There are baseball towns in America where the game feels seasonal.
And then there is Hattiesburg right now, where baseball has become part of the city’s identity.
At Pete Taylor Park, the Golden Eagles have piled up another 40-win season, their 10th straight, while positioning themselves to host NCAA Regional baseball yet again in Hattiesburg. Just a few miles away across Hardy Street, William Carey is preparing for another trip to Lewiston, Idaho and the NAIA World Series, the Crusaders’ fourth appearance in the last nine seasons.
Two different programs. Two different levels of college baseball.
One baseball city.
Southern Miss has spent the last decade building one of the most consistent winning cultures in college baseball, and 2026 may be the latest example of just how established the Golden Eagles have become nationally. Under third-year head coach Christian Ostrander, Southern Miss stormed through the regular season with a 40-win campaign, another Sun Belt title chase, and a national ranking that kept climbing as the year progressed. The Golden Eagles opened the season by ripping off an 11-game winning streak, including wins over Alabama, Mississippi State and Ole Miss, while also capturing the Round Rock Classic in Texas against a loaded field that included Oregon State and Baylor.
By the end of the regular season, Southern Miss had once again turned Pete Taylor Park into one of the toughest postseason environments in the country. The Golden Eagles entered tournament week with a Top 10 RPI and firmly in position to host an NCAA Regional.
And in Hattiesburg, hosting is different.
Regional baseball at Pete Taylor Park feels less like an NCAA event and more like a city-wide block party. Fans camp out for hours beginning early in the morning. The Right Field Roost and 16 oz lounge fills up before noon. Smoke rolls across the outfield from grills and smokers. Fans arrive by bicycle off the Longleaf Trace. Kids crowd the berm in left field. Grateful Dead songs drift through the speakers during batting practice while the pines beyond the outfield sway in the South Mississippi humidity.
Pete Taylor Park becomes its own world.
What makes Southern Miss remarkable is not simply the winning. Programs get hot all the time. What Southern Miss has done is sustain it. Ten straight 40-win seasons is not accidental. Coaching staffs change. Rosters flip over. Conferences change. NIL changes the sport. Yet Southern Miss continues to win at a national level because the culture in Hattiesburg has become self-sustaining.
And while Southern Miss prepares for another postseason run, something equally impressive is happening a few miles away at Milton Wheeler Field.
William Carey is headed back to the NAIA World Series.
The Crusaders punched their ticket to Lewiston after one of the wildest comeback victories in the country, erasing an eight-run deficit against Cumberlands in the NAIA Opening Round championship game at the Cumberlands Regional in Williamsburg, Kentucky. William Carey exploded for 10 runs in the eighth inning to stun Cumberlands 13-11 and clinch another World Series berth. DeeJay Booth blasted a game-tying three-run homer during the rally while Franklin Hernandez, Tyler Ducksworth, and Alan McClean all delivered huge extra-base hits in the comeback.
That comeback felt fitting for a Bobby Halford team.
For more than four decades, Halford has quietly built one of the most respected small-college baseball programs in America. Now in his 41st season at William Carey, Halford’s career stretches across generations of Mississippi baseball. He has won more than 1,300 games, produced dozens of professional players, won conference championships, reached multiple World Series appearances, and helped transform William Carey from a respected NAIA program into a perennial national contender.
And yet Halford still carries himself like an old-school baseball coach who would probably rather talk about turning a double play than discuss his legacy.
But his legacy is everywhere around William Carey baseball.
It is in the consistency. The Crusaders have now reached the NAIA World Series four times in the last nine years while continuing to compete in one of the toughest leagues in NAIA baseball, the Southern States Athletic Conference. William Carey went to another Regional this season after posting a 36-11 regular season record and winning another SSAC title.
The current Crusaders roster has the kind of balance Halford teams have become known for over the years, veteran hitters, experienced pitching, and relentless offense that can avalanche in a hurry.
DeeJay Booth has become one of the emotional leaders of the club, delivering huge postseason swings while also providing speed on the bases. Jayden Mark and Taylor Walters have anchored the lineup throughout conference play, while Franklin Hernandez has emerged as one of the biggest run producers on the team. On the mound, Matthew Davis has developed into one of the Crusaders’ most dependable arms, posting dominant strikeout numbers during conference play before helping close out the Opening Round run.
Now the Crusaders head to Lewiston once again, where they will open NAIA World Series play against No. 1 seed Taylor University from Upland, Indiana. Taylor enters the matchup with a staggering 49-5 record and the No. 1 ranking in the country, but William Carey arrives carrying momentum and experience. Taylor’s own athletic department acknowledged the challenge awaiting them after Carey’s dramatic comeback run through the Opening Round.
And that is what makes this baseball moment in Hattiesburg feel so unique.
Southern Miss is preparing for another NCAA Regional atmosphere that could once again bring national television crews, SEC fan bases, and thousands of visitors into the city next weekend.
William Carey is preparing for another trip to Idaho and another shot at a national title.
Two stadiums. Two dugouts. Two completely different programs.
But together they have turned Hattiesburg into one of the best baseball cities anywhere in the South.
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