USM baseball coach Scott Berry to retire at end of season

PINE BELT, Miss. (WDAM) - University of Southern Mississippi head baseball coach Scott Berry announces he will retire from coaching at the end of the 2023 season.

Berry, 60, made the announcement on Tuesday and released the following statement below:

Southern Miss Athletics said a search for the Golden Eagles next head coach has already begun and that person should be named in the near future.

Berry is USM’s all-time winningest baseball coach after passing coach Hill Denson’s record of 469 wins and has put together a 517-271-1 record during his tenure as Golden Eagles head coach.

Since joining the coaching staff under coach Corky Palmer in 2001, Berry has been part of USM’s baseball program for 23 years, with 14 of those years being the head coach of the Golden Eagles. According to Southern Miss Athletics, he is only four coaches to lead the Golden Eagle program since the 1959 season.

A native of Neosho, Mo., the four-time Conference USA Coach of the Year has led the Golden Eagles to five regular season conference titles, four league tournament titles and eight NCAA Tournament bids, including hosting two regionals and one super regional.

Under Berry’s coaching, 14 different players have earned All-American honors, and 28 players were chosen in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, along with coaching four Ferris Trophy winners, which honors the top collegiate player in the state of Mississippi, and oversaw the C-USA Assistant Coach of the Year winner four times.

According to Southern Miss Athletics, Berry also produced 36 first-team all-conference selections.

Southern Miss Athletics said Friday’s game against the University of Louisiana – Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns, has been dubbed “Scott Berry Night,” as Berry and his family will be honored before the game.

At the end of the season, USM’s Department of Athletics will hold a retirement reception in Berry’s honor and fans will be invited to congratulate him for his time with the Golden Eagles and the university as a whole.

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