Coaching Staff
Travis Creel | Assistant Coach
Former Southern Miss baseball standout Travis Creel returns for his fourth season with the program as an assistant coach, who oversees the Golden Eagle offense as well as the architect for the program’s defense.
Creel has been a part of three NCAA Tournament teams since returning to Hattiesburg and his offense has produced big numbers with a penchant for extra base hits.
Southern Miss posted 82 home runs in 2022 and had stretches of 11-straight games (May 7-27) and 10 consecutive contests (March 13-April 1) with at least one home run. Last season marked only the second time in the school’s history that they produced 80 or more homers in back-to-back years – the 2021 team collected 83. Southern Miss also collected five players that hit 10 or more homers, which happened for the first time since 1998.
Dustin Dickerson led the team in doubles with 24, which ranked tied for No. 12 in the NCAA. He ranked tied for sixth on the school’s single-season list with Gabe Montenegro, who belted the same amount of doubles in 2021. Christopher Sargent added 21 home runs, marking the 11th Golden Eagle to hit 20 or more homers in a season. His total ended at ninth on the single-season chart.
The Golden Eagles finished No. 17 nationally in being hit by pitches (100), 30th in doubles (124), 37th in hits (617) and 44th in home runs.
As for defense, the Golden Eagles finished 2022 in fielding percentage at .977.
In 2021, Creel oversaw an offense that enjoyed being ranked among the nation’s leaders statistically in home runs (No. 17), doubles (No. 23) and walks (No. 32).
Southern Miss, which improved its batting average each month during the season, finished with 83 homers during the year. The home run total was the most by the program since the 2017 season and only the team posted a higher number of round-trippers just two times since the 2004 campaign.
Creel mentored Reed Trimble, a second-year freshman, who posted a team-high tying .345 batting average with a team-best 17 home runs and 72 RBI. His RBI total ranked tied for No. 1 in the nation as he earned both All-American and Freshman All-American honors. Trimble was taken in the 2021 MLB First-Year Player Draft in the Competitive Balance B Round to the Baltimore Orioles with the No. 65 pick overall.
Gabe Montenegro batted .383 over the final 45 games as he finished the year with 24 doubles and a team-best 15-game hitting streak earning second-team C-USA honors. Montenegro was one of three Golden Eagles honored by the league as Trimble and Charlie Fischer were the lone two Southern Miss position players to garner first-team honors. Fischer batted .304 with seven homers and 37 RBI as the team’s designated hitter.
The Golden Eagles also posted a .975 fielding average, committing just 50 errors, which was the fewest by the team in a full season since 1975.
In his first season returning to the Golden Eagles, Creel oversaw an offensive that averaged 6.4 runs per game while having to work five newcomers into the everyday lineup. Despite the team’s youth, the Golden Eagles managed to post four one-run victories as well as post a .975 fielding percentage defensively.
Creel holds the duties as the program's top recruiter as well as oversee the Golden Eagle offense for the program, a role he enjoyed at Louisiana Tech for the 2018 and 2019 seasons. In all, Creel worked for the Bulldogs for three seasons joining the Bulldogs staff in 2017 as an assistant coach and director of camps.
In 2019, Creel mentored two All-Conference USA selections while at Louisiana Tech, including Mason Mallard, who was a first-team all-league pick. In his three seasons, the Bulldogs won 30 or more games each year and enjoyed one NCAA Tournament appearance.
In 2018, Creel helped guide the LA Tech offense to a top-five C-USA ranking in walks (second), batting average (fourth), doubles (second), hits (third), home runs (fourth), on-base percentage (second), runs (third), slugging percentage (fifth), stolen bases (second) and triples (second).
Under his guidance that season, Tech saw four hitters named to C-USA postseason awards list, as Hunter Wells (1st Team), Parker Bates (2nd Team), Steele Netterville (All-Freshman) and Taylor Young (All-Freshman) all earned league recognition as underclassmen.
Creel joined Louisiana Tech after spending two seasons at Jones County Junior College, helping guide the Bobcats to a 2016 NJCAA Division II National Championship. During his stint with the Bobcats, Creel served as the hitting coach, infield coach and recruiting coordinator.
Prior of joining the Bobcats, Creel began his coaching career serving as the hitting coach at Meridian Community College for a season. During that year, Creel also worked with the infield.
Originally from Ocean Springs, Creel was a member of the Golden Eagles for five seasons, lettering for the program from 2010-13, and playing in two NCAA Tournaments. He also was a redshirt freshman on the squad's College World Series squad in 2009.
Creel holds the Southern Miss single-game record for hits in a game with six and in two separate seasons, led all of Conference USA in sacrifice hits. During his senior campaign, Creel reached base in nine consecutive plate appearances at one point during the year.
A two-time team captain, Creel was awarded the Colonel Fletcher Leadership Award following the 2013 campaign.
Creel has earned both a Bachelor of Science (2012) and Master of Science in Sport Coaching Education (2015) from the University of Southern Mississippi.
Creel and his wife, Alison, have three sons, Brody, Carson and Hardy.
Ben Brewer | Assistant Coach
Ben Brewer is in his second year on the Southern Miss baseball coach staff for the 2023 season.
his responsibilities include with the Golden Eagle offense and defense, as well as serves as the team’s first-base coach. He also oversees all Golden Eagle camps.
Brewer came to Southern Miss after spending the previous two seasons at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.
In his final year at SIU, the Salukis went 40-20 in 2021, posting the most program wins in 31 years. The Salukis were one of the best offensive teams in the nation in 2021, ranking among the top-20 nationally (of 286) in hits (10th), slugging percentage (10th), home runs (15th), and runs scored (16th). Defensively, SIU ranked seventh in the nation in double plays.
The Salukis also won 19-straight games overlapping the 2020 and 2021 seasons, their longest winning streak at SIU since 1974 and the program’s 14-0 start in 2021 was the best start in program history.
The 2021 Salukis hit 84 home runs, which shattered the previous program record of 75 homers set in 1998. SIU collected five wins over the RPI top-50, six wins over teams that made the NCAA Tournament, and nine wins over the RPI top-100, including a four-game series split with Dallas Baptist.
In Brewer’s first season at SIU, the Salukis went 12-6 in the shortened 2020 season and was ranked in the top-50 nationally in the RPI at the end of the year.
Offensively, SIU led the Missouri Valley Conference in batting average, hits, walks, doubles, on-base percentage, and stolen bases. The Salukis ranked among the national leaders in stolen bases (fourth), walks (14th), doubles (16th), and hits (17th).
Defensively, SIU was also outstanding in 2020, leading the MVC in fielding percentage and double plays. The Salukis turned 18 double plays in 18 games, which ranked ninth nationally. SIU committed only 12 errors in 18 games, and its .982 fielding percentage led the MVC and ranked 15th nationally. Brewer worked with the catchers, and SIU catcher Austin Ulick led the MVC in runners caught stealing.
As a player, Brewer was a catcher at UT Martin from 2010-13. He started his career at the prep level, including strength and conditioning experience in 2014. He started his baseball coaching career as a graduate assistant at Belhaven University in 2016 and 2017, where he helped lead the Blazers to back-to-back winning seasons. The 2017 team played its best down the stretch, ending the year with an eight-game winning streak.
Brewer worked with hitters, catchers, base running, and scouting reports in a two-year stint as an assistant coach at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in 2018 and 2019. He developed two-time All-American Brandon Parker into the 2019 NJCAA Division II National Player of the Year. Parker was drafted in the 10th round of the 2019 MLB Draft by the Atlanta Braves. In Brewer’s two seasons at MGCCC, the Bulldogs went 65-34 (.657).
Brewer graduated cum laude from UT Martin in 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in health and human performance. He earned his master’s in sports administration from Belhaven University in 2018.
Keller Bradford | Assistant Coach
Southern Miss baseball coach Scott Berry announced Tuesday the hiring of Keller Bradford as Director of Player Development/Operations.
Bradford returns to his alma mater after spending two seasons as an assistant coach at Hinds Community College. His duties will include organizing team travel, fundraising and serving as the program’s liaison with the program’s booster club “The Dugout Club,” as well as assisting in camps and on-campus recruiting. In addition, he will oversee the analytics and technology for the program.
In his first season at Hinds overseeing the pitching staff, seven pitchers signed or committed to move on to play at the four-year level with five of them moving on to the NCAA Division I level. The staff produced a 2.20 earned run average, good for 2nd in the nation according to the NJCAA, while only allowing 70 hits in 94 innings pitched, good for 10th in the nation according to the NJCAA.
Last season, Bradford helped lead Hinds to a 25-16 record and his pitching staff posted a 4.25 ERA, which ranked No. 10 in the NJCAA. His squad also registered 363 strikeouts with only 164 walks. That staff had nine pitchers sign at four-year schools with seven going to Division I institutions.
Prior to working at Hinds, Bradford worked as the pitching coach for Mississippi Delta Community College. While at Mississippi Delta, Bradford coached seven pitchers who moved on to the four-year level with four of them being NCAA Division I signees. Also, Bradford spent the summer of 2019 coaching some of the premier collegiate talent in the country as the head coach for the Upper Valley Nighthawks in the New England Collegiate League, where the Nighthawks finished 24-20 during Bradford's first stop as a head coach.
Collegiately, Bradford started at Hinds in 2014 playing for Sam Temple where he competed for a National Championship in Enid, Okla., as a freshman. As a sophomore, Bradford was a part of a signing class that included 14 Division I signees and won a MACJC State Championship by finishing the season with a school-record 43 wins.
Upon leaving Hinds, Bradford made a stop in Monroe, La., playing for ULM, where he threw 48.1 innings in relief while making 35 appearances, which is second in school history.
Bradford transferred to Southern Miss and sat out the 2017 season due to a shoulder injury that resulted in surgery. As a senior, he threw 30.2 innings in 23 appearances with a 3.52 ERA while helping the Golden Eagles to another C-USA Title by notching a win in the Conference Tournament Championship game.
Academically, Bradford graduated with honors from Hinds and was a member of Phi Theta Kappa. Also, he was selected to Honor Roll while at ULM and at Southern Miss. Bradford graduated in 2018 from Southern Miss with a Bachelor’s degree in Sport Management as well as a Master’s degree in Sport Management in May of 2021.
A Raymond, Miss., native, Bradford is the son of former Golden Eagle and former MLB pitcher, Chad Bradford, who spent 12 years playing professionally.
Bradford is married to the former Macken’z Smith and the couple reside in Hattiesburg.
Ladd Rhodes | Assistant Coach
Ladd Rhodes was hired during the summer of 2023 as assistant coach for Golden Eagle baseball.
Rhodes returns to Southern Miss after spending the last two seasons at Nicholls State as hitting coach and recruiting coordinator, where the team made NCAA postseason play in 2023 for the first time since 1998. The Colonels finished the season with a .289 team batting average, marking the highest mark for the program since the 2010 campaign. His responsibilities at Southern Miss will include hitting, outfielders as well as recruiting coordinator for the Golden Eagles.
Before joining up with the Colonels, Rhodes served on the Charleston Southern staff as an assistant coach throughout the 2021 season, overseeing the development of the Buccaneers hitters and working primarily with the program's outfielders. The year prior, he acted as the volunteer assistant coach at Southern Miss for the 2020 campaign where he managed the outfielders and coordinated the Eagles' base-running efforts. Rhodes also organized all baseball camps and showcases for the program.
Previously, Rhodes handled the hitting, base-running and outfield coaching duties at Jones College for three seasons from 2016-19, structuring the Bobcats' strength and conditioning efforts as he personally designing both the in-season and offseason workouts while accompanying the team during every on-campus workout. On the field, he helped guide the team to a 37-12 record during the 2019 campaign as the squad posted a .326 team batting average, boasting eight different players with above .300 batting averages.
The 2018 season saw the Bobcats compile a 38-11 mark with a second-place overall finish in the MACJC, compiling a strong .324 team batting average for the year. During his first campaign with Jones College, the team managed a 46-4 record en route to securing the MACJC regular-season title, all while leading the NJCAA Division II swinging the bat behind a .370 overall average.
Initially, Rhodes received his first crack at coaching a graduate assistant at Jones College squad during the 2014 season, assisting a team that eventually tied the school record for wins, won the MACJC South Division, the MACJC Tournament and hosted the Region 23 Tournament. At the plate, the Bobcats flourished under Rhodes' tutelage, generating a .327 team batting average behind 112 doubles 24 home runs, not to mention seven players with 30-plus RBIs.
Before working to earn his graduate degree, Rhodes managed to compile a successful collegiate career across two separate programs, competing his first two seasons at Jones College before wrapping up his eligibility at Southland member Southeastern Louisiana. While with the Bobcats, the program captured two South Division titles, a state championship and the school's first ever appearance in the NJCAA DII World Series. The 2011 squad even set a school record for wins and finished national runner-up as Rhodes earned second team All-MACJC, batting .345 with 20 stolen bases.
During his two-year stint competing for the Lions during the 2012 and 2013 campaigns, the Gulfport, Miss. native served as a key member of a competitive SLU program which secured back-to-back berths in Southland Conference Tournament, clinching All-SLC Tournament honors during both postseason appearances.
Rhodes received a Bachelor of General Studies from Southeastern Louisiana in 2013 along with a Master of Science in Sports Management from the Southern Mississippi in 2017. He currently resides in Thibodaux, La. with his wife, Beverly, and daughter, Molly.
Danny Lynch | Graduate Assistant
Bio coming soon!