Northeast Lauderdale High School left-handed starting pitcher Devin Sisson, center front, signs Tuesday afternoon to play baseball for Meridian Community College. Seated with him are, from left, mother Denise Sisson and father David Sisson. Standing are Trojans head baseball coach Josh Snider and assistant coach Tyler Vick.

Following last year’s playoff run, the Northeast Lauderdale High School baseball team is looking for a strong season this spring — and hopefully no distractions.

For at least one of its standout seniors, there’s one less distraction, as left-handed starting pitcher Devin Sisson signed to continue his baseball career with Meridian Community College Tuesday afternoon at the school. The signing comes as a big relief for Sisson, who said he is trying to focus on his senior season and not have to worry about college.

“It feels like a big weight lifted off of my shoulders,” Sisson said. “I get to go into my season focused on what I can do to best help Northeast, and if anything does happen to go wrong, I’m still covered for next year.”

Playing for a program with as strong a history as MCC was a big plus for Sisson, he said, as well as not having to travel to far to spend his first two years of college.

“It’s nice to be able to stay close,” Sisson said. “My family can come see me whenever they want.”

Trojans baseball coach Josh Snider also said having another player stick around east Mississippi after they graduate would be nice. Last year, former Trojan Andrew White signed to play baseball with East Mississippi Community College, as did Ben Smith two years ago, making Sisson the third to stay close to home.

“Some of our other guys are at Scooba, and next year we’ll have Devin at Meridian,” Snider said. “It’s always good to have them local. Anytime you get a little break, you can catch a game and keep in touch with them. The guys at Scooba, they still come hit and all that, so I’m looking forward to Devin still coming and working out with us when he’s at MCC.”

The coaching staff at MCC, headlined by head baseball coach Dillon Sudduth, was a big selling point for Sisson, who also plays first base and right field for Northeast.

“I really like the coaches,” Sisson said. “They’ve brought me in and made me feel like I was going to be a big thing in their program. They really wanted me, and that was a really good (feeling).”

Snider said MCC will be getting a good left-handed pitcher who has improved his offspeed stuff and has the kind of work ethic a coach looks for in a player.

“Having him come in from the left side and be one of our top two pitchers is extremely huge,” Snider said. “He’s worked really hard on his offspeed stuff, and having that stuff from the left side is really beneficial.

“He’s bought into our system and the coaching staff, and he knows what it takes to be successful. A lot of times you see kids with talent that think they can just live and breathe off talent. He understands that, yeah, he has a little bit of talent, but he also has to work his tail off to get better than he is right now, and that’s what’s gotten him to where he is today.”

Northeast reached the third round of the MHSAA Class 4A playoffs, and Sisson said he and his teammates are looking to push even farther this spring.

“We just want to get better than we were last year,” Sisson said. “The main goal is to make it to the state championship. That’s what we’re trying to work toward.”

Sisson is the son of Denise and David Sisson.