2024 – led Jackson Prep, located on Lakeland Drive in Flowood in Northwest Rankin County, 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.
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound right-hander with an impressive array of pitches, including a fastball that topped 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. By comparison, only 11 major league shortstops have a better fielding percentage as of this week.
Starnes, 28, led Pisgah High, located in the Sandhill community off Highway 25 in Northeast Rankin County, led Pisgah High to its first state baseball championship series in school history before losing to defending state champion East Union for the MHSAA Class 2A state title. Starnes, who grew up in Bay Minette, Ala., did a remarkable job leading the Dragons to a 25-10 record despite having only four returning starters from last season. Pisgah had never made it past the second round of the playoffs before Starnes took over as head coach three seasons ago.
Griffin grew up in Clinton, moved to Florence six years ago and started going to Prep in the eighth grade. He played football, basketball and ran track and field on Prep’s middle school teams as an eighth grader and freshman. The only varsity sport he played as a freshman was baseball.
Rated as the No. 1 player in the country in the Class of 2025 as a freshman by Perfect Game, Griffin burst onto the varsity scene in dominating fashion last season. In his first game, Griffin’s first three pitches were clocked at 92, 93 and 91 miles per hour and he struck out the side on 11 pitches in the first inning against East Rankin Academy in the season opener. His second pitch of the second inning was clocked at 96. Griffin threw 35 pitches – 26 strikes – in three innings and didn’t allow a baserunner and had six strikeouts out of nine batters he faced. East Rankin coach Steve Renfrow compared Griffin to JT Ginn of Brandon, who was the national freshman of the year at Mississippi State and was a second-round pick by the New York Mets in the 2020 Major League Draft.
Griffin finished with a .476 batting average, a .617 on base percentage, a .870 slugging percentage, 10 doubles, 4 triples, 5 home runs, 28 runs batted in, 43 runs scored, 13 stolen bases, struck out only 9 times in 84 at bats and made only 2 errors. He had an 8-2 record, 1.64 earned run average with 59 strikeouts and only 15 walks in 42 2/3 innings. He helped Prep to a 31-7 record, a No. 21 final national ranking by Perfect Game and its fifth straight MAIS state championship. Griffin was the first team shortstop on the Metro Jackson team, the only freshman or sophomore on the 26-player list.
Griffin committed to LSU and was rated No. 1 player in the country by Baseball America and MLB ProspectsLive in the Class of 2024. Griffin 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.
Due to the basketball season, Griffin missed the first two baseball games against Riverfield, La. He made his 2023 debut against Bayou and pitched 2 2/3 innings without allowing a hit with five strikeouts and went 1 for 2 at the plate. Griffin missed the Tupelo and Warren Central games (Overall Tournament was being played at the same time) before getting back full time when Prep played in the Perfect Game tournament at Hoover, Ala. In his first game on the mound, Griffin was the winning pitcher in a 9-5 victory over Helena, Ga., which won the Georgia Class 6A state championship this year. In a 14-4 win over Lowndes, Ga., Griffin hit a home run out of the Hoover Met, a feat few college players have accomplished.
Griffin’s only loss this year was in a 4-2 decision against Neumann, Fla., March 14 in the Battle at the Beach on the Mississippi Gulf Coast when he allowed one unearned run and had 11 strikeouts in five innings.
Griffin was outstanding, especially on the mound, in Prep’s wins without a defeat in conference play. He pitched Game 1 of all five, three-game series and allowed only three earned runs in 25 innings (a 0.84 ERA) with 41 strikeouts and only five walks. Griffin hit .476 (20 of 42) for the 15 games.
Griffin strained his non-throwing shoulder and it limited him from hitting for some of the games in the playoffs, but he was able to pitch and pitched well. He threw a complete game and allowed two earned runs with 11 strikeouts and only two walks in a 6-2 win over Madison-Ridgeland Academy in Game 1 of the championship series.
“I thought Konnor had another great year,” said Prep coach Brent Heavener, who has won a state title every year as Prep’s head coach except for the covid year in 2020. “The two things that have grown for Konnor so much this year is his leadership and just how hard he works every day. From the hours he’s spent playing basketball and practicing baseball is really impressive. We all know just how good of a baseball player Konnor is, but he doesn’t let that get in his way. He goes out there trying to be the best he can day in and day out and doesn’t worry about the recognition.
“Konnor’s work ethic is second to none to anybody I’ve ever been around and combined with the type of person makes him one of the most complete baseball players in the country. He is a winner and wants the guys around him to win. Konnor makes everybody, including the coaches, better.”
“Konnor has always had a strong arm and has always been incredibly competitive,” said Prep pitching coach Zander Ramero, who just took the head coaching job at Heritage Academy in Columbus. “This season he truly became a pitcher and not a thrower. Konnor worked extremely hard developing his secondary pitches to compliment his mid-90s fastball. He built consistent mechanics to be able to repeat a delivery. Konnor improved his ability of analyzing opponents swings and realizing how to attack them. His potential is truly through the roof. Konnor has gifted arm talent and one of the most competitive athletes I’ve even around. He’s at his best when in the biggest moments. Konnor’s done a great job working in the weight room and taking care of his body to get through the grind of pitching throughout the season. He is a great baseball player, but even better person.”
“It wasn’t too difficult going from basketball to baseball because I was still practicing baseball every day and preparing for the season,” Griffin said. “I improved mentally since last year. I feel like I had a better approach at the plate and a better mindset with a dawg mentality on the mound. I need to improve every aspect of my game because every level above high school is going to be a bigger challenge.”
“Konnor is the definition of a leader,” said Prep senior catcher and South Alabama signee Duncan Mathews, who is one of six Prep players on the All-Metro Jackson team, the most of any team. “He always wants what is best for the team is going to do everything in his power to be able to win. He has been a big part of our past three state championships and there is no doubt in my mind that he is going to be able to lead that team to another one next year. He and I have become very close over the last couple of years and I’m very grateful for the friendship. I am also grateful to be able to pass down the biggest award each season in my eyes to him, the Walker Wilbanks award. He is going to be able to fulfill every aspect in why that number is so special to Jackson Prep Baseball.”
The Walker Wilbanks award was started in 2016 in memory of Wilbanks, a baseball and football player at Prep who passed away in 2014. A Prep baseball player is awarded the honor of wearing Wilbanks’ number 22 jersey each year. Mathews wore it this season. Griffin has been named the recipient of the award for next season and will change from wearing his No. 21 to No. 22. The players vote on the award and Mathews presented the jersey to Griffin at their athletic banquet this spring.
Griffin has a busy summer lined up. He is playing in the MLB All-American Game in Seattle, the Perfect Game National Showcase and PG All-American Game in Phoenix, the USA Baseball PDP League in Cary, N.C., and the East Coast Pro in Hoover, Ala.
Griffin isn’t the only athlete in his family. His parents, Kevin (who is the Belhaven softball coach) and Kim (who is the Technical Director with the Clinton Public Schools), have two other children. Kannon played first base and pitched for Florence High and signed with Coahoma Community College. Kaden will be entering the eighth grade at Florence Middle School and plays baseball, basketball, and football.
Starnes decided he wanted to be a coach in his first year of college. He went to Southern Miss for one semester and finished at William Carey. Starnes graduated college in three years because he wanted to get his coaching career started as soon as possible.
Starnes was an assistant at Oak Grove two seasons (2014-15), Forrest County AHS two seasons (2016-17), Morton one season (2018) and Pisgah two seasons (2019-20) before taking over as head coach at Pisgah for the 2021 season.
“I flirted with the idea of becoming a coach during school, but once I had surgery (Starnes had Tommy John surgery his senior year at Puckett) and was out of the game a few months I knew I wanted to be back in it at some capacity,” Starnes said. “During my second year of college while at Southern Miss I went out to Oak Grove and asked to be a student coach with the team and Coach McCardle said he’d love to have me out there. I learned a lot in two years being around that tremendous program and coaching staff, winning a state championship in 2014, and playing for it again in 2015. Being a part of those winning seasons really showed me a lot of what I wanted to do with our team here at Pisgah. The way I learned running practices and seeing the competitive edge the kids had in games and practices as well. The players there were very competitive day in and day out and I believe that’s something we have at Pisgah now that has helped us be successful the last few years.”
Both of Starnes’ first two teams reached the state semifinals, but this team had goals to go one step further.
“This team this year had one goal in mind all year and they’ve worked their tails off all off season to make sure they accomplished it,” Starnes said. “They never took a day off from last season, just immediately ready to get back after it and get better. Our kids have developed a mentality of wanting to get better every single day no matter the circumstances. They haven’t gotten too high after a win or gotten down after we had a stretch of bad games. They’ve always just come back the next day trying to improve. The team chemistry and drive for each other to get better has really set this team apart. We have guys hanging around after practice working with one another in the cage to help each other be more successful, that’s always a good sight to see as a coach. I have to run kids out of the cage to get home to my family this year. I’m just proud of the dedication and drive our kids have shown all year. Also, I think the success that the 2021 and 2022 teams had helped further the belief we could do something special this year. These kids we have now – some who started on that 2021 team – just believe they’re supposed to be the best and they never had a doubt they’d be this successful. It has become the expectation really quickly.”
Pisgah started the season with three starters out due to injuries after graduating five starters from last year.
“We got off to a slow start with a 5-6 record, but once we hit spring break and were almost fully healthy the team caught stride and went on a nine-game winning streak,” Starnes said. “The biggest concern going into the season was the youth of the starting pitching. We lost our top three arms from last year and only have one senior whose logged innings this season (nine innings). Our pitching staff is very young and had a slow start, but (freshman) Ryder White, (junior) Lane Lewis and (sophomore) Paxton Prisock have figured things out with more reps and have helped booster the team through the last six weeks. The offense has been the strength of the season.”
Pisgah has a .334 team batting average and a .480 team on base percentage and are averaging 9.6 runs per game. Senior shortstop and Southwest Mississippi Community College signee Gavin Bledsoe led the team with a .467 batting average. Junior catcher and Hinds CC commitment Aiden Swales hit .398, senior outfielder and Arkansas State University Mid-South signee Colton Coleman .396, senior first baseman John Maxwell .357, freshman centerfielder Ryder White .330, and sophomore third baseman Ian Holliday .280. Bledsoe led the team with 16 doubles, Coleman with three triples and Swales with seven home runs. Coleman and Bledsoe led the team with 55 runs scored. Swales has a team-high 56 runs batted in.
“The offense started rolling once John Maxwell got hot in the nine hole, reaching base in front of our team leaders on offense (Coleman, Bledsoe and Swales),” Starnes said. “The top five in our order carry our team offensively for the most part (White and Holliday hit fourth and fifth in the order) when Colton and Gavin are on base, our team tends to score a lot of runs.”
White, Lewis and Prisock are the top pitchers. White has 10 wins and Lewis and Prisock six wins each. White leads the team with a 3.29 earned run average and 61 strikeouts. Junior Mason Huddleston, who returned from surgery late in the season and Holliday gave Pisgah pitching depth.
Pisgah was rolling before the state championship series, winning 21 of 23 games, including 8 of 9 in the playoffs. But East Union had too many veterans and swept Pisgah for the state title at Trustmark Park in Pearl.
“I’m proud of our guys for what they did this year, making history and making to the state championship for the first time,” Starnes said. “I think the experience we got this year will help us in the future moving forward.”
Pisgah returns four starters (Holliday at third base, White at pitcher/outfield, Huddleston at pitcher/first base and Swales at catcher) and two pitchers (Priscok and Lewis) for next year.
Starnes and his wife Lauren (Pisgah’s volleyball coach) have been married almost nine years (August is their anniversary month) and they have two sons, Ethan, 2, and Nathan, 10 months. Starnes’ parents, Chip and Darlene, live in Bay Minette, Ala. Chip is a pastor and Darlene is a nurse. Sam’s sister, Rebecca, is a pharmacist in Brandon.
Past Winners
Player of the Year
2022: Nick Monistere, Northwest Rankin
2021: Braden Montgomery, Madison Central
2020: Kellum Clark, Brandon
Coach of the Year
2022: Steve Renfrow, East Rankin Academy
2021: KK Aldridge, Northwest Rankin
2020: Brian Jones, Pearl
2023 Metro Jackson Baseball Team
First team:
Starting pitcher: Konnor Griffin, Jackson Prep, Jr.
Starting pitcher: Dawson Munzenmay, Northwest Rankin, Sr.
Relief pitcher: Parker Ishee, Ridgeland, Jr.
Catcher: Duncan Mathews, Jackson Prep, Sr.
First base: Graham Busbea, Jackson Prep, Sr.
Second base: Braden Smith, Brandon, Sr.
Shortstop: Jackson Hood, Germantown, Jr.
Third base: Tre Bryant, Jackson Prep, Soph.,
Outfielder: Rives Reynolds, Jackson Prep, Sr.
Outfielder: Tucker Jones, Northwest Rankin, Sr.
Outfielder: JP Robertson, Germantown, Sr.
Designated hitter: Corey Watkins, MRA, Jr.
Utility: Cole Manuel, Clinton, Sr.
Second Team:
Starting pitcher: Walker Hooks, Brandon, Jr.
Starting pitcher: Charles Chisolm, Clinton, Sr.
Relief pitcher: Jacob Canoy, Hartfield Academy, Sr.
Catcher: James Woody II, Ridgeland, Sr.
First base: Chase Russell, Madison Central, Jr.
Second base: Drew Harrison, Germantown, Jr.
Shortstop: Kaleb Lipscomb, MRA, Sr.
Third base: AJ Seiter, Clinton, Jr.
Outfielder: Peyton Puckett, Jackson Prep, Jr.
Outfielder: Thomas Nichols, Madison Central, Sr.
Outfielder: Jay McQueen, Brandon, Soph.
Designated hitter: Carter Biggers, Hartfield Academy, Sr.
Utility: Montravious Winn, Ridgeland, Sr.
