MERIDIAN, Miss. (WTOK) – Coming off a winning 28-25 season with an 18-15 record in region play, the MCC Eagles baseball program is ready to make another postseason run. With a dozen returning players and an influx of fresh talent, Head Coach Dillion Sudduth believes this year’s squad has what it takes to compete at the highest level.
Sudduth is entering his 14th season at the helm for the Eagles, having led the program to 383 wins over his 12 full seasons. Last year alone, he added 28 more victories and guided the team to another appearance in the MACCC Region Tournament—a testament to his sustained excellence and consistency.
When asked how he manages the inevitable roster turnover in junior college baseball, Sudduth emphasized the importance of unity and collective focus.
“There’s always turnover in, like you said, in junior college baseball,” Sudduth explained. “One of the things we do is just try to get them to pour into each other, try to get them out of, worried so much about themselves. Obviously, we want to continue to develop each individual, but to really put the team first, and this group has done a good job of that so far.”
For Sudduth, success this season isn’t just measured in wins and losses.
“The success would be just getting the most out of this team,” he said. “Whatever that says on the scoreboard, you know, hopefully that’s wins and championships, but just getting the most out of this team and helping them accomplish, you know, their individual goals while they help us accomplish our team goals.”
Sudduth’s message of team-first philosophy has clearly resonated with his players. When speaking with members of the roster, one theme emerged consistently: the exceptional chemistry and brotherhood within this year’s group.
One Eagles player reflected on the tight-knit nature of the team: “I mean, we’re family for sure. I would say we’re family. I mean, like at Shelton, I felt like I didn’t really have that bond, but here it’s like a real team. I feel like we’re going to go far. I expect us to win a lot of games. I really do. I mean, we’re a good group of guys, well,There are and we combine pretty real, like we’re really good. I think we will stick with each other throughout the season and we’ll grind through it all,” said William Etheridge.
Sophomore Brett Busbea echoed those sentiments, noting the improvement in team cohesion compared to last year’s squad.
“I feel like we’re going to have a lot better shot than we did last year. I feel like these guys mesh a lot better. Nothing bad about the last team. We just feel like this team meshes a lot better. We’re like brothers, honestly. There’s no clicks. We all just mesh together.”
Clarkdale alum Eli Swearingen will suit up for the Eagles this season and understands the mental demands of a long baseball season. When asked how the team plans to maintain consistency throughout the year, Swearingen pointed to the importance of team support and positive energy.
“Yeah. Coach talks a lot about that. It’s never get too high, never get too low,” Swearingen said. “I mean, obviously it’s a bunch of games, so you’re going to have your highs, you’re going to have your lows, but just everyone being good teammates and lifting up each other is really going to help everybody’s mental because baseball is a lot mental. So just having everybody with good energy and having a good time is going to help a lot.”
The Eagles will open their season on Friday, January 30th in Panama City against Tallahassee State College at 11:30 AM.
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