Meridian High School didn’t have to look far to find a replacement for departing head baseball coach Eddie Easley.

Michael Lindsey was approved Thursday by the Meridian Public School District Board of Education as the high school’s new head baseball coach. Lindsey was an assistant coach for the Wildcats this past season, in which they finished 13-14-1 with wins against MHSAA Class 4A powerhouse West Lauderdale and 11-time state champion Oak Grove.

Prior to being an assistant at Meridian, Lindsey’s coaching career includes stints at Petal and Hattiesburg as an assistant coach, and he’s been coaching high school baseball for six years.

“I feel pretty confident,” Lindsey said. “I’m excited. I saw where Coach Easley had the school and the baseball team going in the right direction, and I just want to continue to build off of that.”

Easley took the head coaching job at Ridgeland earlier this month after four seasons as the Wildcats’ head coach, and Lindsey said he’s been able to learn quite a bit coaching under Easley this past spring.

“He’s big on repetition and doing the right thing, and that’s one of those things I’m going to reenforce because it’s proven its worth, and he has the program going in the right direction,” Lindsey said.

Meridian Athletic Director Cheyenne Trussell said Lindsey’s promotion is well-deserved and that Lindsey will be overseeing more than just the high school baseball team.

“We’re extremely excited about the hiring of Michael Lindsey as the next head coach for Meridian High School baseball,” Trussell said. “He’s a perfect fit, and he’s no stranger to Wildcat nation. He was an assistant coach at Hattiesburg High when they played for the 2017 state championship. 

“He also played ball at all levels at Petal High School, at Southern University in Baton Rouge and professionally in Mexico, so he’s energetic and has the expertise to lead our elementary baseball programs that were implemented four years ago. He also has the knowledge and energy to lead the middle school program as well as Meridian High School.”

With a lot of young, blossoming talent from this past season’s team, Lindsey said he feels the future is bright for baseball at Meridian.

“It goes to show that the young kids are getting it done in the classroom, and it’s kind of translating to the field,” Lindsey said. “We have over a 3.0 team GPA, and several kids have a 20 plus on the ACT and are continuing to strive to score even higher, so that’s one of the things that’s really attractive about this job.”

Less than a decade into his coaching career, Lindsey has already been entrusted with a head coaching job, and he said he’s grateful to the MPSD for allowing him to continue to build the district’s baseball program at all levels.

“It’s personally something I’ve always dreamed of,” Lindsey said. “I didn’t think it would happen this soon, but I’m ready to get to work with the kids.”

Meridian is hosting a meet-and-greet for Lindsey at 2 p.m. Tuesday, July 5, in the school’s multipurpose building. The public is invited to attend.