Southern Miss baseball’s season may have ended in May, but for several Golden Eagles, baseball never really stopped.
Once the final out was recorded at Pete Taylor Park, players scattered across the country. Some headed north to spend the summer playing with wooden bats on Cape Cod. Others landed in New England, North Carolina and Kansas. Three Southern Miss pitchers earned an opportunity with USA Baseball.
For the younger Golden Eagles, summer ball offered something just as valuable as another season: at-bats, innings and opportunities they couldn’t always get during the spring.
And several took advantage.
Braden Maranto emerged as one of the Appalachian League’s more productive hitters. Bruce Littleton flashed his potential against some of the country’s best college hitters on Cape Cod. Grayden Harris turned an invitation to USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team Training Camp into a spot wearing USA across his chest.
One Golden Eagle even left summer ball as a professional baseball player.
With Southern Miss already looking toward the 2027 season, here’s a look at where the Golden Eagles spent their summers, and how they performed.
Cape Cod Baseball League
The Cape Cod Baseball League represented the largest Southern Miss contingent this summer, with five Golden Eagles eventually seeing time in the prestigious wood-bat league.
Drey Barrett — Chatham Anglers
2027 Year: Junior
Position: INF
League: Cape Cod Baseball League
After hitting .298 with nine home runs and 41 RBIs during his sophomore season at Southern Miss, Drey Barrett headed to Chatham for his first taste of Cape Cod baseball. The results were much tougher against a league filled with some of the best college pitchers in the country.
Barrett appeared in 10 games for the Chatham Anglers, batting .148 with four hits in 27 at-bats. He scored six runs, walked seven times and struck out 12 times. Although he did not record an extra-base hit, his walks helped push his on-base percentage to .343. His final slash line was .148/.343/.148.
Barrett primarily played third base, giving him additional defensive repetitions at the position he could again occupy for Southern Miss in 2027. The batting average wasn’t pretty, but that’s not necessarily unusual on the Cape. Even during a difficult offensive stretch, he continued finding ways to reach base, with his 7 walks and .343 OBP
Summer stats: 10 G, 27 AB, 4 H, 6 R, 7 BB, 12 K, .148 AVG, .343 OBP, .148 SLG.
Bruce Littleton — Hyannis Harbor Hawks
2027 Year: Sophomore
Position: LHP
League: Cape Cod Baseball League
Bruce Littleton may have produced the biggest breakout summer of any young pitcher on the Southern Miss roster.
After seeing limited action as a freshman in Hattiesburg, Littleton headed north and joined the Hyannis Harbor Hawks on July 3. Once he got on the mound, the freshman left-hander was outstanding against some of the best college hitters in the country. Littleton finished his Cape Cod League summer 3-0 with a 1.54 ERA over seven appearances, allowing just 10 hits and five walks over 14â…” innings while striking out 23.
That works out to an impressive 14.1 strikeouts per nine innings, while opposing hitters managed fewer than seven hits per nine against him.
One of Littleton’s best performances came against Cotuit, when he entered out of the bullpen and struck out six over 2â…“ scoreless innings, allowing only one hit. At the time, the performance improved him to 3-0 with a 2.31 ERA, and he continued lowering that number before finishing the summer at 1.54.
For a pitcher who spent his freshman season working mostly in a limited role, the summer was a significant development. Littleton didn’t simply get additional innings — he showed he could miss bats against lineups filled with high-level Division I hitters.
Summer stats: 7 G, 3-0, 14â…” IP, 10 H, 5 BB, 23 K, 1.54 ERA.
If Littleton carries that momentum back to Hattiesburg, he could be one of the more intriguing candidates to take on a much larger role in Southern Miss’ pitching staff in 2027.
Sam Mitchell — Hyannis Harbor Hawks
2027 Year: Sophomore
Position: RHP
Team: Hyannis Harbor Hawks
League: Cape Cod Baseball League
Sam Mitchell used his summer on Cape Cod to pick up valuable innings against some of the best college hitters in the country.
The Southern Miss right-hander appeared in four games for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks, including one start, finishing with a 6.43 ERA over seven innings. Mitchell allowed six hits and five earned runs while walking eight and striking out six.
His best outing came July 28 against Cotuit. Mitchell earned the start and worked three innings, allowing one earned run while striking out three. He needed only 41 pitches before handing the ball to fellow Southern Miss pitcher Bruce Littleton in Hyannis’ 5-2 victory.
The overall numbers were uneven, particularly the eight walks in seven innings. After seeing limited action during his freshman season at Southern Miss, he was able to get additional innings with a wood ball against Cape Cod League lineups loaded with high-level Division I hitters.
His final outing also provided an encouraging way to finish the summer. Going three innings and allowing just one earned run in a Cape Cod League start gave Mitchell something positive to build on heading into his sophomore season at Southern Miss.
Summer stats: 4 G, 1 GS, 0-0, 7.0 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 8 BB, 6 K, 6.43 ERA.
KL Farr — Hyannis Harbor Hawks
2027 Year: Sophomore
Position: RHP
Kevin Landry “KL” Farr joined several fellow Southern Miss pitchers with the Hyannis Harbor Hawks and put together a strong summer against Cape Cod League competition. Farr appeared in five games out of the bullpen, finishing 0-0 with one save and a 2.45 ERA over 11 innings. He allowed just five hits and three earned runs, walked six and struck out seven.
The most impressive part of Farr’s summer may have been how difficult he was to hit. Cape Cod League hitters managed only five hits in 11 innings, an average of just 4.1 hits per nine innings. Farr also showed he could handle late-game work, finishing three of the five games he appeared in and recording a save.
The summer built on a promising freshman season at Southern Miss. Farr had already shown an ability to miss bats and limit damage in a smaller role during the spring, and he carried that success into one of the toughest collegiate summer leagues in the country.
Summer stats: 5 G, 0 GS, 0-0, 1 SV, 11.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 HR, 6 BB, 7 K, 2.45 ERA, 1.000 WHIP.
Drake Meeks — Hyannis Harbor Hawks
2027 Status: Signed professionally
Position: RHP
Drake Meeks’ summer ended much differently than everyone else’s. Meeks returned to Hyannis after previously pitching for the Harbor Hawks in 2024. The results were difficult statistically. Baseball-Reference credits Meeks with four appearances and 5â…“ innings, allowing 11 hits and seven earned runs. He walked three and struck out seven.
His final Cape line was 0-0 with an 11.81 ERA and 2.625 WHIP. But his summer cannot really be judged by ERA.
Meeks was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 18th round of the 2026 MLB Draft, ending his Southern Miss career and moving him into professional baseball. Baseball-Reference now lists him in the Tigers organization.
So while the Cape numbers weren’t strong, Meeks received the ultimate validation of his professional potential. He will not be part of Southern Miss’ 2027 roster.
Summer stats: 4 G, 5â…“ IP, 11 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, 11.81 ERA.
Appalachian League
Braden Maranto — Burlington Sock Puppets
2027 Year: Redshirt Freshman
Position: INF
League: Appalachian League
If Southern Miss is looking for a breakout player entering 2027, Braden Maranto deserves to be near the top of the list. Maranto did not appear in a game during his freshman season at Southern Miss, meaning his summer with Burlington essentially became his first extended look at college-level competition. Southern Miss still listed him as a freshman in 2026 and showed no game statistics for him.
He responded by becoming one of Burlington’s best hitters. In 35 games and 113 at-bats. He collected 39 hits, nine doubles, one triple and two home runs, scored 31 times and drove in 23 runs. Maranto also stole nine bases.
Even more impressive was his plate discipline. He walked 29 times while striking out only 18 times. For a player who never stepped to the plate for Southern Miss during the spring, Maranto could hardly have asked for a better summer.
Summer stats: 35 G, 113 AB, 39 H, 9 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 23 RBI, 31 R, 29 BB, 18 K, 9 SB, .345 AVG, .490 OBP, .496 SLG, .985 OPS.
USA Baseball Collegiate National Team
Southern Miss didn’t just send players to summer leagues.
Three Golden Eagle pitchers were invited to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp: Grayden Harris, Camden Clark and Camden Sunstrom.
Only Harris eventually survived the cut and made the final 28-man national team roster.
Grayden Harris — USA Baseball Collegiate National Team
2027 Year: Junior
Position: LHP
Grayden Harris entered the summer already established as one of Southern Miss’ top pitchers. His 2026 Southern Miss season at 8-1 with a 4.02 ERA, 107 strikeouts and only 19 walks over 87â…“ innings. Then he went out and earned a Team USA jersey.
Harris began the Stars vs. Stripes portion of training camp with three scoreless innings and five strikeouts in a 3-2 Stars victory. He followed that by firing two more scoreless innings with three strikeouts against the Johnson City Doughboys during USA Baseball’s exhibition schedule.
Those outings gave Harris five scoreless innings with eight strikeouts during the portion of the training camp that can be verified through USA Baseball’s game reports. More importantly, Harris earned one of only 28 spots on the final Collegiate National Team roster that represented the United States at the World Collegiate Baseball Championship in Taiwan.
Verified USA training stats: 5 IP, 0 R, 8 K.
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