CLEVELAND, Miss. — After five seasons at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Rodney Batts is returning to his alma mater as Delta State University’s head baseball coach.

Batts will be formerly introduced during a press conference Monday morning in Cleveland, the school announced.

“Today’s announcement is a dream come true,” Batts said in a statement. “When I left for MGCCC in 2014, I hoped I might have the opportunity to return to my alma mater. I want to thank (DSU) President Bill LaForge and coach Mike Kinnison for having the faith in me to lead our program. Scottie and I are excited about returning to Cleveland and we’re ready to get to work.”

Batts is replacing Mike Kinnison, who stepped down last month to become Delta State’s director of athletics.

Batts has been the head coach at Gulf Coast since 2015. He has won 119 games in that span, including 75 the past two seasons, and made back-to-back appearances in the NJCAA Region 23 Tournament in 2018 and 2019.

This past season, Gulf Coast went 29-18, including a 16-12 record in MACJC play. The Bulldogs swept Meridian Community College in a best-of-three series to advance to the Region 23 Tournament.

Batts played at Delta State and was an All-Gulf South Conference selection in 1995 and 1996. He graduated from the school in 1998 and was an assistant coach on Kinnison’s staff from 1999-2014.