Jones College

Longtime successful prep coach Larry Knight was named the new pitching coach by the Bobcats in October.

Knight replaces Blake Beck who recently accepted a job at Tennessee Tech.
 
"Number one, coach Knight is an excellent leader of men," Bobcat head coach Chris Kirtland said. "His coaching record over a long career of winning championships shows his dedication and the impact he has on his players. There are many aspects of the program where he will have a positive influence, but we are thrilled to have him here to develop our pitchers, something he has a serious track record of doing."
 
Knight, who recently retired after serving as head coach at Sumrall High School for 14 seasons, is excited to be joining the Bobcat program.
 
"First of all, I've been coaching high school baseball in this area for almost 30 years and I've always had the utmost respect for the college here at Jones and the people who have worked here, especially with the baseball program," he said. "I've always been very impressed with the facilities, which are second to none. In my eyes Jones had the lead on that before any of the others and those baseball programs kind of followed up."
 
"They've had tremendous success over the years and, of course, coach Kirtland is a great guy and has done an outstanding job in leading the program. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to be a part of this and try to maintain the tradition here and take it even further."
 
Knight's record speaks for itself.
 
In 27 seasons as a head coach, Knight has compiled a 695-204 (.773 winning percentage) record.
 
Knight recently retired after serving as head coach at Sumrall for the past 14 seasons. He posted a 374-96 record with SHS, including five MHSAA state championships, eight South State titles and 13 division crowns.
 
Prior to going to Sumrall, Knight was head coach at Hattiesburg High School for 13 years, leading the Tigers to a 321-108 mark with four state titles, six South State crowns and eight division championships.
 
He was named Hattiesburg American Coach of the Year five times and Jackson Clarion-Ledger Coach of the Year three times. He was named USA Today High School Coach of the Year in 2010 and National Coach of the Year by both MaxPreps and EA Sports in 2009. 
 
The Clarion-Ledger selected him as the 2010 Mississippi Sportsman of the Year for having the first Mississippi high school team of any sport to finish as the number one ranked team in the country, according to USA Today. He was most recently selected as Pine Belt Sports and Sports 601 Baseball Coach of the Year.
 
The Hattiesburg High School graduate was an All-Conference pitcher at William Carey University for three of his four seasons and was named an All-American during his senior year. 
 
He graduated with a bachelors degree in mathematics and signed with the Atlanta Braves. After playing two years with the Braves and the Detroit Tigers organizations, he returned to William Carey and earned his ME degree in secondary education in 1990 with special emphasis in mathematics.
 
Knight began his coaching career as a graduate assistant coach at William Carey in 1989 with the nationally ranked Crusaders advancing to the regional playoffs in both of his seasons there. 
 
He then went to Petal High School as an assistant coach for three years, helping the Panthers to a Class 4A state championship in 1991 before becoming the head coach at Hattiesburg in 1994.
 
Now, Knight returns to the collegiate coaching ranks for the first time since his days as a GA at William Carey.
 
"I'm looking forward to not only working with this type of athlete, but I'm looking forward to the recruiting side, too," he said. "Over the years, I've developed a strong relationship with a lot of high school coaches throughout the state and I'm looking forward to talking with them and seeing their guys play. To me, that's always been something that's appealing. In high school, you play the cards you are dealt and in college, you can pick and choose." 
 
"From my standpoint, not only is Jones a great college, they also have great tradition with baseball. Hopefully, with the excitement with things around the program, we can get some winners in here and be able to play some good baseball."
 
He is married to the former Pam Robbins, who is also a Hattiesburg High School graduate. They have three sons: Austin (27), Alex (23) and Andrew (16). 
 
Knight and his family are members of Hattiesburg's Temple Baptist Church where he serves as a deacon.