Last year was a banner year for the Sun Belt, as the conference saw two schools (Coastal Carolina & Southern Miss) host Regionals. The 2025 campaign was a great one for the Southern Miss baseball program, thanks to a deep overall group that will look different heading into 2026.

The Returnees

The transfer portal was very kind to the Golden Eagles in 2024, as several big pieces came over to help Southern Miss take the next step.

Kentucky transfer Ben Higdon batted .323 with seven home runs last year for Southern Miss, while former Butler standout Joey Urban belted nine home runs. Both Higdon and Urban were part of a deep offense that included nine players who had at least six home runs. And, both are back for 2026.

The two will be joined by returning players.

Sophomore Drey Barrett was tied with Urban for fourth on the team in home runs. Senior Matthew Russo, who hit 19 home runs, will also be back for another run. Catcher Tucker Stockman, meanwhile, is a redshirt junior who hit .332 with six home runs during the 2025 campaign.

As for the pitching staff, it’ll look different, particularly at the top. However, the Golden Eagles did return one of their three most-used starters from 2025.

Now-sophomore Grayden Harris logged a lot of innings as an 18-year-old last season. Harris threw 58.1 IP last season, and while he didn’t strike out a ton of batters (46), he only surrendered one home run and posted a sub-4.00 ERA.

Harris will be back alongside reliever/closer Colby Allen, Kros Sively, Josh Och, and Cole Richardson.

The Newcomers

The Golden Eagles will have some new faces to replace some of the lost players from 2025.

JB Middleton was selected by the Rockies in the second round this past July after a dominant 2025 campaign, one that saw him strike out 122 over 105.1 IP and a stellar 2.15 ERA. Additionally, Matt Adams, who struck out 89 over 79 innings, was aged out after spending five years with Southern Miss.

As for the offense, Nick Monistere belted 21 home runs last season and earned himself a fourth-round selection by the Astros. He, along with outfielder & Blue Jays third-round pick Jake Cook, exited for pro ball.

There are, though, plenty of newcomers to talk and write about.

Jake Neely comes over from Arizona State via the transfer portal. Neely was a good high school pitcher, one who was able to hit the mid-90s. However, he was hit hard in brief work with the Sun Devils, as he walked six and gave up eight earned runs over 3.2 IP. Neely didn’t fare much better in the NECL, as he walked seven despite averaging almost a strikeout per inning (13 over 13.2 IP).

As for the other newcoming pitchers, Camden Clark struck out 76 over 59 innings with Pearl River CC last season. Former Tennessee pitcher Thomas Crabtree struck out 20 over 15 innings last season for the Vols.

Outfielder Caleb Stelly comes over from Sun Belt rival Louisiana-Lafayette. Stelly hit .302 with eight home runs last season for the Cajuns.

Twelve true freshmen are also a part of Southern Miss’ 2026 roster.

Summary

Barring a potential matchup in Birmingham this coming May, we won’t get to see Coastal Carolina, the other top power in the Sun Belt, face the Golden Eagles. That does, though, leave the opportunity to rack up wins before the postseason tournament.

Southern Miss’ schedule won’t be easy this season. Among their non-conference matchups are showdowns with Alabama, Oregon State, and UC Santa Barbara. Plus, Southern Miss will also have in-conference series against Troy and Louisiana-Lafayette, two strong schools.

The good news for the Golden Eagles is that much of the core from last season is back. It’ll be tough to replace Middleton, one of the best pitchers in all of college baseball last season. Nonetheless, this is a good team on paper.

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