POPLARVILLE, Miss. — The Pearl River baseball program has churned out four-year player after four-year player over the years, and that trend continued Wednesday afternoon as five Wildcats signed to take their talents to the Division I level.
This year's group includes Campbell signee Bryce Fowler (Madison; Germantown), Louisiana Tech signee Blake Gollott (Saucier; D'Iberville), Memphis signee Creek Robertson (Madison; Madison Central), Mississippi State signee JT Schnoor (Pascagoula; Resurrection) and LSU signee Conner Ware (Madison; Germantown).
"Signing Day is always a special day for guys in our program," head coach Michael Avalon said. "These young men came to Pearl River with dreams and the goal of playing at the four-year level. Today, their hard work, determination and belief pay off. What a tremendous accomplishment for these young men and their families."
Dating back to his time at the helm of Mississippi Delta's program, 133 of Avalon's players have signed with four-year programs. Of those 133, 80 of them have been Wildcats.
BRYCE FOWLER
Fowler initially signed out of high school with Pearl River before ending up at Southern Miss. After two years as a Golden Eagle, the left-handed hitting outfielder opted to become a Wildcat.
He will now head to Buies Creek, N.C., to play for the Campbell Camels following the 2024 season.
"Bryce, in a short time, has made a huge impact on this team," Avalon said. "He's as good of a defensive centerfielder that I have coached and will be one of the catalysts for our offense, hitting leadoff for us this spring.
"Bryce bet on himself and his ability to return to the Division I level, and we are thankful to see him return to that level at one of the top DI programs in the country."
BLAKE GOLLOTT
Gollott was a heavily relied upon arm out of the bullpen for the Wildcats as a freshman and will join former teammate Blake Hooks at Louisiana Tech for the 2025 season.
The left-hander appeared in 20 games, throwing 27 2/3 innings. He finished the year with a 4.23 ERA, struck out 25 batters and walked only five.
"Blake was one of our most consistent arms for us as a freshman and had a tremendous year," Avalon said. "We have always known Blake wants the baseball in any situation and will compete at the highest level.
"Blake had a lot of interest out of high school but wanted to play Division I baseball and set his goals on that. We are excited to watch him continue at a top program in Louisiana Tech."
CREEK ROBERTSON
After spending two seasons at Southern Miss, Robertson transferred to Pearl River and will now head to play for Pearl River Athletics Hall of Famer Matt Riser at Memphis.
A middle infielder, Robertson is expected to majorly impact the Wildcats during the 2024 campaign.
"Always knew that Creek was a really good baseball player, one of the best shortstops that I have seen, but more impressive is the leader and young man that Creek is," Avalon said. "He has impacted this program and campus in a huge way in such a short amount of time. Coach Riser, a former Wildcat, is getting a heck of a player and person that will make an immediate impact."
JT SCHNOOR
Schnoor will join former teammate Will Passeau next season at Mississippi State. Standing at 6-foot-3, the right-hander impressed when called upon as a freshman. He appeared in 13 games and tallied 18 2/3 innings. He tallied 23 strikeouts and walked only 12 batters. His ERA was 3.86 at season's end.
"We knew that JT played multiple sports in high school and believed there was a lot of untapped potential in baseball. His focus on pitching has allowed him to make incredible jumps and improvements," Avalon said. "The best part is, like Conner, there is still a lot of room to grow and get better.
"He wanted to play at the highest level in college baseball and worked tirelessly to make it happen."
CONNER WARE
A 6-foot-4 left-handed pitcher, Ware drew the interest of the reigning National Champion LSU after getting off to a blistering start in the 2023 season.
Before suffering a season-ending injury, Ware struck out 28 batters in 17 innings and had an unblemished 3-0 record. His ERA sat at 1.59, and he had a WHIP of 1.18.
During the fall, Ware has run his fastball up to 95 mph.
"Out of high school, we knew Conner's potential and ceiling was extremely high. Witnessing him work to reach his potential has been a lot of fun, and there is still more there," Avalon said. "He set his sights on the SEC and made his dream come true. The Ware brothers and family have made a lasting impact on this program, and we are thankful for them."
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