Bio

Chase Reeves is in his fifth year as an assistant baseball coach on Brett Kimbrel’s East Mississippi Community College’s staff after previously playing for the Lions during the 2013 and 2014 seasons.

Since returning to the Scooba campus in 2019, Reeves has been instrumental in EMCC’s steady improvement on and off the diamond. The Lions have put together a post-COVID, three-year composite record of 70-63 with postseason tournament appearances each of the past two seasons. Two years ago, the Lions enjoyed a breakout campaign by posting records of 28-19 overall and 20-8 in conference play for their best marks since the 2015 season. After finishing third in the MACCC regular-season standings, the 2022 EMCC club secured a No. 2 regional seeding in making the program’s first NJCAA Region 23 Tournament appearance in seven years.     

A culmination of Reeves’ tireless talent-seeking efforts as the Lions’ recruiting coordinator resulted in 10 players from EMCC’s successful 2022 team moving on to the four-year collegiate level, including All-MACCC two-way standout Blayze Berry (UAB). In addition, Reeves’ noted hitting coach duties were also instrumental in the Lions ranking 12th nationally in NJCAA Division II baseball (2nd in MACCC) with 65 home runs in 2022.

Off the field, the Lions have continued to show consistent success within the classroom by posting team grade point averages of 3.43 or better during each of the past three seasons to rank among the top 15 academic team leaders nationally.

Prior to returning to EMCC, Reeves spent three seasons on the Blue Mountain College coaching staff after previously winding down his injury-plagued college playing career as a fifth-year senior with BMC in 2016. As a full-time assistant coach for two seasons after an initial year as a graduate assistant at Blue Mountain, Reeves helped guide the Toppers to 87 total victories, including a school-record 32 wins in 2017 in his first year on staff. During his two seasons as BMC’s hitting coach and recruiting assistant, Reeves helped mentor five all-conference players.

A former Louisville Slugger All-American and a three-time all-state selection at Hamilton High School, Reeves’ well-traveled collegiate playing career was divided between Ole Miss, EMCC, Southern Miss and Blue Mountain.

After originally signing with Ole Miss as one of the state’s top high school prospects and then redshirting the 2012 season with the Rebels, Reeves transferred to the Scooba campus and enjoyed a productive sophomore season for the Lions. After batting .290 in limited action as a redshirt freshman following shoulder surgery, Reeves bounced back to help lead the 2014 EMCC Lions to a 32-13 overall record and MACJC North Division regular-season championship with an 18-6 mark. As the team’s starting right fielder, Reeves led the Lions with 32 runs batted in and tied for the team lead with six home runs. 

As a left-handed, dual-position player at Hamilton, Reeves lettered six years under the guidance of head coach Lewis Earnest. At the plate for his prep career, Reeves batted .426 with 34 home runs, 32 doubles and 22 triples to go along with 180 RBIs and 200 runs scored. On the mound, he compiled a 39-9 career record and 1.14 earned run average with 501 strikeouts and only 70 walks in 319 innings pitched. Reeves was named the 2011 MHSAA Class 2A Player of the Year by the Mississippi Association of Coaches as a senior.

With a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and health studies from Blue Mountain, Reeves is married to the former Rachel Clay of DeKalb.