Northeast Mississippi Community College Athletics

Ronnie Key immediately became a popular student-athlete upon his enrollment in 1979. He was selected as Mr. Northeast Mississippi Junior College during his sophomore year while playing both baseball and football.

Key was a standout defensive end for the Tigers in one of the best two-year periods in program history. Northeast compiled 15 victories during his tenure on the gridiron.

The Tigers captured six wins during Key's freshman season, which was tied for the most by any Northeast team in the previous 10 campaigns, and finished as runner-up in the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges (MACJC) North Division.

Among the victories that year were three consecutive matchups with Coahoma Community College, Hinds Community College and Holmes Community College. Northeast eventually lost at Jones County Junior College in its second-ever state playoff contest.

Key and the Tigers bounced back with perhaps the best season in school history. Northeast captured nine victories in 1980, which is still the second most in a single year ever, and its inaugural MACJC North Division championship.

The Corinth native helped the Tigers compile a perfect 6-0 mark in league play. They clinched the MACJC North Division title with a 26-0 blanking of Northwest Mississippi Community College.

Northeast rose to as high as No. 2 in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) poll and was the top ranked team in the entire country at one point according to JC Gridwire. Those remain as the highest rankings ever for the Tigers.

Key's final outing on the gridiron was during a 19-3 setback to Jones County in the first postseason game hosted by Northeast inside the friendly confines of Tiger Stadium.

He made an even deeper impact on the baseball program at Northeast. Key was a MACJC All-State selection and was voted as the Tigers' Most Valuable Player (MVP) during each of his two campaigns.

NJCAA Hall of Famer W.B. "Bill" Ward recognized Key with the Tiger Award for football following his freshman year while head coach William Southward gave him the same honor twice for his leadership and efforts on the diamond.

Key returned to the Booneville campus in 1984 and was named the ninth head baseball coach at Northeast since the program was reinstated in 1961. His squads were known to be consistently competitive on a yearly basis.

The Corinth High School alumnus set a new program record with 24 victories in 1989 on the way to third place in the MACJC North Division. That mark stood for 11 years when the Tigers posted 26 triumphs in 2000.

He led the Tigers to five consecutive winning seasons and finished his tenure with 113 victories, which places him as the third winningest headman in program history. His Northeast teams missed the postseason by one game for three straight years from 1989-91.

Key was selected to coach the Athletes in Action international tour while with the Tigers in both 1985 and 1989. It was a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ International that was formed to share life-changing faith with sports fans across the world.

His team trained in Reno, Nev., before visiting sites in northern California and Central America. Key's crew also visited local hospitals and churches as a means of serving others during their summer tours.

He left his alma mater to take the same position at Montreat-Anderson (N.C.) College in 1991. Key quickly retreated to the Magnolia State in 1991 after accepting an opening at Lamar School in Meridian.

Key remained at Lamar for the next two decades and served in various roles such as head baseball and golf coach, assistant football instructor, athletic director and guidance counselor.

He is presently in his sixth season as the golf coach at Meridian Community College. Key was the 2014 MACJC and Mississippi Association of Coaches (MAC) Coach of the Year after guiding the Eagles to a state title on the links.

Key's teams have captured 15 tournament crowns over the last four campaigns. Each of those squads were selected as Farmer's Insurance All-Academic Teams as well.

He and his wife Leigh Ann have two children, Casey and Easton. Key is a board member for district five of Mississippi's Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) and attends worship at Meridian's Northcrest Baptist Church.