Mississippi Colege Athletics

Jake Bell enters his seventh season back in the Mississippi College program after a stellar career for the Choctaws.

Bell will be entering his sixth season as a full-time assistant coach with the Choctaws, and he holds many responsibilities. Bell has an active role in recruiting Mississippi Junior Colleges and as a hitting instructor for Choctaw players. He has proven to be a very valuable asset to the staff.

In 2014, the Choctaws his .276 as a team with 36 doubles and 65 stolen bases. Marty Stringfellow led the team with a .362 batting average, while Spencer Wilson (.325) and Robbie Jernigan (.324) also hit over .300. Chris Casto led the squad with nine doubles and 23 RBI. Jernigan and Wilson were All-ASC Honorable Mention selections. 

The 2013 season saw the Choctaws hit .262 as a team with 44 doubles and 56 stolen bases. Brett Hightower hit .333 with a team-high nine boules. Josh Perez hit .327 with 16 stolen bases on the year. Four Choctaws earned All-ASC recognition as Hightower and Perez were Second Team selections and Kyle Blount and Brooks Fortenberry were Honorable Mention.

In 2012, the Choctaws advanced to the ASC Championship Tournament after pulling out a series win at Texas Lutheran in the ASC Championship Series.  The Choctaws went 21-24 but won four of their last five games to clinch the #3 seed in the ASC Tournament.  MC was 4th in the league with a .309 batting average and finished 3rd in the league with 292 runs scored.  J’Marcus Brooks and Mike Kerdock were First Team All-ASC selections, while Ryan Glover and Brett Hightower earned Second Team nods.  Hightower and Kerdock were also named to the ABCA All-West Region Team.

The 2011 season saw the Choctaws lead the nation in home runs (50) and home runs per game (1.19).  MC also led the American Southwest Conference in batting average (.330), slugging percentage (.504), runs scored (373), and runs batted in (329).

In 2010, the MC offense rewrote the record books, setting single season marks for at-bats (1,786), runs scored (456), hits (620), batting average (.347), doubles (114), triples (22), total bases (910), and runs batted in (397).

As a player, Bell enjoyed a career that few other Choctaw players can match. Bell’s name can be found throughout the record books for the Choctaws. His most productive season came in 2006 when he collected 49 RBI’s (5th All-Time) and stole a school record 29 bases. He also totalled 105 total bases which ranks 5th in school history.

For his career, Bell’s .374 average ranks 7th in MC history, his 31 doubles are 8th all-time, his 21 homeruns rank 5th, his 100 RBI’s rank 7th and his 53 stolen bases rank 2nd. 

Jake is married to the former Megan Beauman and the two have a daughther Avery and a son Bryce.