HATTIESBURG – Just four years ago atop the hill at Columbia Academy, a senior slugger mashed home run after home run while on a massive tear before the pandemic shut down a promising season for the Cougars. Now, in 2024, Slade Wilks enters his fourth and final season at Southern Miss where he is primed to be the leading offensive threat for the Golden Eagles – just like he was at CA.
The “Bunker Hill Bomber,” as Wilks is known as on campus and at the ballfield, eased into the USM lineup during his freshman year in 2021, mainly serving as the team’s most reliable pinch hitter. Wilks then started 60 games in his sophomore campaign, driving in 17 runs with a .288 batting average and 10 home runs. Last season was his best year to date, as he doubled his home run total to 20 and drove in 58 runs, earning him a nomination for the Boo Ferriss Award. New USM head coach Christian Ostrander, who served as the team’s pitching coach prior to being named Scott Berry’s successor, heaped praise for the former CA star ahead of his last ride.
“He’s just a fine young man, been raised right – ol’ country boy from Bunker Hill. Slade’s as good as they come,” Ostrander said Thursday at USM’s baseball media day. “There’s not a negative thing to say about him.”
Wilks’ teammates agreed, leading to him being named a team captain for the 2024 season, alongside outfielder Carson Paetow and starting pitcher Matthew Adams. The Southern Miss baseball program boasts a “Tradition of Excellence,” harkening back to the Golden Eagles only having four head coaches between 1959 and 2023, now with Ostrander’s name added to the Pittsburgh Steelers-esque legacy. The same goes for the history of team captains, as Wilks said those who came before him showed him what it takes to be a true leader in the clubhouse.
“They’ve kind of shown me the precedent and what it looks like to be a leader for Southern Miss with everything that goes into it,” Wilks said. “My biggest thing is just trying to lead by example every day, bringing it to practice every day and just to inspire guys to do the same. Just lead by example and let other guys bounce off of that.”
Wilks remains bought in to the team’s message – which remains unchanged from the past couple of seasons – that “Everything Matters.” The self-explanatory slogan was introduced by Berry, and maintaining that motto has aided with the transition process.
Something that Wilks did some of in his early years in Hattiesburg was play in the outfield, which he did none of last year. That will likely change this year, as Ostrander said that Wilks and Davis Gillespie will compete for the left field position. Ostrander added that he wants “both bats” in the lineup, so it’s almost a certainty that Wilks will factor in to the Golden Eagle outfield at some point in 2024.
“It’s something that I’m very excited about because DH’ing can be very fun at times, but what a lot of people don’t understand is that DH’ing early in the year when it’s freezing cold, just sitting in the dugout and waiting until (it’s time) to hit, people think I’m just nervous in the dugout,” Wilks explained with a grin. “You just have to stay moving. So, I’m really looking forward to the outfield and just being a voice out there. Hopefully I’ll get to play out there some.”
USM’s outfield coach, Ladd Rhodes, has been a huge part of helping Wilks get reacclimated to the position, he said. That and some “small things” with his swing are what Wilks worked on most during the fall and winter months.
Wilks sustained numerous injuries during his tenure at Southern Miss, often causing him to work through pain leading up to and during the season. That isn’t the case this year, as Wilks said he feels the healthiest he’s felt in four years. This, alongside his increased growth from year to year, has Ostrander anticipating another huge year from the Bunker Hill Bomber.
“We’re glad Slade’s here, I can tell you that. He’s the oak tree in that lineup. If there’s one guy in the lineup that other teams will say, ‘Don’t let this dude beat you,’ it’s going to be him,” the USM skipper said. “He’s going to make the hitters around him better because they’re going to have to pitch to somebody. He knows what’s coming (and) he knows he’s the alpha, if you will with that. … Slade’s a fine young man that’s continued to evolve, and I think we might see the best of him yet this fall.”
With this being his final season at Pete Taylor Park, Wilks doesn’t want it to be his final season full stop. While he has bigger fish to fry pertaining to the 2024 season, Wilks faces his second go-round with the MLB Draft.
“I’m a competitor. I don’t want this to be my last year of baseball. If they sign me, I’ll definitely go play,” Wilks explained. “But it’s something that I don’t worry about at all just because I’ve been let down, I guess you could say, at times by it, but it’s something that I want to do. If it happens, I’ll be ready.”
Wilks first faced an opportunity to get drafted back in 2020, which was a year he described as “gut-wrenching.” His Cougars, who he said started out 1-3 because their “four best players” were playing basketball, went on a five-game tear, where Wilks was on pace to break the Mississippi career home run record after hitting 50 dingers. Then, it was all gone. The Southern Miss senior said that he and his old teammates still get together on breaks from college to talk about it, but that season still stings.
Then as another result of the pandemic, the 2020 MLB Draft was shortened to just five rounds. Wilks thought he had a 50/50 chance at hearing his name called, but he had quite a contingency plan in place if he wasn’t drafted.
“It was one of those things that I knew the whole time that God had a plan for me. I was prepared either way,” he recalled. “I had always wanted to play at Southern Miss. I’d been committed for three-and-a-half years. I was excited for that, and if I got drafted, that would have been awesome, too. So they’re both lifelong dreams so it was always a win/win situation either way.”
Being a prodigious baseball talent must run in the family, as cousin Luke McKenzie preceded Wilks in playing at the next level with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, and then there are Logan and Trent Buckley, Wilks’ cousins who live half a mile away from him. The duo have began to be mentioned in the same ilk as Wilks as they continue to rise at CA. The two have been like brothers to Wilks, and he said the duo highlight the immense up-and-coming baseball talent surging through Marion County.
“Both of them are like my little brothers. I don’t have a brother, but when I’m home for Christmas break, we’re spending time together, hunting together and things like that. I think it’s really cool because, for me, just being someone for them who’s kind of been through it all and can help them along the way, whether they just ask for advice (on) just different things about baseball. I really enjoy that,” he explained. “There’s (CA), but in Columbia as a whole, it’s exciting to see how much baseball talent there is.”
Being so close in proximity to his family is perhaps Wilks’ favorite part about playing at Southern Miss, as he said he always has a sizable audience from his neck of the woods in the bleachers at Pete Taylor Park. Representing his hometown at such a level certainly hasn’t been lost on the star slugger.
“It means the world to me. I tell people all the time that I would not play at a place other than Southern Miss if I had the option just due to (the fact) you come here, let’s say on a midweek, for example, there’s 30 family members here – I have a big family – and there may be 100 people here from Columbia,” he said. “On any given day people come, and it’s just really special. It’s something that definitely means a lot.”
Wilks looks to boost his already impressive resume in the 2024 season, as he leads USM’s talented roster for one last time. The Golden Eagles, who have come up just short in the Super Regionals each of the last two seasons, look to break through the proverbial glass ceiling to reach Omaha for the first time since 2009. Wilks’ Golden Eagles start their season in three weeks, beginning with a home series against Marist starting Feb. 16.
