Ben Tillman:  Head Coach

Email - bentillman91@gmail.com

Twitter - @CoachT1991

Phone - 662-417-4548

Coach Tillman is entering his 3rd season as the Head Coach of the Choctaw County Chargers Baseball Program and 9th overall. Last season, the Chargers finished 15-11 and second place in Region 4-2A.  The season ended facing eventual State Champion, East Union in the second round of the playoffs. In his 1st season at the helm, the Chargers went 16-9 and were the Region 4-2A champions.  The team had 5 1st Team All District Representatives as well as 2 Honorable Mentions. Tillman was named the Starkville Daily News Area Coach of the Year this past season (2022). Tillman spent 2 years with the New Hope Trojans as an assistant and Head Junior High coach under head coach Lee Boyd. Prior to joining the staff at New Hope, Tillman was an assistant coach at Starkville HS for two years working with Catchers, Infielders, Strength & Conditioning, and Head Junior High.  At Starkville, Tillman worked under current Bevill State Community College Head Coach - Travis Garner, the current Caledonia High School Head Coach - Brad Hamilton, and current Starkville High School Head Coach - Luke Adkins. Before Starkville, Tillman was the head baseball coach at Yazoo City HS (2016-2017), and an assistant at Yazoo City in 2015, where his teams made 3 straight playoff appearances with the programs first winning season in 2017 since the 2011 season.  

Tillman has a career record of 52-38 in 3 seasons as a head coach. Tillman is a member of the Mississippi Association of Coaches, the Mississippi Baseball Coaches Association, and the American Baseball Coaches Association.  In 10 seasons coaching, has seen numerous former players sign to play college baseball at the Division 1, Division 2, Division 3, NAIA, and Junior college levels.

Coach Tillman is a 2010 graduate of Grenada HS.  After graduation, he attended Itawamba CC and Mississippi State University. He graduated in 2014 with a Bachelor's of Interdisciplinary Studies. Coach Tillman, 32, and his wife Holly have been married since May of 2019. They have two sons, Collin Brooks (2) and Grant Thomas (1).

Tillman Year by Year

Overall          Division

52-38               22-10

Year          Record                   Results

2024       Current        Current

2023       15-11      2nd Round of Playoffs 

2022       16-9        3rd Round of Playoffs, District Champions

Society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they will never see

                                                                                                             - James Kerr

Ryan Smith: Assistant Coach

Collin Brister: Assistant Coach

Coach Brister is entering his first year as an assistant baseball coach at Choctaw County High School. Brister spent the last two years coaching at Potts Camp and Winona High School. At Potts Camp Brister helped contribute to a 6-3 COVID shortened season where he was over the pitching staff. The Cardinals had a 2.84 ERA over the nine game season. Brister worked with catchers at both Winona and Potts Camp. While at Potts Camp, the Cardinals threw out 33 percent of runners in the 2020 season. 

Brister is a 2011 graduate of Eupora High School. After graduation he attended the University of Mississippi, graduating in journalism before completing the Teach Mississippi Institute and becoming certified to teach.