RAYMOND — Hinds Community College’s baseball program has continued a long-running tradition by sending a slew of players on to the next level.

Five Hinds players — pitcher/infielders Caleb Morgan, Patrick Hodges, John Parker Elkins and Jase Dalton, and infielder/outfielder Ian Ladner — all signed with four-year schools at a ceremony Tuesday on the Raymond campus.

Morgan is headed to Tennessee Tech, Hodges to Delta State, Dalton to South Alabama, and Ladner to UAB. All five players will play for Hinds in the 2018 season and then head to their new schools for the 2018-19 school year.

Their signings bring to 116 the number of players that have gone from Hinds to four-year schools in head coach Sam Temple’s 13 seasons.

“We’re excited to have another great group of young men continuing their playing careers next year,” Temple, a Vicksburg native and former Warren Central coach, said in a school release. “We are extremely proud of them and the hard work they put in both on the field and in the classroom that helped them achieve their goals. We look forward to seeing them lead us to another great season in the spring of 2018.”

Morgan signed with Tennessee Tech after an impressive freshman season at Hinds. He was a first-team All-MACJC selection after going 8-2 with 66 strikeouts and a 2.70 ERA in 63 1/3 innings.
Elkins did not play baseball for Hinds last season, but did play for the school’s football team in 2016.

He is classified as a redshirt freshman, as are Dalton and Ladner.

Hodges, who is also an outfielder, played in 23 games for Hinds’ baseball team. He hit .200 in only 30 at-bats.