Photo by Oak Grove Athletics

By Robert Wilson

Oak Grove High alumnus and Vanderbilt signee Eric Booth Jr. became the third Mississippi high school player in the past three years to be a Top 10 Overall selection in the Major League Baseball Draft when he was the seventh pick by the Baltimore Orioles Saturday afternoon.

Booth joins Purvis High alumnus JoJo Parker (eighth pick by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2025) and Jackson Prep alumnus Konnor Griffin (ninth pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2024) to be taken in the Top 10.

Only two other high school players from Mississippi – Ted Nicholson from Oak Park High in Laurel was the No. 3 pick in 1969 and Kirk Presley of Tupelo High, the third cousin of famous singer Elvis Presley, was the No. 8 pick in 1993 – have been taken in the Top 10 in MLB Draft history, which started in 1965.

Booth is the second player from Oak Grove to be taken in the first round out of high school. Donnie Bridges was selected as the 23rd pick by the Montreal Expos in the 1997 draft.

The 6-foot, 207-pound Booth – one of the youngest players in the draft (he turned 18 on July 4) – was MLB Pipeline’s No. 6 draft prospect and the draft’s top ranked outfielder and is considered one of the top athletes in the draft.

On the 20-80 scouting scale, Booth has an elite run grade of 70, easily the best tool. He ran the fastest 60-yard dash (6.33 seconds) at the East Coast Pro showcase last August. He set the Prep Baseball All-American Game record by running a 6.25 second time in the 60 yard dash in Miami.

The MLB slot value for Booth’s pick is $7,327,200.

Booth – who bats and throws left-handed – had a .481 batting average and a .922 slugging percentage with 5 home runs, 31 runs batted in and 23 stolen bases and was named the MHSAA Class 7A Mr. Baseball this season as a senior.

Booth won the home run derby at last July’s Perfect Game All-American Classic. 

“He’s a speedster, but he can do a little bit of everything,” MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis said during NBC’s Draft broadcast. “He’s one of my favorite high school players in the Draft.”

Oak Grove has produced two players who made the Major Leagues – outfielder Dustan Mohr (who played in the majors from 2001-2007), and pitcher Kirk McCarty (who pitched in 13 games for the Cleveland Guardians in 2022). 

Booth’s father – Eric Booth Sr. – was a star as well. The Bassfield High alumnus became a football standout at Southern Miss at running back and return specialist in the mid-1990s. He still holds the highest career kickoff return average (32.4 yards) and the single season kickoff return average (34.8 yards in 1997), records that have stood for almost 30 years. He was a two time All Conference USA selection at kickoff returner. Booth Sr. was also a baseball star in high school and was taken in the 34th round by the Blue Jays in the 1993 MLB Draft. He is now an assistant football coach with Columbia High.

Booth started liking baseball while playing in his grandfather’s yard.

Photo by Oak Grove Athletics

“I started playing baseball at 3,” Booth said in a story by MLB.com. “I’d be outside hitting rocks with sticks all the time, and when I went by my Pawpaw’s house, he would always throw baseballs to me. I always hit. It just came natural. I just felt like that sport was the sport I wanted to do. My grandparents were just hardworking all the time. They were loving and always giving. They would give you the clothes off their back if they needed to. Just staying with them all the time, working with my Pawpaw, just knowing that if you work hard, you can get what you want.”

Booth played football until the sixth grade when he decied to concentrate on baseball. 

“I knew when I saw EJ in the eighth grade that he was going to be a special player at Oak Grove,” Oak Grove athletic director and baseball coach Chris McCardle said. “EJ is a combination of speed, power, hits for average and really good on defense. The biggest thing EJ is that he is so mentally tough and so driven. He’s so disciplined. EJ was really determined to go after what he wanted and he has worked tremendously hard his four yeas of playing baseball to get here. He has such a great support system with his parents (Eric Booth Sr. and Denise Booth), grandparents (Willie and Lizzie Thompson) and sister (Erica Booth) that helped him tremendously. His parents sacrificed so much to be able to chose his dream traveling all over the USA playing baseball in the summer. EJ does everything right off the field as well. He is a very high character kid that cares deeply for his teammates and this is just the beginning for him. I have been very blessed to be a part of his journey the last four years.”

Booth received the Pride of Oak Grove Award and an award for maintaining all As for the 2025-2026 school year, which he has received every year since he was a freshman. He was named Mr. Oak Grove and campus favorite by his peers. Booth was named Most Athletic by the coaches. He finished with a 95 grade point average. 

“Great, great ballplayer, comes from a great family,” said JoJo Parker in a story on MLB.com. Parker played in the same county (Lamar) as Booth. “I reached out to him earlier this year before his season started and wished him good luck because I knew he was in that place where he was going to be drafted, and I just told him if he ever needed anything he could reach out to me if he had any questions. He’s a great guy and a good friend of mine.”

Mississippians are making noise in the majors.

Griffin has quickly gone from 2024 first-rounder to No. 1 overall prospect to $140 million man. Desoto Central High alumnus Austin Riley is a two-time All-Star and Silver Slugger winner. Magnolia Heights School alumnus Cooper Pratt – ranked the No. 3 prospect in the Milwaukee organization and No. 56 overall – signed a $50.75 million contract before debuting this year, and his dad coached Marlins No. 8 prospect and Newton County Academy and Ole Miss alumnus Kemp Alderman. In addition to Griffin, Jackson Prep alumni Jake Mangum (Pirates) and Will Warren (New York Yankees) are playing in the majors. And there are many more. 

“It came up a lot now, lately,” Booth said in a MLB.com story. “Usually, back then, they didn’t think Mississippi could progress with the talent, but now we’re starting to show them that Mississippi is going to be one of the tops here sooner than later.”
This year’s draft showed that as well. Not only did Booth go in the first round, there were three Mississippi collegians (Ole Miss pitcher Cade Townsend, No. 23 to the Chicago Cubs, Mississippi State third baseman Ace Reese, No. 24 to the Seattle Mariners and Ole Miss pitcher Taylor Rabe, No. 30 to the Kansas City Royals) and one other Mississippi high school player (Magnolia Heights third baseman-catcher Cole Prosek, No. 41, to the Chicago White Sox) to get drafted. 

There is another good crop of Mississippi high school players who will likely be high draft picks next year. Prep Baseball Mississippi lists these players as the top four for the class of 2027: Sullivan Reed of Lamar School, Fischer Howell of Petal High, Trent Buckley of Columbia Academy and Deuce Jenkins of Jackson Academy.