The possibility to be a two-way star, in addition to a former Wildcat head coach's persistence, led Thomas Royals to Pearl River. Once in Poplarville, Royals quickly established himself as one of the best players in the program's history.
An All-MACJC and All-Region 23 performer, the 2003-04 baseball team member will be inducted into the Pearl River Community College Athletics Hall of Fame presented by Keith's Superstores on July 28. Joining Royals in the 2023 class are baseball's Jim Murphy, football's Craig Franklin and women's basketball's Norma Noel. The 2023 recipient of the Spirit of a Wildcat Award is Francis Herrin.
"It's an honor to be included in a prestigious Athletics Hall of Fame for a college and baseball program with such a great history of incredible athletes and success," Royals said. "It's truly an honor."
Learning of his pending induction, Royals was flooded with emotions.
"It was really exciting. It wasn't on my radar at all," he said. "The first thing I did was call my wife and tell her. Then I called my mom, and it was pretty emotional. My dad passed away last fall and he just loved watching me play. I couldn't tell him, so it was a little bittersweet. I know he would've been happy."
HEADING TO PEARL RIVER
A native of Hattiesburg, Royals played his high school ball for the Lumberton Panthers, starring both as a pitcher and infielder. Throughout his senior year, Royals accumulated many Division I offers, including Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Southern Miss. He eventually decided that he was going to play for coach Hill Denson at USM. Despite the Division I interest, then Pearl River skipper Jay Artigues continued heavily pursuing Royals for his Wildcat squad.
"I committed to Southern Miss, and I ended up backing out of it," Royals said. "Coach Artigues had continued talking to me and told me that if I came and played for him, I could still pitch and hit. Doing both at some of the bigger schools was still up in the air, so I decided to go to Pearl River."
Royals won the starting third base job during his freshman year and hit .333 with two homers and 20 RBIs. He had a .446 on-base percentage. On the mound, things took more work. After dealing with some arm issues in the fall, Royals didn't expect to pitch in the 2003 season. In the spring, Artigues went to Royals and pitched the idea of him dropping down to throw sidearm. Soon after, Royals became the team's closer, coming straight from third base to pitch. He finished the season with four saves and a 4.97 ERA while striking out 13.
Royals took his production up a notch at the plate and on the mound during his 2004 sophomore campaign. He moved across the diamond to be the team's primary first baseman and flourished, hitting .400 with three homers, 17 RBIs and a .525 OBP. On the bump, Royals was back throwing over the top, and teams had a hard time doing anything against him. The right-hander was the team's ace, throwing 77 1/3 innings and striking out 81 against just 16 walks.
"I wasn't an overpowering pitcher. I threw between 88 and 91 miles per hour, so I pitched backwards. My changeup was above average, and I threw it a ton. It helped me keep hitters off balance, and I forced a lot of soft contact."
Royals credits the development of his changeup to his time as a submariner.
During the 2004 season, Pearl River won 41 games, including a school-record 27 consecutive. PRCC then took down Meridian 10-2 to clinch the baseball program's second-ever MACJC Championship.
"I don't really think we knew how good we really were," Royals said. "Pearl River had won like that a lot over the years before. We felt like we underachieved the year before, so we just went out and played the game."
After the season, Royals picked up a pair of honors, being named All-MACJC and All-Region 23.
AFTER THE RIVER
The Major League Baseball draft wasn't on Royals' mind all season long, but after the year ended, a Detroit Tigers scout called and wanted to see him throw a bullpen. Royals went to his old stomping grounds at Lumberton High School and threw for the scout and the regional crosschecker. Soon after, draft day was upon him, and the Tigers selected Royals in the 22nd round of the 2004 MLB Draft. For Royals, being told he had been drafted couldn't have come from a better place as his head coach was the one who delivered the news.
"Finding out was a funny story," he said. "I was a counselor at the YMCA that summer. This was before the draft was streamed online, so you were waiting for a phone call. I still didn't have a cell phone, so I had one of my parent's phones with me. Coach Artigues called me before anyone else and said he had a buddy in the draft room who told him they were drafting me.
"It made it really special. You grow up playing baseball and watching the major leagues. All of a sudden, you're a 19-year-old kid that is wanting to play major league ball. It was a dream come true, and having the guy you played for give you the news made it even more special."
Royals decided to sign with the Tigers, but pre-existing injuries forced Detroit to void his contract, and he went on to play at Belhaven for legendary coach Hill Denson.
"Coach Denson had recruited me when he was at Southern Miss, so I wanted to go to Belhaven and play for him," Royals said. "He told me I could come in and pitch and hit. I didn't want to go far off, and playing for a legend sounded pretty good, so I went."
Royals was an instant difference maker for the Blazers and is still well represented throughout the program's records book. He picked up award after award in his time there, being named an NAIA All-American twice and a two-time Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Year. He was also a finalist for the prestigious Boo Ferris Trophy in 2007.
After finishing his degree at Belhaven, Royals attended medical school and is now an orthopedic surgeon in Hattiesburg.
IN THE HALL
In addition to joining his head coach in Pearl River's Hall of Fame, Royals also joins his teammates Rhyne Hughes and Matt Riser. The trio roomed together while they were at Pearl River, making his induction a little bit sweeter.
"Matt and Rhyne were my roommates. We got to know each other very well. It was a lot of fun being around them all the time," Royals said. "I was in the same batting group as Rhyne and routinely watched him hit lasers out of the park. Riser was a guy who put his head down and got after it.
"It was so much fun being surrounded by great athletes, and they also made you better. Being a member with guys I lived with and played with is just special."