John Mitchell is hanging up one pair of cleats for another.
The former South Jones multi-sport athlete signed with UT-Martin out of high school as part of the 2019 recruiting class to play Division 1 football. But on Wednesday, Mitchell announced his decision to return to baseball via social media and transferring to Meridian Community College.
“Excited to say I’ll be back on the diamond next year @MeridianBSB,” said Mitchell via Twitter. “Let’s get to work!”
One year apart from baseball was enough to pull Mitchell back in.
"I spent a full year at Martin, and it was always in the back of my mind on how I missed baseball," Mitchell said in an interview. "I finally concluded that I had a long road ahead in baseball. Of course, being closer to home is always nice too. I missed being on the baseball field."
Mitchell was offered by Meridian during his senior year and later visited the campus. Days later, he committed to Pearl River before deciding to give football a try at the college level and signing with UT-Martin.
"I knew giving up baseball was going to be hard," said Mitchell, "but I didn't know it would be as hard as it was. It was always a dream of mine to play college football, so I wanted to give it a try. I can always say that I tried. But, I always felt the pullback to baseball."
As a senior at South Jones, Mitchell batted .303 in 100 plate appearances with 23 hits and 17 RBI. He also hit three home runs and helped South Jones finish 20-7 in 2019.
After deciding to return to the diamond this year, Mitchell gave Pearl River and Meridian - two possible places he wanted to attend - a call. Meridian head coach Dillon Sudduth called days later with good news.
“Meridian was a place I was always interested in,” said the Ellisville native. “Coach Dillon is a cool guy. Those guys there were always on my radar.
“Meridian was one of the first teams I contacted. I didn’t announce anything publicly because I didn’t want all the junior colleges to contact me. I wanted to make the calls myself to the places I was interested in. Pearl River and Meridian were the two places I contacted. Meridian was a place that was able to find me a spot.”
One coach/recruiter at Meridian, Jarrod Parks, wasn't on staff in 2018 when Mitchell visited the campus. The addition of Parks to the Meridian staff interested Mitchell.
"It's my understanding that he's a good hitting coach," said Mitchell. "Parks played at Mississippi State and a few years in the minors for the [Los Angeles] Angels Organization. And that is a big deal for me. I wanted a coach that knows a lot about hitting because as the saying goes, 'if you can't hit, you don't fit.'"
Mitchell adds that the decision was hard, even though he wanted to return to baseball.
“I was at UT-Martin for a year,” added Mitchell. “I was just getting settled there. But it became apparent to me in the year that I was there that baseball was my calling.”
“He’s a special athlete,” said Jordan Rogers who coached Mitchell at South Jones. “I’ve never had a player with so much upside. When you take a guy like Mitchell, who is as intelligent as he is and an athlete as he is, the sky is the limit.
“His ceiling is high. In high school, he was a guy that was on the bubble of being drafted one day. At the Hattiesburg series, Mitchell hit a triple off the wall against Joe Gray and before he got to the dugout, the Royals, Braves, and Orioles scouts were asking about him. He’s an explosive player.”
