BOONEVILLE, Miss. - The Northeast Mississippi Community College baseball program is opening its 2026 season with an early dose of some of the best competition from around the country.
The Tigers begin their busy 56-game schedule in the Florida panhandle at the prestigious Visit Panama City Beach College Baseball Classic from January 30-February 1.
Northeast meets Wallace (Ala.) Community College at Dothan on the first day of the tournament. It is the earliest start to a season for the Tigers since the coronavirus affected 2021 campaign.
The Tigers will play either Florence-Darlington (S.C.) Technical College or Northwest Florida State College in their second contest. Nine of the 16 teams in the field appeared in the final National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) ratings of last year.
"We are really excited about going to Florida to lead off the season," said Northeast head coach Richy Harrelson. "It's going to expose our guys to what junior college baseball is all about. It's not for everybody. It's hard, but it's fun. We're going to put them in the fire and they're going to have to work their way out."
The Tigers return from the beach and ocean for their home opener just two days later on Tuesday, February 3 against Marion Military (Ala.) College. It is the first of 14 dates for Northeast at The Plex this spring.
Northeast hosts a pair of weekend series against schools from the Midwest in February. The Tigers take on East Central (Mo.) College on the 7th-8th and Parkland (Ill.) College from the 13th-14th.
The Tigers will once again participate in three round robins featuring Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference (MACCC) members before the official start of the league slate during spring break.
One of those dates will take place on the Booneville campus as Northeast welcomes Coahoma Community College and Hinds Community College for a tripleheader on Tuesday, March 3.
Nine of the Tigers' last 13 non-conference matchups are on the road. That includes a three-game series with first-time opponent Pellissippi State (Tenn.) Community College from March 6-7.
Northeast gets a playoff rematch at Pearl River Community College on Saturday, March 14. The Tigers and Wildcats met in the finals of the NJCAA Region 23 Poplarville Regional one year ago.
Archrival Itawamba Community College comes to town on Tuesday, April 14. The regular season concludes for Northeast exactly two weeks later with a trip to Meridian Community College.