The Northeast Mississippi Coaches Association for Better Baseball (NEMCABB) scheduled its 34th annual All-Star Games on Saturday, May 24, 2025. But the weather, including constant rain and severe lightning, did not cooperate.
So, the 2025 NEMCABB All-Star Baseball Games took place this past Saturday, May 31, at the Corinth High School Baseball Field in Corinth, Mississippi.
In case you are unfamiliar with the history behind NEMCABB, it all started in December of 1989 at an ICC Baseball Clinic, the college’s first annual camp, actually. Several area baseball coaches discussed the need for their best senior baseball players from North Mississippi to garner more scouting exposure and recognition, outside the statewide all-star games already held annually in Jackson.
As a result, NEMCABB was born, with the idea of a yearly NEMCABB Senior All-Star Game. Soon, officers and board members were elected, with all high school baseball coaches (and teams) covered by the Daily Journal considered eligible and included in the association. Eventually, this large group was divided into two “teams,” East versus West.
The West NEMCABB division included all schools (28 original teams) located west of U.S. Highway 45 from the Tennessee state line down to Shannon, Mississippi. Subsequently, the East division consisted of all schools (24 original teams) located east of U.S. Highway 45 to Shannon and east of Alternate Highway 45 to West Point, Mississippi.
The first NEMCABB All-Star Game took place on June 8, 1991, at Bynum Field in Corinth, between the two teams. Both the East and West NEMCABB All-Star teams consisted of 16 graduate-eligible senior players and three coaches.
The tradition conditions 34 years later, with three games taking place now – with each competition still showcasing East versus West. This set of games gives senior athletes from each of the schools in the seven state classifications (1A-7A) an opportunity to participate, regardless of their school’s population.
The three annual NEMCABB All-Star Games showcase East and West teams consisting of 1A and 2A All-Stars, East-West teams with 3A and 4A players, and two teams of 5A, 6A, and 7A players. It’s a day filled with some great baseball.
But what makes the annual NEMCABB games so unique is seeing some of Northeast Mississippi’s very best senior baseball players teamed up with their usual opponents and rivals as they compete, East versus West. And sadly, for many of these seniors, it is the last baseball game of their career as scholastic athletes.
In addition to these annual games and the desire to honor some of our state’s most talented graduating high school baseball players, NEMCABB also recognizes and honors some of Mississippi’s greatest coaches and athletic patrons in its Hall of Fame.
This year, six coaches and two patrons were added to the prestigious NEMCABB Hall of Fame. Between the first two 2025 games, the honored coaches were presented a commemorative plaque and saw their names added to the NEMCABB Wall of Fame.
The new Hall of Fame Coaches are:
Jacob Bruce of Shannon
Drew Dillard of East Union
Jeff Harmon of South Pontotoc
Chris Lucius of East Union
Justin Reed of Tupelo
Bo Sandlin of Booneville.
The new Hall of Fame Patrons are:
Will Kollmeyer of Fulton
Craig Horton of Tupelo.
As a baseball fan, I was impressed by the 2025 players and Hall of Fame winners. But as a mother, I was honored and humbled to walk onto the field with my husband, our family, and six East Union All-Star players and receive the 2025 NEMCABB Hall of Fame award for our late son, Coach Chris Lucius.
I stood there remembering the day back in 2005 when Chris was a senior All-Star player, representing Mooreville High School in that year’s NEMCABB games. I could see his smiling, dimpled face and the sweat dripping from his black curls when he removed his catcher’s gear to walk onto the field and receive the MVP honors for that 2005 East team.
Even though Chris died in 2023, I almost laughed out loud when I thought about the fact that we still have that 2005 NEMCABB East MVP plaque and Chris’s All-Star T-shirt from that game.
Those six young men were part of East Union’s 2A State 2023 Baseball Championship team, along with their coaches, including Chris – only 18 days before he died. These guys knew the real Coach Lucius. They witnessed his faith firsthand, as he not only talked it, but lived it in front of them.
So, Saturday, as they gathered around us to receive this award for Chris, I understood that it was more than an award for coaching baseball. It was recognition of a life well-lived for Christ – on and off the field.
Checkout the NEMCABB website for a better look at this year’s All-Star players, coaches, and Hall of Fame winners: https://www.leaguelineup.com/welcome.asp?url=nemcabb.
*Photos courtesy of Joy Lucius
