Northeast Mississippi Community College Athletics

Kevin Connell was tabbed as the new assistant coach for the Northeast Mississippi Community College softball team prior to the start of the 2017 season.

The Johnson City, Tenn., native will actually begin his ninth season at Northeast in the spring of 2024. Connell served as a volunteer assistant for the baseball program during the 2016 campaign.

Connell has helped Northeast reach the postseason during each of his seven complete seasons with the team. Seventeen of Connell’s former Tigers have continued their careers at four-year institutions.

His last two teams in particular have been extra special. Northeast has won a combined 74 games in that span, including a program record 41 regular season victories during the 2023 campaign.

The 2022 edition of the Tigers reached the semifinals of both the conference and region tournaments. It was Northeast’s best playoff result since finishing as the state runner-up 10 years earlier.

Cassidy Duskin was recognized as an All-American for her efforts that season. The University of North Alabama signee finished with 145 strikeouts in the circle, which was the sixth most in a single season in school history.

Duskin is one of three All-Americans that Connell has instructed at Northeast. Joining her are pitcher Jessica Boyd and Lizzy Van Manen, who was also honored as the 2019 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Catcher of the Year.

Northeast has consistently appeared in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II rankings since Connell’s arrival. The Tigers rose to as high as No. 10 in the entire country last season.

He was the first base coach during his lone season with Northeast’s other diamond-based sport and also focused on refining the offensive techniques of individual student-athletes during practice sessions.

Connell instructed several of the state’s top hitters, including all-conference selection Bailey Walker. He had team-highs of a .375 batting average, 11 doubles, four triples, three home runs and 31 RBIs.

Connell was a three-sport standout at Daniel Boone (Tenn.) High School. He was an Under Armour All-American baseball athlete that posted an earned run average (ERA) of 3.16 during his junior campaign.

He signed with the Military College of South Carolina (The Citadel) and completed a stellar career inside the rugged Southern Conference (SoCon) as primarily a relief pitcher.

Connell appeared in 94 games during his tenure with the Bulldogs and was the winning pitcher in four of those contests. He compiled 170.2 innings on the mound with 104 strikeouts compared to 84 walks.

His overall ERA at The Citadel was a 5.92, but he trimmed that to a 3.74 as a senior. He picked up wins that year against the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and East Tennessee State University.

Connell had the chance to toe the rubber against some of the top college programs in the country, including the University of South Carolina and eventual national champion Coastal Carolina (S.C.) University.

He was tabbed to the SoCon All-Freshman team in 2012 after compiling a 3.86 ERA in six league starts for the Bulldogs. Connell tossed 60 innings total that campaign with 34 strikeouts.

Connell led The Citadel to the SoCon Tournament championship game during his sophomore season. He started the semifinal matchup against Appalachian State (N.C.) University and throwing the initial 3.2 frames.

He recently married former Northeast women’s basketball player and cheerleader Baylee Turner.