By Robert Wilson
Jackson Prep’s Konnor Griffin is projected to be the No. 8 player and the first high school player chosen in the Major League Baseball in July according to mlb.com.
The senior shortstop-pitcher and LSU signee showed high school baseball fans on the Mississippi Gulf Coast why last week in the Battle of the Beach tournament.
Griffin hit .778 (7 of 9) with 1 double, 1 home run, 7 runs scored, 2 runs batted in, 5 stolen bases and 7 walks and allowed only 1 hit and 0 runs with 12 strikeouts without a walk in four games.
For his outstanding performance, Griffin has been named the PriorityOne Bank/Mississippi Scoreboard Metro Jackson Baseball Player of the Week.
Griffin had an .857 on-base percentage and a 1.222 slugging percentage last week in an 8-4 win over Second Baptist (Texas), a 10-5 win over MHSAA Class 6A St. Martin and a 7-2 win over 2023 MHSAA Class 4A semifinalist Sumrall and a 3-0 loss to MHSAA Class 7A Ocean Springs.
“Konnor had a big week for us down on the coast,” Prep coach Brent Heavener said. “He’s been very consistent all year, but he picked it up a little more this past week. Konnor was impressive to watch at the plate.”
Griffin led off the second game of the tournament with a home run in the first inning against Second Baptist. He allowed one hit and no runs with 12 strikeouts and no walks in six innings against Sumrall.
Griffin is hitting .696 with 8 doubles, 1 triple, 5 home runs, 40 runs scored, 13 RBIs, 50 stolen bases for 18-2 Prep, ranked No. 18 nationally by MaxPreps and No. 19 by Perfect Game entering this week. He also has a 4-0 record, a 0.00 earned run average, allowed 8 hits with 51 strikeouts with only 7 walks in 26 innings.
Griffin has a shot of breaking the national stolen bases record, set by Silento Sayles of Port Gibson, who stole 103 bases in 2013. He has already broken the school record for stolen bases in a season, previously held by Jeffrey Ince, who stole 39 bases in 2021.
He is on pace to break the school record for highest batting average, set by Gene Wood (.606) in 2014.
Griffin had a 7-1 record and a 1.38 earned run average with 81 strikeouts and only 15 walks in 50 2/3 innings and had a .537 batting average with 43 runs, 30 RBIs, 6 doubles, 2 triples and 8 home runs and led 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 last season as a junior.
His batting average ranked third in school history behind Gene Wood (.606 in 2014) and Luke Maddox (.579 in 2009). Griffin had only nine strikeouts in 82 at-bats and walked 22 times and had .636 on-base percentage and a .951 slugging percentage. He made only six errors and had a .932 fielding percentage and turned nine double plays.
Griffin was named the Metro Jackson Player of the Year last season. He has been first team All-Metro Jackson for three consecutive seasons.
Griffin was one of three athletes to make All Metro in two sports (basketball and baseball) last season. Griffin did not play basketball this season.
Griffin was a member of the 18-U USA National Team last fall and competed in the WBSC (World Baseball Softball Confederation) U-18 Baseball World Cup Aug. 31-Sept. 10 in Taipei City, Taiwan.
He participated in the 2023 High School All-American Game and was one of eight players to participate in the MLB-USA Baseball High School Home Run Derby as part of the Major League Baseball All-Star week in Seattle and played in the Perfect Game’s Dick’s Sporting Goods All-American Classic in Phoenix this past summer.
Griffin is wearing No. 22, awarded to him to wear in memory of Walker 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.
Griffin’s parents are Kim and Kevin Griffin. Kim attended William Carey University in Hattiesburg for her bachelor’s degree, Mississippi College for her specialist degree and is currently working to finish her Doctorate. She played basketball and volleyball in high school. Kevin played baseball and basketball at Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga, Tenn., and received his bachelor’s degree from Bellevue University. Kim is the Technology Director at First Presbyterian School in Jackson. Kevin is the softball coach at Belhaven University. Griffin has two brothers. Kannon played first base and pitched for Florence High and is co-foreman at Mid South Crawl Space. Kaden is in the eighth grade at Florence Middle School and plays baseball, basketball, and football.
Mississippi Scoreboard selects a baseball player from Hinds, Madison, or Rankin counties each week. Coaches can nominate a player by text or call to Robert Wilson at 601.506.2276.
PREVIOUS WINNERS
Week One: Drew Harrison, Germantown
