Benton Academy’s baseball program is in new hands after former coach Keith Fagan accepted a job at Biloxi High School.
The new head coach for Benton Academy is Blake Edwards, brother of former Benton Academy girls’ basketball coach Shane Edwards.
Edwards most recently coached at Starkville Academy before making the move to Benton.
Newly hired assistant coach Vance Avalon’s path to Benton had a few more curves.
After high school, Avalon played baseball at Holmes Community College before transferring to Ole Miss to finish his career.
During his time at Ole Miss, Avalon was a member of the 2005 baseball team that lost to eventual national champion Texas in the Super Regional in Oxford.
Once his collegiate career came to a close, Avalon turned to selling medical devices to doctors.
But baseball and coaching runs in Avalon’s blood.
Avalon’s brother, Michael Avalon, is the head baseball coach at Mississippi Delta Community College and played in college at Belhaven, and Avalon’s father also played baseball at Belhaven and coached basketball.
The calling to coach became too loud, and Avalon took a pay cut to chase a dream.
“Baseball has always been in my blood,” Avalon said. “I enjoyed the money in medical device sales, but I’ve always wanted to coach. So far it has been worth the pay cut. I get to wake up in the morning an go to a baseball field instead of a hospital, and that’s a great feeling.”
Although he has not been at Benton for an extended period of time yet, Avalon is a fan of Benton, both the school and the community.
“I played college baseball with like six guys from Benton, so I have a little connection with the school,” Avalon said. “I love how Benton is this quaint little town. People here will give you the shirt off their back if you need it.”
The Holmes and Ole Miss product decided to make a big change in his life for a very simple, yet powerful, reason.
It was his dream.
“It’s been fun to coach, but it’s been really fun to help kids,” Avalon said. “This has been something that I have always wanted to do. I’m just following a dream.”
The duo of Edwards and Avalon are 1-1 on the baseball season thus far.
