The Mississippi high school season kicks off on February 26, the first day for regular season games. Most teams will begin practicing on January 29, getting their rosters set and finalizing their lineups.

Leading up to the start of the high school season, we will be posting high school team previews every day as part of our comprehensive season coverage:

Team: Ripley

Preseason Rank: 19
2017 Record: 24-7
MHSAA Classification: 4A
MHSAA District: 2-4A
Head Coach: Joel Gafford
Playoff Run: North State Finals
2017 Final Rank: 1^st in district
Returning Starters: 7
Returning Pitchers: 2

 

Top Players

 

Name	State	School	Class	Position	Commitment
Drew Coombs	MS	Ripley	2021	RHP	-
Reece Moore	MS	Ripley	2018	OF	-
Cade Davis	MS	Ripley	2020	RHP	-
Ben Fryar	MS	Ripley	2019	SS	-
Taylor Garner	MS	Ripley	2018	LHP	-
Will Long	MS	Ripley	2019	C	-
Mason McBride	MS	Ripley	2018	SS	-
Cole Melton	MS	Ripley	2018	LHP	-

 

Outlook
Coach Joel Gafford and the Ripley Tigers have high expectations coming off a strong 24-win 2017 campaign. Returning a solid core of players, the Tigers will rely heavily on senior leadership to carry them through 2018 season. Providing an offensive spark in the lineup will be Mason McBride, Will Long as well as Ben Fryar. Although the Tigers lack experience on the mound, they will turn to two-way players Reece Moore and Cole Melton to carry the load of the pitching staff.

Related Content