Eric DuBose and Joe Caruso have been blessed to do so many things through baseball. Until March, though, neither had taken steps to organize a summer wood bat league for college players. Their thinking changed when COVID-19 (Coronavirus) forced the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA baseball season and then shuttered the Cape Cod League and others like it across the United States. “With other leagues cancelling, so many people reached out to us and asked us if we were doing something,” said DuBose, who founded the East Coast Sox Baseball travel organization with Caruso and Greg Sykes. “We saw a need for it and went for it.” A little more than two months later, the plan DuBose, Caruso and Sykes discussed is primed to become a reality. At 1 p.m. June 8, the Honor the Game League will kick off with a doubleheader that will feature all four of its teams at the Q.V. Sykes Park in Meridian. The league, which is open to the public, will follow crowd guidelines set by Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves. It will wrap up July 23 with a championship tournament doubleheader. The league will showcase players from many of the top Division I schools in the Southeast, including 15 who were slated to play in the Cape Cod League in Massachusetts. That league, which is regarded as the nation’s top summer college wood bat destination, announced the cancellation of its 2020 season in late April. That decision set the stage for even more players to join the Honor the Game League. “We had been talking for a number of years about organizing a summer wood bat league for college players,” said DuBose, a former All-American at Mississippi State University who went on to play in the Major Leagues. “The pandemic opened the door for us.” Each team will have 12 position players and 10-12 pitchers and play two games a week. Games, which will be streamed live at www.collegewoodbatleague.com, will be Mondays and Thursdays, with start times set for 1 and 4:45 p.m. Division I players will make up the majority of the 90-100 roster spots in the league. DuBose said a couple of Division II players and some junior college players from the state of Mississippi will round out the rosters. Players from Mississippi State, Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, Alabama-Birmingham, South Alabama, Samford, Southern Mississippi, Middle Tennessee, Tennessee Tech, Jacksonville State, Southeastern Louisiana and Tulane will be represented. Fifteen players from those schools – UAB’s Jess Davis, Alabama's Connor Shamblin, Dylan Smith, Jacob McNairy, Brock Guffey, Drew Williamson, Owen Diodati and T.J. Reeves, Auburn’s Richard Fitts, MSU’s Logan Tanner and Kamren James, Tennessee’s Jake Rucker, Samford's Sonny DiChiara and South Alabama’s Santiago Montiel and Ethan Wilson -- were slated to play in the Cape Cod League. MSU’s Tanner Leggett and Houston Harding and MSU transfer Bryce Brock also will play in the league. “We are very blessed with the colleges and the talent in the surrounding areas to be able to put together a really, really strong league,” DuBose said. “When I looked at the rosters, I said, ‘Holy cow, that is a good team.’ But then I looked at another team and I said, ‘Ooh never mind. This is my team.’ It is crazy the amount of talent in the league.” In addition to having rosters loaded with Division I talent, the league will feature coaches with decades of experience in the college and professional ranks. DuBose said former MSU and Georgia head coach Ron Polk will throw out the first pitch opening day, and that Polk and former professional scouts Mark Willoughby, Thomas Wilson, who also was a national cross-checker, and Joe Mason will serve as coaches for the first games. DuBose said the plan is to have Major League Baseball scouts take over as coaches of the teams as soon as possible. “Having those guys step up to be part of what we’re doing is tremendous for us and even more so for the players because they will be around quality men and coaches,” DuBose said. “Having professional scouts as coaches adds more value to the league.” DuBose said the connections East Coast Sox Baseball has with college coaches helped the league gain traction. He said it was important for the league to have a clear plan so the coaches and players knew things would be done the right way. He said the league won’t jeopardize the health of any player, especially pitchers, considering all of the college teams were shut down two and a half months ago. DuBose said pitchers will have a pitch-count limit based that will be approved by their college coach. Pitchers will be limited to one game a week. “This is just an opportunity to give guys who missed out on the spring and who would have been missing out on the summer as well a chance to get reps,” DuBose said. “We’re trying to do it the right way because we want the league to be an option for guys moving forward so they don’t have to go up North or go out West and they can take summer school classes and work out close to home and come down the road and play some really good baseball.” The name of the league comes from Marucci, a partner of East Coast Sox Baseball, which also runs a fall baseball league by the same name. DuBose said he, Caruso and Sykes wanted the Honor the Game League to have an identity that was separate from East Coast Sox Baseball. Still, Caruso said East Coast Sox Baseball’s track record of success helped college coaches trust their players will have great opportunities in the Honor the Game League. “We should never be awed by what God does, but I am in awe of what he did here,” said Caruso, a former All-American and All-SEC performer at Alabama who also played professional baseball. “This is kind of incredible that almost 20 SEC guys are in one league because we’re not trying to rival any league. Eric and I played in the Cape Cod League, and the talent in the Honor the Game League is as good as the talent in that league when I played in it. I am humbled by the amount of talent here.” Caruso hopes the Honor the Game League inspires young players in Meridian and all over the Southeast. He said dugouts, restrooms and anything else used at Q.V. Sykes Park will be disinfected, and that every precaution will be taken to ensure the health of everyone involved. Caruso also said the Meridian High School booster club will operate the concession stand at the park and will keep the revenue generated. DuBose said Gameday Athletic Services, of Birmingham, Alabama, is working on the three fields at the park to ensure they meet college specifications. “This has turned out absolutely better than I ever could have imagined,” Caruso said. “God has had a hand in every part of it. I am giddy. I can’t wait until June 8.” For more information about the league, contact Greg Sykes at: gsykes@eastcoastbaseball.org or Eric DuBose at: edubose@eastcoastbaseball.org. For more information about East Coast Sox Baseball, go to: www.eastcoastbaseball.org.
