The South Coast Sea Turtles, coastal Mississippi’s semi-professional, ABA basketball team, will be using Coast Episcopal School’s gymnasium for its 2024-25 season, according to a joint announcement by the team’s CEO & Creator Jerry Thompson and CES Head of School Jake Winter.
Nine games will be played in the CES gymnasium located on the Long Beach independent school’s 25-acre campus, with the first scheduled for 4 pm, Sunday, November 24, against Montgomery, Alabama’s River Region Generals.
“After looking all along the Coast, from Moss Point to Ocean Springs and Biloxi to Long Beach, we were excited to find the Coast Episcopal School’s gymnasium for our home court,” Thompson said. “The gym’s facilities and location are a good fit for our team’s needs.”
“Partnering with this new team is a nice opportunity for Coast Episcopal School,” Winter said. “Our students have been participating in the Catholic Youth Organization’s basketball program for several years and hosting semi-professional games on our campus builds on the enthusiasm our families have for the sport.”
Thompson and his wife, Mariah, first created the team in southern California and, as Mississippi Gulf Coast natives, decided to move the Black Division team to the coast. The South Coast Sea Turtles is composed of 12 players, ages 18-40, who were chosen from the original 40 athletes who tried out for the team.
Thompson added that concessions will be sold and, as a special thank you to Coast Episcopal School, admission will be free to all students (when accompanied by an adult) and faculty.
The 2024-25 schedule is posted and tickets can be purchased on seaturtlesbasketball.com.
