SENATOBIA – Even as Northwest baseball gears up for the 2021 season over the next few months, coach Mark Carson and his staff have already begun preparations for the 2022 campaign with the addition of eight future Rangers.

Included in the class are eight Mississippi players and three out-of-state student-athletes. All of the student-athletes listed below will finish out their respective senior seasons this spring and join the Rangers for the 2021-22 academic year.

Scroll down for more information on each student-athlete.
 
 

NAME	POS	B/T	HOMETOWN	HIGH SCHOOL
Tripp Hardin	RHP	R/R	Tupelo, Miss.	Tupelo
Jaylon Buckley	RHP/INF	S/R	Union, Miss.	Union
Thomas Cheatham	OF	R/R	Philadelphia, Miss.	Leake Academy
Logan Eldridge	RHP	R/R	Arlington, Tenn.	Arlington HS
C.J. Lofton	RHP	R/R	Sarah, Miss.	Magnolia Heights
Dalton Henley	LHP	L/L	Hernando, Miss.	Lewisburg
Dawson Griffin	INF	R/R	Batesville, Miss.	South Panola
Blake Loper	RHP	L/R	Oxford, Miss.	Lafayette

Tripp Hardin - RHP; 6-3 / 210
Tupelo, Miss. (Tupelo HS)
Played for coach Justin Reed at Tupelo...helped the Golden Wave to an 11-1 overall record despite a COVID-19 shortened junior season...made three appearances on the mound, posting a 1-0 record and a 1.40 ERA...posted eight strikeouts against two walks in five innings of action...earned his only win of the season in a 10-1 decision against West Union on March 3...hit .222 in nine at-bats and earned a double in a 2-0 win against Starkville on March 7...as a sophomore, helped THS to a 15-11 overall record in 2019.


Jaylon Buckley - RHP/INF; 5-10 / 190
Union, Miss. (Union HS)
Played for coach Dustin Hamrick at Union...helped the Yellow Jackets to a 6-4 overall record during a COVID-19 shortened junior season...batted .400 with four doubles, a home run and 10 RBIs...posted a .680 slugging percentage and a .529 on-base percentage...best performance came in a 6-0 victory against Raleigh on March 7, where he batted 1.000 and finished 3-for-3 at the plate with a double...made five appearances on the mound and finished with a 1-2 record and a 2.53 ERA...struck out 23 batters against eight walks in 19.1 innings pitched...tossed a season-high seven strikeouts in a 4-2 loss against Newton County Academy on March 9...as a sophomore, helped UHS to a 14-10 overall record and the second round of the 2019 MHSAA Class 2A state playoffs...batted .403 with a .519 on-base percentage, nine doubles, a triple, a home run and 30 RBIs...batted .750 and finished 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI in a loss to Choctaw Central on March 23, 2019...made 11 appearances on the mound and finished 8-2 with a 1.83 ERA...delivered 90 strikeouts against 34 walks in 46 innings pitched...delivered a career-best 15 strikeouts in 6.1 innings during a victory against Philadelphia on April 1, 2019...also played football for Union.


Thomas Cheatham - OF; 6-3 / 180
Philadelphia, Miss. (Leake Academy)
Played for coach Cory Burns at Leake Academy...helped the Rebels to seven victories as a junior, despite a COVID-19 shortened season...batted .351 with two doubles, two triples and seven RBIs...went 3-for-3 with a double, a triple and two RBIs in an 11-5 win against Vicksburg on March 10...stole 11 bases on the season...posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage and was 8-for-8 on putout attempts...also saw limited action on the mound, striking out four batters in two appearances...as a junior in 2019, helped Leake Academy to a 12-10 overall record...hit .342 with six RBIs in 38 at-bats...hit 3-for-5 in back-to-back wins against Canton Academy...stole 12 bases on the season...finished 8-for-8 on putouts...also played football for Leake Academy.


Logan Eldridge - RHP; 6-2 / 170
Arlington, Tenn. (Arlington HS)
Played for coach Chris Ring at Arlington...helped the Tigers to an 18-18 overall record as a sophomore in 2019...no stats available.


C.J. Lofton - RHP; 5-11 / 150
Sarah, Miss. (Magnolia Heights)
Played for coach Chris McMinn at Magnolia Heights...no stats available.


Dalton Henley - LHP; 6-0 / 185
Hernando, Miss. (Lewisburg HS)
Plays for coach Rusty Cagle at Lewisburg...transferred from Tunica Academy, where he helped the Blue Devils to a 15-9 overall record and a runner-up finish in the MAIS Class AA state championship during his sophomore season in 2019.


Dawson Griffin - INF; 5-8 / 150
Batesville, Miss. (South Panola HS)
Played for coach Jake Mills at South Panola...helped the Tigers to a 7-3 record as a junior, despite a COVID-19 shortened season...batted .250 with a home run and six RBIs...went 3-for-4 with a .750 batting average, a home run and four RBIs during a 13-4 season-opening victory against Center Hill on February 18...posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage with 13 putouts and five assists on 18 total chances...also made four appearances on the mound, finishing 2-0 with a 2.23 ERA...struck out 29 batters against 10 walks in 22 innings pitched...delivered a career-high 13 strikeouts in a 4-1 victory against Senatobia on March 3...as a sophomore, helped SPHS to a 21-7 overall record and the first round of the 2019 Class 6A state playoffs...batted .315 with three doubles, a triple and 11 RBIs...finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs in a 10-1 victory against Columbus on April 5, 2019...made eight appearances on the mound, finishing 0-1 with a 1.96 ERA...struck out 43 batters against 20 walks in 39.1 innings pitched...delivered a season-best 12 strikeouts in a 10-1 victory against Columbus.


Blake Loper - RHP; 6-2 / 180
Oxford, Miss. (Lafayette HS)
Played for coach John Walker at Lafayette...helped the Commodores to a 7-3 overall record as a junior, despite a COVID-19 shortened season...finished 2-1 on the mound with a 2.05 ERA...struck out 11 batters in 13.2 innings pitched...also hit .250 with four RBIs...finished 2-for-3 in a pair of contests against Water Valley and East Union...as a sophomore, guided LHS to a 20-12-1 overall record and a runner-up finish in the 2019 Class 5A state championship series...made 10 appearances on the mound, finishing 3-0 with a 1.47 ERA...struck out 18 batters in 28.2 innings pitched...delivered a career-high five strikeouts in an 11-1 victory against East Webster on Feb. 28, 2019.