What to Know About USM Baseball's Latest JUCO Pitcher Signee

To be one of the final eight teams remaining at the MCWS in Omaha, Nebraska, pitching depth is essential. Led by recruiting coordinator Ladd Rhodes, the Golden Eagles got their next stud from Poplarville, Mississippi, to contribute to an already loaded pitching staff.

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HATTIESBURG, Miss. – Over the past couple of years, Southern Miss head coach Christian Ostrander, along with his staff, has taken advantage of the program's opportunities to get highly coveted signees from Pearl River Community College, such as right-handed pitchers Camden Clark and Landon Payne, along with infielder Gabe Broadus.

Going into the offseason, the Golden Eagles are returning a majority of their pitching staff, including an extremely exciting freshman signing class. That didn't stop recruiting coordinator Ladd Rhodes from adding a reinforcement to Coach Ostrander and pitching coach Gunner Leger's arsenal with the recent addition of Pearl River Community College junior transfer Drew Harrison.

Harrison By The Numbers

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After spending his freshman fall semester at Tulane University in 2024, Harrison transferred to Pearl River Community College. In his freshman campaign at PRCC, he was a weapon out of the bullpen with a 1.76 earned run average in 30.2 innings pitched with 43 strikeouts. In his sophomore year, he was moved to the weekend rotation. He carried a 3.53 earned run average in 81.2 innings pitched with 96 strikeouts.

Harrison has a four-pitch mix (fastball, slider, changeup, and curveball). His fastball can get up to 95 miles per hour with a changeup that averages around 850 revolutions per minute.

Born in Madison, MS, Harrison played high school baseball at Germantown HS, where he was named to the Dandy Dozen team in 2024 along with First Team All-District honors in 2023 and 2024. According to Perfect Game, he was ranked the seventh-best recruit coming out of Mississippi in the 2024 class.

Backend Bullpen Piece and/or Midweek Starter?

Dalton Trigg

Barring an offseason surprise, the Golden Eagles will return their weekend starters (LHP Grayden Harris and RHPs Camden Clark and Camden Sunstrom) for their junior years. With RHP Colby Allen graduating, could Ostrander be targeting Harrison as Allen's bullpen replacement? Recently, Allen was recognized by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association with Second Team All-American honors. Harrison initially committed to Jacksonville State, but decommitted after a head coaching change, which led to his recent commitment to Southern Miss.

Could Ostrander be targeting Harrison as a midweek starter? This past season, the Golden Eagles' midweek starters carried a 7.83 earned run average. And if we dig a little deeper, during USM's last six midweek games, the midweek starters carried a 16.53 earned run average. Whether this is the reason Ostrander brought in Harrison or not, it's a position that needs to be addressed throughout this fall and heading into next spring.

At the end of the day, a pitching staff can never have too much depth or talent. If Coach Ostander is given opportunities to add another key asset, whether through the transfer portal or via JUCO or high school signings, he's going to do it. The JUCO route worked out well with Clark coming over from PRCC last year. Let's see if the same success can carry over with Harrison during the 2027 season. Stay tuned to Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI for more offseason coverage of USM baseball, basketball and football in the coming weeks.