Redgate, Smith: MCC’s honorees into JUCO Sports Hall of Fame

Two honorees representing Meridian Community College will be inducted into the Mississippi Junior College Sports Hall of Fame Tuesday night. The induction ceremonies will begin at 7 p.m. in the Billy Thames Center on the campus of Copiah-Lincoln Community College.

Entering the Hall of Fame will be former MCC coach Jim Redgate and former baseball standout Jason Smith. Smith is currently involved in his professional sport season, but Redgate will be on hand to be personally inducted into the Hall.

Known for his teams’ disciplined style of play and tenacious defense, Redgate coached the Eagle men’s basketball team beginning in 1971. Despite being limited in recruiting to a single-county, shared district, Redgate recorded several winning seasons and proved particularly hard to beat for MACJC foes in the “crackerbox” Ivy Sports Center gym. Redgate also coached the MJC golf program, winning the first state championship ever recorded by a MCC athletic team in 1972. He went on to post a three-peat in golf state championships, winning the title in 1972-73-74. Redgate is also noted for being one of the only coaches in MACJC history to feature a female player in a men’s sport one of his team rosters. Lou Weddington Hart played for Redgate on the men’s golf team in 1972-73 and went on to win the State Amateur Championship nine times. MCC’s annual fall fundraiser golf tournament is named in honor of Coach Redgate.

A versatile infielder for the Eagles who could play several positions, Smith led MCC to the Division I Junior College World Series in 1996 and Region 23 championships in 1996-97. He holds MCC records for most assists in a season (177) and in a career (321), and is the only Eagle ever to slam two triples in one inning (against Bossier in 1996). Smith made his major league debut for the Chicago Cubs on 6-17-2001 and went on to play for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies, Toronto Blue Jays, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Kansas City Royals. At KC, it is noteworthy that two former MCC Eagles played on the same team, Smith and catcher Paul Phillips. As of 2007, Smith’s major league totals were 58 runs scored,116 hits, 13 doubles, 10 triples, 17 home runs, and 58 runs batted in. He was born in Meridian, MS, and graduated from Demopolis, Ala., High School. He met his wife, Charlotte, at MCC when she was a member of the Lady Eagle softball team.

Each of the state’s 15 public community colleges will have honorees inducted into the Hall of Fame.