NEMCC softball is bringing back one of its own. Harley Reeder, an award-winning pitcher for Northeast Mississippi Community College who spent the last two seasons as head coach at Wheeler High School in Prentiss County, has joined the Tigers’ coaching staff as an assistant, the college’s athletics department announced Tuesday in Booneville.
According to Northeast, Reeder is only the second former Tiger softball player to come back and help coach the program.
NEMCC Softball Coach Jody Long on Reeder’s Return
Northeast head coach Jody Long said the hire brings the program “full circle,” noting that Reeder’s 2019 team helped launch the run of success the Tigers have enjoyed for the past eight years.
“I think she brings a dynamic that we’re looking for here moving forward,” Long said in the college’s release. He added that Reeder understands she is now a mentor and is “eager to do a good job because this is where her heart is.”
Reeder, a Saltillo native, said she is glad to be back. “I’m excited to be back home and be around the program that built me,” she said, adding that she wants to bring intensity and push players past what they think they can do.
A Standout Season in the Circle
Reeder played just one season at Northeast before earning an NCAA Division I opportunity, but she made it count. That 2019 team set a program record with 20 conference wins and came within one victory of hosting the region tournament. According to NEMCC, her season included:
A 16-8 record with three saves in 32 appearances and a team-high 148 innings pitched
153 strikeouts, seventh-best in a season in school history, and 16 wins, tied for eighth
The Tigers’ first perfect game in seven years, striking out 10 of 15 Southeastern Illinois batters at the TigerFest Tournament
National pitcher of the week honors across all NJCAA divisions from Fastpitch News, plus two MACJC Pitcher of the Week awards
All-conference honors, along with a .294 batting average, seven home runs, and 32 RBIs as a designated player
From Austin Peay to Wheeler High
After Northeast, Reeder pitched three seasons at Austin Peay State University in Tennessee, including the 2020 season cut short by the coronavirus, then finished her playing career at Blue Mountain Christian University. Over five college seasons, NEMCC said, she went 48-34 with 391 strikeouts in more than 570 innings and was named a scholar-athlete by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
She moved into coaching as Blue Mountain Christian’s pitching coach in 2024, then took over the program at Wheeler High School. In two seasons, her Lady Eagles went a combined 37-17, won division championships both years, and twice reached the MHSAA Class 1A state quarterfinals.
Reeder, who holds a bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Austin Peay, said recruiting is one of her favorite parts of the job and that relationships she built with area high school coaches should help the Tigers.
Jon R Myers is the executive editor of Alcorn County News and the founder of the Mississippi News Group, which he started in 2013 to cover communities across North Mississippi. He also founded the Mississippi Sports Group in 2006, which grew from a single community publication into a statewide network covering high school and college athletics. He reports on local government, public safety, schools and community life in Corinth and Alcorn County, working from public meetings, agency records and interviews with the people involved. Contact him at editor@alcornnewsms.com with news tips or corrections. For a correction, include the article link and supporting source material.
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