Northeast Mississippi Community College Athletics

THE OFFICIAL HOME OF THE NORTHEAST MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY COLLEGE TIGERS

Sat, 04/27 | Baseball at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College W, 12-6 (Final) BX
Sat, 04/27 | Baseball at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College L, 5-4 (Final) BX
Sat, 04/27 | Softball vs. Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College W, 4-0 (Final) BX | V
Sat, 04/27 | Softball vs. Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College W, 10-5 (Final) BX | V
Tue, 04/30 | Softball at Itawamba Community College W, 5-3 (Final) BX | V
Fri, 05/03 | Softball at Copiah-Lincoln Community College L, 6-0 (Final) BX | V
Sat, 05/04 | Baseball at East Central Community College L, 6-4 (Final) BX | V
Sat, 05/04 | Softball vs. Hinds Community College W, 6-2 (Final) BX | V
Sat, 05/04 | Softball vs. Louisiana State University Eunice L, 2-1 (Final) BX | V
Sun, 05/05 | Baseball at East Central Community College W, 3-2 (Final) BX | V
Mon, 05/06 | Baseball at East Central Community College L, 12-7 (Final) BX | V

Mitch McNeely

Years at Northeast:

1993-94

Sports:

Baseball

Occupation:

Student-Athlete

Mitch McNeely ended an over 25-year drought between Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft selections that hailed from the Northeast Mississippi Community College baseball program.

McNeely was the 835th overall pick in the 30th round of the 1995 MLB first-year player draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers organization following two seasons with the Tigers and another at Centenary College of Louisiana.

He remains the earliest Northeast alumnus drafted by round in school history. Benny Haynie still holds the mark for lowest pick after being chosen 701st by the St. Louis Cardinals franchise in the 1967 MLB Draft.

McNeely started his journey to the professional ranks on the Booneville campus in the spring of 1993. He was part of a squad that was victorious in 16 total games, including 12 of its initial 20 outings on the season.

The New Albany native became the ace of a pitching staff that accumulated 175 strikeouts as a whole during his sophomore campaign. McNeely paced that effort as the Tigers' punchout, innings pitched and earned run average (ERA) leader.

McNeely drew the opening day start for Northeast and tossed a gem against the now-defunct Mary Holmes College. He went the distance for the Tigers with 13 strikeouts in a 7-0 shutout of the Eagles at Harold T. White Field.

He and the Tigers went on to secure doubleheader sweeps that year against Coahoma Community College, Jackson State (Tenn.) Community College, Northwest Mississippi Community College and Spoon River (Ill.) College.

McNeely compiled a 6-4 record with a sensational 2.00 earned run average (ERA) during the 1994 campaign while consistently improving under the careful watch of fellow Northeast Sports Hall of Famer Ray Scott.

He signed a scholarship with Centenary, which at the time competed in NCAA Division I as a member of the Trans-America Athletic Conference (now known as the Atlantic Sun Conference), following his final season in the City of Hospitality.

McNeely helped the Gents, who were coached by Wayne Rathbun, capture 23 wins overall and piece together a 14-13 ledger versus TAAC foes during his lone year at the Shreveport, La., based institution.

He faced some of the best competition in the country while at Centenary, including 1994 NCAA College World Series participant Louisiana State University (LSU) of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) plus the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

The W.P. Daniel High School graduate played ball across the nation during his three-year stint in the Dodgers farm system. McNeely worked primarily as a reliever for Los Angeles with just five starts in 79 total appearances.

He reported to Yakima, Wash., which is more than two hours southeast of suburban Seattle, after signing his professional contract in the summer of 1995 to play in the short-season Class A Northwest League.

The 6-6, 190-pound left-hander logged 53 innings for Yakima while notching 31 strikeouts compared to 15 walks. McNeely tallied a career-best three wins for the Bears with one save in 24 games on the mound.

McNeely was promoted to a Class A-Advanced affiliate of Los Angeles following the 1996 spring training session. He made his home in the Sunshine State as a member of the Vero Beach Dodgers, which played their contests at the historic Dodgertown complex.

He had perhaps his greatest year in the minors at Vero Beach with a 1-1 record and a stellar 2.08 ERA in 23 outings. McNeely had the second lowest walks plus hits per innings pitched (WHIP) among the Dodgers' regulars with an outstanding 0.92.

His 34 strikeouts and 11 earned runs allowed were both career-best marks for a single season at one location. McNeely did not balk nor have a wild pitch during 47.2 frames toeing the rubber for Vero Beach.

McNeely split time between Vero Beach and another Class-A Advanced team in San Bernardino, Calif., during the 1997 campaign. He registered 66.1 innings between the two cross-country teams in a career-high 32 appearances.

He had a majority of his success that year with Vero Beach. McNeely was 1-1 with a pair of saves to go with 15 punchouts, seven free passes, 36 hits and a 1.59 WHIP while with the Dodgers of the Florida State League.

McNeely retired from professional baseball after the 1997 season. His final Minor League Baseball (MiLB) statistics include a 6-9 record, five saves, 108 strikeouts, 54 walks and a 4.58 ERA in 168 innings between the three teams.