Mark Carson will enter his 20th season as the head baseball coach at Northwest in 2025, sporting a career record of 539-358-2 and a .601 winning percentage.
Carson collected his 500th career win on April 4, 2023, as the Rangers defeated Coahoma 20-4 in Game 1 of a conference doubleheader. The 500-win milestone has only been reached by one other coach, Jim Miles, who collected 556 career wins in a career that spanned from 1976-97.
In conference play, Carson is now 285-158, good for a winning percentage of .643.
Prior to the 2023 season, Carson had guided Northwest to 12 straight postseason appearances, not counting a shortened COVID-19 season in 2020. Since taking over in 2006, Carson has guided the Rangers to nine 30-win seasons and 15 consecutive winning seasons, spanning from 2007-22.
Despite a rare miss on the postseason in 2023, Carson and Northwest bounced back in a big way during the 2024 campaign, fielding a 37-17 overall record and a 21-7 mark in the MACCC. The program's 37-win total was the most victories in a single season since 2007, and the Rangers also made it through the entire conference slate without being swept in a single doubleheader.
The 2024Â season saw the Rangers make a return to the postseason, but the stay was cut short by a red-hot Hinds team in the first round playoff series. Despite the early exit, several players left their names in the record books for both single-season and career categories, highlighted by Jacob Hill's career record of 62 stolen bases. NJCAA/ABCA Gold Glove winner Cade Greer also finished his two-year stint with a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage, joining Chad Wardlaw and Peyton Martin as the only three Northwest players to finish with a perfect fielding percentage with a minimum of 140 chances.
Additionally, six members of the 2024 squad signed to four-year programs, led by Greer (Memphis), James Smith (Memphis), Matthew Roncalli (UAB) and Mason Shropshire (UT-Martin). Additionally, Hill and Cade Leatherwood both inked with Delta State University.
In 2023, Northwest fielded a 23-26 overall record and were still in play for the final postseason spot going into the regular season finale against Pearl River. Six members of the 2023 team signed to the four-year level, led by pitchers Brayden Sanders (Memphis) and Brooks Rice (Samford). The other signees included pitcher Logan Eldridge (Delta State), pitcher C.J. Lofton (Mississippi College), infielder/catcher Eli Selby (Rhodes College) and infielder Dawson Griffin (Freed-Hardeman University).
Northwest finished the 2022 season with a 26-24 overall record and rebounded from a slow start to go 10-6 in conference games during the month of April. That turnaround took the Rangers from the outside looking in to the ninth and final slot in the NJCAA Region 23 Playoffs, where Northwest took a three-game series from No. 7 Meridian to stun the Eagles and advance to the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament.
Carson's club produced six All-MACCCÂ honorees, including MACCC Player of the Year Ryan Lee. A native of Cleveland, Tenn., Lee lit up opposing pitchers for a .402 batting average with 12 doubles, 16 home runs, 52 RBIs and a .902 slugging percentage, leading the team in each of those categories. The Little Rock signee left Senatobia with a multitude of awards, including MACCC Player of the Year and NJCAA Division II Second Team All-American honors.
Lee concluded his time at Northwest ranking fourth in single-season home runs, third in slugging percentage, tied for fourth in runs scored (58), sixth in walks (35) and tied for ninth in both RBIs (52) and total bases (119). Additionally, he fielded .975 with 245 putouts and six runners caught stealing.
Additionally, five other players signed or committed to four-year programs, including John Luke Marlin (UAB), Caleb Hobson (UT Martin), Connor Spencer (Southeastern Louisiana), Zach Willingham (South Alabama) and Colton Presley (Delta State).
Carson and his staff have also been instrumental in developing players and helping them get to the next level, both collegiately and professionally, with 146 moving onto four-year schools and 17 being drafted by Major League Baseball during his tenure. Northwest had a record four players drafted in 2013, including All-American LHP Cody Reed by the Kansas City Royals at 46th overall, the highest selection in program history. Â
Carson was named the Region XXIII Coach of the Year in 2007 after leading the Rangers to a third NJCAA World Series appearance. Northwest ended the 2007 campaign with a 40-17 (14-2 MACJC) record and fourth place overall finish in NJCAA Division II.
Before taking over as head coach in 2006, Carson served as assistant coach for the Rangers for eight seasons from 1998-2005. During that span, Carson helped lead Northwest to a 271-120-4 record alongside head coach Donny Castle, capturing four north division championships (‘99, ‘00, ‘02, ‘05) and a state championship in 2000.
Prior to Northwest, Carson spent six seasons as head baseball coach and defensive coordinator at Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis. In 1997, Carson led the baseball team to a 23-8 mark and claimed the District-15AA Championship. He ended his tenure with a career mark of 93-52 and was twice named district Coach of the Year. Carson was inducted into the Briarcrest Hall of Fame in 2013.Â
A 1989 graduate of Northwest, Carson saw action on the mound and at third base for the Rangers during his career. A two-time all-state selection, Carson hit .323 for his career with seven home runs and also went 7-3 on the mound with a 3.03 ERA. He was voted team captain his sophomore season, playing in the JUCO All-Star Game and being selected as an NJCAA Academic All-American.
Carson went on to play his final two seasons at Southern Mississippi, where he recorded an 18-5 record on the mound over two years, including an 11-2 record as a senior – the second most wins in USM single-season history. He was named to the All-Metro Conference Commissioner’s List in 1991 as well as team captain and an Academic All-American.
He went on to sign a free agent contract with the Cincinnati Reds in 1991, playing one season for its minor league affiliate.
Carson was inducted into the inaugural 2016 class of the Independence High School Athletic Hall of Fame where he was a four-year letterman in baseball and three-year letter-winner in football and basketball. He was named team MVP in all three sports his senior year and was also president of the senior class and elected Mr. IHS.
Carson is married to the former Shelia Lusher of Independence and the two have a 19-year-old daughter, Hadley.
Â
THEÂ CARSON FILE:
PERSONAL Â
Hometown:Â Independence, Miss.Â
Colleges: Northwest Mississippi Community College (1989), University of Southern Mississippi (1991)
Family:Â Shelia (Wife), Hadley (Daughter)
PLAYING EXPERIENCE: Â
1988-89 | Northwest Mississippi Community College - NJCAA All-Academic honors
1990-91 | Southern Miss - All-Metro Conference Commissioner's List; team captain; NCAA Academic All-American Â
1991 | Cincinnati Reds organization
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COACHING EXPERIENCE:
1992-97 | Briarcrest Christian School (Head Baseball Coach; Assistant Football Coach)
1998-2005 |Â Northwest Mississippi Community College (Assistant Baseball Coach)
2006-present | Northwest Mississippi Community College (Head Coach)
