The Lincoln County School Board recently approved the promotion of Scott Leggett to head softball coach at Loyd Star for the 2020-2021 school year.

Leggett had served as an assistant coach for the last two seasons at Loyd Star and replaces longtime Lady Hornet head coach Jan Delaughter who is now retired.

For 14 years at Bogue Chitto, Leggett presided over one of the strongest small-school softball programs in the state. The Lady Bobcats won two slow-pitch state championships and four fast-pitch state titles during that time.

“I’m excited about the opportunity,” said Leggett. “I’ve really enjoyed working with Coach Delaughter for these last two years.”

Delaughter and Leggett were rivals for many years as they led two of the most successful softball programs in southwest Mississippi. Leggett says the mutual respect was strong between the two.

“I always looked forward to going against Jan over the years because her teams were always so well prepared and played with so much effort,” said Leggett. “Over the last two years that respect has only grown working alongside her.”

A Bogue Chitto alum, Leggett will be joined on the diamond next year by his longtime assistant coach — his wife Denise. Denise Leggett is a counselor at Loyd Star and an alumnus of the school as well. Scott Leggett teaches Mississippi studies, world geography, psychology and sociology.

The Lady Hornets only played nine games this season before COVID-19 ended their year. Leggett came to Loyd Star knowing that Delaughter was approaching retirement, but he’s been content to be her top aide these past two seasons.

“I had been at Bogue Chitto so long — you get content where you are,” said Leggett. “Making the change to a new school was the type of challenge that I needed. I feel like being an assistant was a chance for me to kind of recharge my batteries.”

The Loyd Star roster is loaded with young talent. In 2019 the Lady Hornets won the Region 7-2A title and made the third round of the MHSAA 2A playoffs.

Among the returning starters for the Lady Hornets is Leggett’s daughter Alyssa — a catcher and infielder who will be a sophomore next season.

“With our junior and sophomore classes we’ve got a nice core that will be together for two years,” said Leggett. “We’ve also got some younger players in the lower grades that are coming up and improving, I’m excited about seeing what this group can do.”

 

Britt to pull basketball coaching double duty

In other Loyd Star coaching news, the board also approved Seth Britt to coach the girls’ basketball team next season.

Already the boys’ basketball coach, Britt will join the other three Lincoln County basketball coaches who lead both teams at their schools (Robby Walters at Bogue Chitto, Shane Adams at Enterprise and Brooks Smith at West Lincoln).

Last year longtime Loyd Star coach Gene “Moochie” Britt came out of retirement to lead the Lady Hornets. LS finished 19-9 under Britt in 2019 as they finished in second place in Region 7-2A.

Britt replaced Christi Terrell who coached Loyd Star for one season after a long run at Bogue Chitto.

Seth Britt will be assisted by Stacey Britt next season on the girls’ side. Stacey Britt’s daughter Aubrey is one of the leading returnees for the Lady Hornets as a junior point guard.

In his first season as boys’ head coach Seth Britt and the Hornets won Region 7-2A in 2018 before finishing 13-16 in a rebuilding campaign last year.