Brandon native soaring in first season at Southern Miss

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WLBT) - Southern Miss baseball has found a gem that can do it all on the diamond.

From starting the 2023 season strictly as a bullpen relief pitcher to now solving the Golden Eagles’ hitting and fielding problem at second base, true freshman and Brandon native Nick Monistere has quickly become a key contributor in his first season in Hattiesburg.

It has also been a season of many firsts.

This unique ability to be an effective pitcher and hitter isn’t new to Monistere. As a senior at Northwest Rankin High School just last year, Monistere won the 6A MHSAA State Championship as a Cougar, posting an 11-1 record with a 1.88 earned run average on the mound while hitting .422 at the plate, with eight home runs, and 37 RBIs.

He earned a multitude of individual awards during his senior season, including being named as a MaxPreps All-American and the SBLive Mississippi Player of the Year.

Now at Southern Miss, Monistere has thrived and is quickly becoming a fan favorite.

“Early [in the season], I was bullpen only. But at practice, I made sure I kept my swing down and had to make sure I kept my defense going and get that part of my game up to standard,” Monistere said. “I never knew what my role could be, but I had to make sure I was ready for times like [against] Old Dominion where they could stick me in there.”

After making eight appearances on the mound and with the Golden Eagle bats struggling to find balance, head coach Scott Berry granted Monistere his first collegiate start at second base on the road against the then-Sun Belt Conference leaders, the Old Dominion Monarchs.

How did Monistere answer the call?

Just a couple of hours after being called to pitch in the first game of the doubleheader on April 8 against the Monarchs, the Brandon native recorded his first hit and RBI during his first collegiate at-bat, spraying a triple to right center field to score third baseman Danny Lynch.

Monistere ended the game batting .500 at the plate, good for two hits and three RBIs to give Southern Miss the series win over the Monarchs.

A week later, Monistere hit his first collegiate home run against James Madison inside of the legendary Southern Miss stadium Pete Taylor Park, something he’s dreamed of doing since he was a child.

“It was one of the coolest experiences of my life,” the Brandon native said. “Growing up, every kid wants to play [NCAA] Division I baseball. I wanted to play at Southern Miss. I got to hit my first home run at Pete Taylor Park wearing this jersey and it was unbelievable.”

Fast forward to Tuesday, April 25, Monistere has made the starting second baseman role his own. That same day, while hosting rivals Louisiana Tech, the freshman was asked to enter the game in the top of the eighth inning as a relief pitcher after playing at second base the majority of the ballgame - another first in his collegiate career.

Leading by just one run after Louisiana Tech hit a three-run home run over, Monistere’s number was called in a high-pressure situation yet again - to close out a midweek game to give his team victory.

“In the top of the seventh inning, I went down in the [bull]pen and just threw a little bit. Playing in the field and throwing in between innings. You can kind of get your arm hot and that helped a lot,” Monistere said.

“[Pitching] Coach Os[trander] has been talking to me and told me that there was a high possibility that I could be doing that this year. I had to make sure I kept my arm in shape. And, mentally more than anything, be ready for that situation. I got my number called, so I had to get my outs.”

“It was fun! I wouldn’t mind doing that a lot more,” Monistere said when asked about his interchanging role.

Monistere faced four batters Tuesday night and didn’t surrender a hit, securing his team the victory first save as a Golden Eagle.

But not without a price.

During a postgame interview, Monistere was greeted with a splash of water to his face in congratulations from Southern Miss shortstop Dustin Dickerson.

Monistere came off a perfect 3-3 batting performance against Arkansas State Saturday evening along with recording another RBI. He now has more RBI and home runs than any other player that has appeared at second base this season for the Golden Eagles.

In the season (at the time of writing) Monistere has a batting average of .297, recording 11 hits, 10 RBIs, and two home runs in 12 games.

The Southern Miss bats have also elevated as a team since Monistere’s emergence at second base, with the Golden Eagles averaging 8.25 runs a game as of Saturday, nearly three more runs compared to the beginning portion of the season.

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