PRC High School recently filled out its softball coaching staff with the addition of former Lady Devils standout Jayden Davis.

Davis, a 2019 PRC graduate who was a second baseman and pitcher on the school’s 2018 South State championship team, went on to play at Southwest MS Community College in Summit. She will begin teaching at PRC Middle School in January.

Near the end of the summer, Head Coach Tony LaBella added two other PRC teachers as softball coaches: Maverick Smith and Cory Dees.

Smith was hired as a varsity assistant, replacing veteran assistant Kelsey Carroll, who was hired as the head softball coach at Picayune. Smith, a graduate of Poplarville High School and Central Baptist College in Conway, Arkansas, where he played baseball, earned his master’s degree at the University of Texas at Tyler. He has been in charge of the Lady Devils’ offseason weights and conditioning program leading up to the start of after-school practices on January 6.

Dees is the new middle-school head softball coach. He joins the softball program following an impressive three-year run as head coach of the PRC middle-school baseball team. His teams won district titles every year, including the 2021 season, when they captured the Middle School South State championship. His record as middle-school coach stands at an impressive 47-6.

“I am thrilled with these three hirings,” said LaBella, in his 12th season as the Lady Devils’ head coach. “Jayden was a really smart and talented player for us for several years, a natural leader on the field. She knows our system inside and out. She will immediately help our pitching staff. And we were fortunate to get Maverick. He (Smith) has made an immediate impact and has brought great energy to the program. He’s already contributed a lot.

“And as for Dees, the guy’s a flat-out winner. Just look at his record. Those are Saban-type numbers. He had a hand in molding young players and getting them ready to step up to varsity ball. And he’s an outstanding game tactician. When you add these three to the expertise of Coach Rayford (Lee) and Coach Kirk (Stewart), it’s impressive. I think we have one of the elite softball coaching staffs in the state of Mississippi.”

Lee and Stewart have played key roles in the Lady Devils’ winning district championships in nine of the last 11 years, including last season, when PRC finished 6-1 in league play and narrowly won a one-game playoff for the district title over West Jones.