Zachary Bird, a rising senior at Murrah High School has signed his NLI to attend Southern Miss and play baseball for the nationally ranked Golden Eagles.
An RBI participant since he was 14 years old, Bird has worked hard to improve his game and he’s sought out as much competition as possible all over the country to achieve his goals. A driven individual, Bird was convinced he could be the first player in a few years to sign with one of the state “Big 3″ universities.
Bird (Summer 2011)
His athleticism and ideal pitchers frame are tailor-made for the college game and the Southern Miss coaches should groom him into a workhorse starter for the next few years in Hattiesburg.
Bird earned Clarion-Ledger second team All-Metro honors following his junior season and was a Perfect Game Honorable Mention Underclassmen High School All-American. Bird has a great shot at being named to the CL’s Dandy Dozen list grouping him with the top 12 players in the state prior to his senior season.
Bird is joining a team in Hattiesburg that is on a run that could place the Golden Eagles at the top of the polls for years to come. Back-to-back great recruiting classes over the last two years will pay dividends right away for head coach Scott Berry.
Bird (Spring 2011)
Bird will be the first player from the Jackson Public School system to take the field for the Golden Eagles since Provine’s Toddric Johnson in 2006. Johnson has participated in several RBI clinics as an instructor.
Bird was being recruited by some of the best baseball schools in the south before choosing USM. His father played football at Southern Miss from 1971-73 (and was drafted by the NY Jets) and his older brother went to school there as well.
Bird (bat on shoulder) at an RBI clinic in Jan 2009
Bird also has achieved high marks in the classroom by finishing with a GPA above a 4.0 over the last academic year as well as serving on the student council. In addition, he was named to the National Honor Society.
Bird collected a 3.05 earned run average and struckout 58 batters, while walking 17 over 39 innings last spring.
