Scott Berry spent 23 years cementing his status in Hattiesburg as a baseball coach for the University of Southern Mississippi before announcing his retirement in May as the winningest head coach in the history of the school’s baseball program.
More recently, Berry was honored by officials from his hometown of Petal, as Mayor Tony Ducker – along with officials from the Petal Children’s Task Force and the Petal Education Foundation – awarded Berry with a proclamation during a November 6 ceremony at Magnolia State Bank on the Evelyn Gandy Parkway in Petal. Berry accepted the proclamation alongside his wife Laura.
“This is very, very special, and it’s certainly something that I didn’t see coming,” Berry said. “Petal has been very good to me and my wife and (our children).
“We’ve lived here for 23 years, and they don’t call Petal ‘The Friendly City’ just to call it that – it really is a friendly city. We feel very, very blessed to have been a part of this community and to see how it’s grown, and enjoyed the public school district here, which is one of the top in the state. Friendships and relationships have been built, and will continue to be built as we continue to move through life, so this is very special.”
The proclamation states that Berry has been a national leader in college baseball, and “he continues to uphold the high standards in which he served the University of Southern Mississippi for more than 20 years.”
Ducker emphasized the recognition that Berry has brought to the City of Petal, and to the area as a whole.
“Sometimes we miss the opportunity to make a big deal out of certain things, and I think these are the kind of moments where you can’t say ‘thank you’ enough,” Ducker told Berry. “The way you’ve conducted yourself, the honor that you brought to the profession – I think us as politicians could probably learn a good lesson from that.
“I’m tickled as can be that you chose Petal as your hometown. I don’t know where God is going to put you next, but I hope he keeps you here in town the whole time. So this proclamation says that what you did, and what you meant to so many people has brought honor on our area, and it also says that no matter where your life takes you, you’re always welcome here and we consider you a friend of the City of Petal.”
Berry played college baseball as a catcher from 1983 to 1984 at Crowder College in Neosho, Missouri, before he was forced away from that because of back issues. He transferred to Southwest Missouri State, where he completed his degree and became a student assistant coach.
In 1991, Berry was named as an assistant coach at Meridian Community College, where he served under head coach Corky Palmer, who would later become head coach at Southern Miss. Berry served in that position for six years, at which point he became head coach at Meridian for four years.
Berry then rejoined Palmer with the Golden Eagles, accepting an assistant coaching position at Southern Miss. Berry worked in a number of roles, including hitting coach, pitching coach, and associate head coach prior to becoming head coach in 2010.
Berry served 14 years as head coach at Southern Miss and became the school’s all-time wins leader last spring with 482 wins. With him at the helm, the baseball team won five Conference USA regular season titles and four Conference USA tournament titles, and has made a showing at eight NCAA Tournament appearances, including two hosting opportunities and one Super Regional appearance.
Berry, who won the league’s Coach of the Year Award three times during the program’s tenure in C-USA, completed his bachelor’s degree in secondary education with an emphasis in physical education from Southwest Missouri State in 1986. He earned a master’s degree from SMSU in 1989 with a degree in secondary education with an emphasis in administration.
During his collegiate career at Crowder College, he was a two-time all-region selection as a catcher and was named the team’s Most Valuable Player as a sophomore. Berry and his wife have two children, Garren and Kathryn Grace.In February, Berry was awarded the Pine Belt Distinguished Citizen honor, which is given annually by the Pine Burr Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America. That award is presented to a local resident who has gone above and beyond to give back to the Pine Belt community in the scouting tradition.
“I’m truly humbled and honored to be the recipient of it, especially when you look at the past honorees and the impacts that they’ve made in our community, and with people,” Berry said at the award ceremony. “To be mentioned in that company, I’m very honored.
“(They) asked me if I would be willing to receive the honor, and I said ‘absolutely.’ I was very, very surprised. As a matter of fact, when we hung up the phone I was thinking about all the people I know personally who certainly deserve what the honor stood for.”
