July 9, 2025 – Former Northpoint Christian baseball standout JB Williams has parlayed a bounce back sophomore season with the Northeast Mississippi Community College Tigers into a noteworthy achievement.
Williams, a pitcher for the Tigers, was named a College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-America® College Division men’s at-large team member. He becomes the first baseball player from Northeast to win the award.
The Nesbit native was an accounting major at Northeast with a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.76 on a 4.0 scale. He has committed to the University of Central Arkansas to continue his career on the diamond.
Williams is the ninth Academic All-America® selection overall in school history. He is also the inaugural representative of the baseball team to obtain this prestigious accolade.
He was one of only 40 CSC Academic All-America® recipients across all sports in the College Division, which includes two-year institutions, Canadian universities and any senior colleges in the United States that are not in either the NCAA or NAIA.
“I battled a lot of adversity. Being able to come back and perform on the field like I knew I could this year really meant a lot to me,” said Williams. “I worked my butt off all summer leading up to the fall. To see that come out in my performance really meant a lot.”
Williams saw a significant increase in his production this spring after fully overcoming a lingering injury that cost him almost a month of his freshman campaign with the Tigers.
He pieced together an 8-2 record over 16 total appearances, which included 13 starts. The eight wins are tied for the second most ever in a single season by any Northeast pitcher along with 2019 ace Cooper Cox.
“JB was one of the guys that held it all together for us,” Tigers head coach Richy Harrelson said. “He just does things the right way. He’s an unbelievable person and teammate. His integrity and character are off the charts.”
Williams picked up his first victory of the year in a neutral site matchup versus then fourth-rated Heartland (Ill.) Community College. He threw a complete game two-hitter with four strikeouts and one walk while allowing only one run.
Northeast Mississippi Community College sophomore pitcher JB Williams is greeted in front of the dugout by teammates Conner McKnatt (hoodie) and John Neal Welch (far right) during the Tigers’ victory over nationally ranked Parkland (Ill.) College on March 7. (Michael H. Miller/Northeast Public Information)
He also tossed five scoreless frames in a home dub against another nationally ranked foe in Parkland (Ill.) College. Williams struck out a career-high 11 batters in the opener of a three-game sweep by the Tigers over Kaskaskia (Ill.) College.
Williams went 5-1 versus conference opponents. That includes six clutch innings against Meridian Community College at the region tournament that helped to extend Northeast’s season.
The 6-2 right-hander had the lowest earned run average (ERA) among the Tigers’ starters with a 3.56. He also led the team with 73.1 innings on the mound and had the second most strikeouts at 58.
“It’s definitely a hard balance being a student-athlete so I take pride in my time management on-and-off the field,” said Williams. “I’m just really appreciative of all the staff that helped me and our other players. The teachers are all amazing.”
The Northpoint Christian School graduate was an active member of Northeast’s Iota Zeta chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society. He volunteered at the Tigers’ annual Exceptional Night of Baseball for children with special needs as well.
Williams received scholastic awards twice from both the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) and the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).
