Jones College

Jerred Clark
Clark played soccer at Jones County Junior College in 2004-05.
 
Clark was the leading scorer as a sophomore and second-leading scorer as a freshman. For his career he had 42 points – 14, goals, 14 assists.
 
As a freshman he had 24 points (eight goals, eight assists) and was the second-leading scorer in the South Division and eighth in the state. As a sophomore he was the fourth-leading scorer in the South and eighth in the state with 18 points (six goals, six assists).
 
The Bobcats were South Division champions, state runners-up and Region 23 runner-ups during his freshman year.
 
Clark graded Jones in May of 2006 with a 3.8 GPA in pre-engineering.
 
Clark served as a volunteer assistant coach at Laurel High School for the 2006 fall season.
 
He went to LSU and graduated with a degree in petroleum engineering in 2010 with a 3.0+ GPA. He was President of the American Association of Drilling Engineers (AADE) in 2010. He completed his Executive Masters of Business Administration (MBA) at LSU in 2016-17 with a 3.8 GPA.
 
Clark was a volunteer 9th-grade algebra teacher at the Academy of Sacred Heart in Grand Coteau, La., from 2022-23 while working fulltime as a petroleum engineer.
 
He is a U-5 assistant coach at South Side Youth Soccer in Youngsville, La., in 2025.

Paul Culliver
Culliver played football and ran track at Jones County Junior College from 1979-81.
 
Though he initially had his sights set on Southern Miss, his path shifted when JCJC Coach Sim Cooley visited Raleigh and said, “Your brother played for me. That makes us family.” Paul joined the Jones Bobcats, where he became a two-year starter, team captain, conference champion, champion hurdler and academic award recipient—experiences that shaped his leadership style and long-term approach to life.
 
He was a starting tight end for 24 consecutive games for the 1979-80 football teams.
 
The 1979 team went 9-3 and won the MACJC championship with a 12-0 victory over Mississippi Gulf Coast. The 1980 Bobcats were also 9-3 and played in the league championship game. Culliver competed two seasons at the state level on the Bobcat track team in hurdles.
 
Culliver came to Jones from Raleigh High School where was All-Conference in football, a team captain and Most Valuable Player. He also ran track and played basketball. The Lions won the Wayne Bowl title and the District 5 Track and Field Championship while he was there.
 
After college, Culliver chose to forgo football scholarships and headed to Texas in search of opportunity. At just 23, he launched his first of many businesses and enjoyed a successful career in oil and gas, healthcare, real estate and timber.
 
In 2002, life changed with the heartbreaking loss of his four-year old nephew, Adam, to leukemia. In response, Paul became a committed advocate for childhood cancer research, meeting with lawmakers in Washington, D.C., and supporting organizations like Adam’s Angels Ministries—keeping Adam’s memory close while helping other families in need.
 
Over the years, he served as an officer and director of Rolling Acres Retirement Center in Raleigh from 1992 until its sale in 2014. He has been a longtime supporter of Adam’s Angels Ministries. He has traveled to Washington, DC for several years as a representative with the Children’s Oncology Group to help seek legislation and funding for pediatric cancer research.
 
Throughout his life, Culliver has remained deeply involved in service—whether it’s rebuilding a home for a family in crisis, serving on church committees, or supporting student-athletes and scholars in Mississippi and in Texas. He currently serves as Vice President of the Jones College Foundation and Finance and Investment Committee. In 2010, he created the endowment, the 1979 State Championship Team Scholarship, in honor of his teammates. In 2018, he was named one of the Distinguished Alumnus of the Year. He also established an endowment fund under his name and the names of his two brothers who also attended JCJC in the 1970s.
 
Today, Culliver and his wife, Cindy, live in Houston, Texas, surrounded by their children and grandchildren. He stays active in consulting, ranching, real estate and timber.
 
Culliver has long drawn inspiration from Teddy Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” speech—a reminder that it’s not the critic who counts, but the one who dares greatly. Raised with simple means, he gives back to help others access the same opportunities he once had. He hopes his journey encourages others to take risks, work hard, and believe in what’s possible.

Tonya Jones
Jones was born in Mississippi to Patricia and Harvey Jones and has one brother Mike Jones, who resides in Birmingham, Ala.
 
After finishing high school, she attended Jones County Junior College in Ellisville on a softball scholarship. 
 
After her two-year collegiate experience, she enrolled into a small cosmetology school in Columbus, Miss., and became a licensed cosmetologist. Jones, then moved back home to work at the most prestigious salon in Laurel: The Studio of Hair Design, which was ranked Top 200 salons in America.  She did an internship and built a strong clientele realizing that she had an entrepreneurial spirit about her that was passed down to her from her parents, who were both entrepreneurs and wanted to return to college. 
 
Jones then attended the University of Southern Mississippi to major in Business and Accounting while continuing to work fulltime.
 
After moving to Birmingham in the spring of 2004 to be closer to her older brother, Jones was hired as a lead hairstylist and Education Director for Richard Joseph SalonSpa in English Village and became a traveling educator for Aveda and Qnity. 
 
Birmingham is where she met her husband, Bryan Combs, who is a PhD at the University of Alabama-Birmingham School of Nursing and owns Village Healthcare in Mountain Brook, Ala. 
 
The two were married in May of 2006 and reside outside of English Village and have two dogs, Grace and Frankie.  You can usually find them out in the community in their free time dining, playing golf and walking their pups. 
 
Some of her most proud moments is having served on three major nonprofit boards in Birmingham: President of The Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce; VP of Smile A Mile; and Board of Directors for The Women’s Fund
 
Tonya Jones SalonSpa, an Aveda Lifestyle Salon, was founded by Tonya Jones on November 9, 2009, to build a team that loved working together toward one common goal: a shared vision.  The hard work and determination to help make everyone successful is a dream come true.  Within Jones, herself, is the power to get people to reach their full potential, in doing so; she will only allow this team to be the best that we can be.  
 
Divitas Restaurant/Bar was also founded by Tonya Jones and opened in 2021. 
 
In 2023 she pursued a passion for real estate and became a licensed realtor and joined Ray and Poynor Properties, still while owning and operating Tonya Jones SalonSpa.

Sharon Pendarvis Murray
Murray played basketball at Jones County Junior College from 2002-04.
 
She was the only sophomore on the 2004 team that finished runner-up in the conference tournament.
 
While at Jones, Murray was on the Dean’s List and earned a Letter J Award.
 
After Jones, she went to William Carey University where she studied English and Educational Leadership. While at WCU she played in the NAIA Tournament in 2006 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2007. In 2009, she earned a Master’s in Secondary Education and in 2021 she earned a specialist in educational leadership. 
 
She began her coaching career in 2007 as an assistant coach and head junior high coach in the McComb School District. 
 
Murray has been a highly successful basketball coach at West Jones High School since the 2010-11 season. She has guided the Lady Mustangs to an overall varsity record of 270-97 (.790 winning percentage).
 
She led the Lady Mustangs to the 2023 MHSAA 5A Championship with a 53-31 victory over Jackson Callaway. West Jones finished that season with a 29-2 record. The Lady Mustangs have reached the finals of the state tournament in 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2025 and made the Final Four in 2017 and 2022. The Lady Mustangs have made seven state tournament appearances since 2015.
 
Murray is a six-time Region Coach of the Year and earned a 2025 Tomorrow 25 Coaching Fellowship. She won the 2023 Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Champion of Character Award and was a 2024 MHSAA South All-Star Coach.
 
At West Jones, she coached three former Bobcats – Kiara Speed, Zan Ratcliffe and Breonca Ducksworth with Ratcliffe and Ducksworth playing for conference and regional championships at Jones.
 
Sharon is married to Fred Murray and they have three children: Leah and Maci Murray and Kolby Robinson.

Anna Kate Howard Ozmint
Ozmint was an integral part of the 2017 Jones College MACJC and Region 23 Tournament championship team who captured the title with a 3-2 victory over previously undefeated and 16th-ranked Holmes.
 
The Bobcats went 9-3-2 and became the first Jones women’s soccer team to win back-to-back conference titles. Ozmint played holding mid for the Bobcats and was named All-MACJC as well as MACJC Distinguished Academic All-State2017-2018. The Bobcats also had a 3.47 team GPA – the highest GPA for any women’s soccer team in the NJCAA – which earned them MACJC Academic Team of the Year honors for women’s soccer.
 
Anna Kate graduated from South Jones High School and helped South Jones reach the Class 5A state title game in 2013and the Class 5A South State title game in 2017. During her six-year career at the Reservation, Anna Kate accumulated 89career goals and was named First-Team All-District for four consecutive years. Also, she represented the Lady Braves inthe 2017 Mississippi Association of Coaches All Star Game. She also had the honor to be Miss South Jones High School and Lady Braves team captain.
 
She was also a starter for Gulf Coast United Futbol Club where she won two state championships and competed in Regional Premier League Regionals in Arkansas.
 
She graduated from Mississippi State University with a BS in Business Administration and a minor in Marketing. Anna Kate is the Southeast Regional Sales Manager for Howard Medical Technology Solutions, where she manages a team of medical sales professionals in 11 states.
 
Anna Kate married Pace Ozmint in February of 2025 and the two reside in Hattiesburg.

Andrew Pierce
Pierce played baseball at Jones County Junior College in 2010-11.
 
He was a standout at Stringer High School before coming to Jones.
 
As a freshman in 2010, Pierce went 10-2 with a 1.94 earned run average. He had 106 strikeouts in 93 innings, allowing just 69 hits and 23 walks.
 
The Bobcats went 38-12 and won the MACJC South Division in 2010.
 
In his 2011 sophomore year, Pierce was an NJCAA Division II All-American, leading the Bobcats to a runner-up appearance in the DII World Series in Enid, Okla.
 
He was 11-3 with a 1.99 ERA over 113.1 innings pitched. Pierce allowed 78 hits, 19 walks and struck out 126. He was an All-MACJC South Division selection. 
 
Pierce went 21-5 during his two years as a Bobcat.
 
After leaving Jones, Pierce went to Southern Miss where he went 7-4 with a 1.99 ERA as a junior. He was a first team All-Conference USA selection and was named Newcomer of the Year by the league. He pitched 99.1 innings, struck out 96 and allowed just 16 walks. 
 
As a senior, he went 9-2 with a 2.57 ERA to go along with 98 strikeouts and just 28 walks. He was aa member of the Golden Spikes 609-man Watch List for top collegiate amateur player and was a finalist for the Ferris Trophy, giving to the top collegiate baseball player in the state of Mississippi.
 
He was drafted in the eighth round by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2013 MLB June Amateur Draft.

Bruce Strickland
Strickland played football at Jones County Junior College in 1978-79.
 
Strickland came to Jones from Northeast Jones and helped the Bobcats to back-to-back conference championships.
 
He was an All-Conference Defensive Tackle and was a JC Gridwire All-American in 1979. 
 
The Bobcats were 10-2 in 1978 and won the conference championship with a 21-6 victory over Mississippi Delta and played Kilgore College (Texas) in the Garland (Texas) Bowl. The 1979 team won the conference championship with a 12-0 win over Mississippi Gulf Coast and finished with a 9-3 record. 
 
Strickland was elected Freshmen Class President in 1978 and Recreational Club President in 1980-81.
 
Strickland went to the University of Southern Mississippi and was named first team offensive tackle, but health issues prevented him from playing. He then transferred to Delta State University where he was selected as team captain in 1982. He was elected DSU M-Club President in 1983-84.
 
He was Mississippi Police Academy President in 1984 and served with the Laurel Police Department from 1984-91. He was elected as a Jones County Constable from 1992-96 and was a teacher/coach with the Jones County School District from 1997-2000. 
 
He was a principal in the JCSD from 2000-2003 and was Director of the Career Technical Education Department of the JCSD from 2003-13. In 2013 he was selected Student Council Administrator of the Year for the state of Mississippi.