While Mississippi’s college baseball season is working toward its end, the professional baseball season is just getting started.
The Mississippi Mud Monsters of the Frontier League will host Opening Day on Thursday night at Trustmark Park in Pearl, joining the MiLB’s Biloxi Shuckers which started their season last month.
It will be the second year of the Mississippi Mud Monsters, which filled a void left by the now-defunct Mississippi Braves of the MiLB. The MLB’s Atlanta Braves decided to move the Double-A team from Pearl to Columbus, Ga., in an effort to have all of its farm teams in the Peach State. That being said, baseball still lives on at central Mississippi’s only professional park.
Here’s what to know about the 2026 Mississippi Mud Monsters season, players to be on the lookout for, and more.
When is Opening Day for the Mud Monsters?
The Mississippi Mud Monsters will open 2026 at home on Thursday, May 7, with a three-game series against the Gateway Grizzlies. Thursday and Friday’s first pitches are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. with Saturday’s game starting at 6:01 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased here.
What’s the rest of the schedule like?
In total, the Mississippi Mud Monsters will play 51 games at Trustmark Park in 2026.
After the home opener against the Grizzlies, the Mud Monsters will embark on a road trip from May 12-24 with games against the Florence Y’all’s, Lake Erie Crushers, Windy City Thunderbolts, and Schaumburg Boomers.
The next home series will begin Monday, May 25, and wrap up with an “all-day doubleheader” on Saturday, May 30, against the Tri-City ValleyCats. It will be one of two planned doubleheaders in 2026, the other coming against the Y’all’s on Saturday, July 4, in an effort to give fans as much baseball as possible.
June and July will include six home series against the Joliet Slammers (June 9-14), Crushers (June 23-28), Grizzlies (June 30-July 2), Y’all’s (July 3-4), Evansville Otters (July 21-26), and Boomers (July 28-Aug. 2).
Come August, the Mud Monsters will play their first-ever international series against the Ottawa Titans. The series, set for Aug. 18-23, will also mark the first time a professional baseball team from Mississippi has ever played in Canada.
August home series include matchups against the Washington Wild Things (Aug. 11-16) and ThunderBolts (Aug. 25-30). No home series are scheduled for September, with the regular season running until Sept. 6 before the postseason begins.
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“This schedule is built for fun,” Mud Monsters General Manager Andrew Seymour said. “We’ve got early rivalries, great entertainment, fireworks weekends, and even passports. Year one showed that Pearl has heart. Year two will show that we have teeth.”
A list of home-game promotions happening throughout the 2026 season can be found here.
Mud Monsters fielding local players
When it was announced that a Frontier League club was coming to Trustmark Park, team ownership vowed to make Mississippi players a priority in roster construction. That promise has come to fruition this year with eight players from the Magnolia State earning a spot on this year’s team. The following local talents will be competing for the Mud Monsters in 2026:
- Kyle Booker (OF) – Southaven native who won two 6A state titles at DeSoto Central before playing college ball at Tennessee and Oral Roberts.
- Brayland Skinner (OF) – Southaven native who played high school ball at Lake Cormorant and went on to play JUCO ball at Northwest Mississippi Community College and later be a part of the 2021 national championship team at Mississippi State.
- Jackson Smith (RHP) – Raymond native and Central Hinds Academy product, who played college ball at Northwest Mississippi Community College.
- Braden Forsyth (RHP) – Coldwater native and Magnolia Heights product, who was a journeyman in college, making stops at Ole Miss, the University of Tampa, and Houston.
- Seth McCartney (RHP) – Rankin County native and Brandon High School product, who played college ball at Meridian Community College and Missouri.
- Preston Johnson (RHP) – Crystal Springs native and former MAIS pitcher of the year at Copiah Academy, who spent his college days at Mississippi State, where he won a title in 2021.
- Vantrel Reed (IF) – Vicksburg native and Warren Central High School product, who played college ball at Hinds Community College and LSU Shreveport, where he won an NAIA title.
- Gray Bane (C) – Olive Branch native and Lewisburg High School product who was a journeyman in college, spending time at Mississippi State, Itawamba Community College, Southern Miss, and Incarnate Word
More Mud Monsters to be on the lookout for
Two notable returners from last year’s bunch are Booker and Skinner. The Mississippians played an integral role in laying the foundation for what the Mud Monsters are looking to build in Trustmark Park.
Booker appeared in 95 of the team’s 96 games and had a .297 batting average, while tracking down fly balls in the outfield. Skinner, the team’s first signee, led off at the plate for the majority of the season, where he had a .294 batting average and led the Frontier League Midwest Conference in stolen bases with 49.
Another notable Mud Monster entering his second season with the club is James Boere. A left-handed pitcher from Australia, Boere is the tallest player in professional baseball history, standing at 7-foot-2. Boere is currently listed as injured, but was a giant presence (literally) on the mound when his name was called last year.
How did the Mud Monsters do in 2025?
It was a mixed bag as the Mud Monsters started 2025 strong with a 13-2 win on Opening Day. They maintained competitiveness through the month of May before experiencing ebbs and flows the rest of the way. The team finished with a 49-47 record, narrowly missing the Frontier League playoffs.
