Rust College transfer Dreylin Holmes has had little trouble adjusting to SWAC pitching in his first season at Mississippi Valley State.
The sophomore third baseman has been at the forefront of the Delta Devils’ sudden turnaround under first-year head coach Stanley Stubbs, who Holmes followed to Itta Bena.
Currently ranked first in the conference in home runs per game (.32) and second in slugging percentage (.700), Holmes was voted Wednesday as the SWAC Hitter of the Week, becoming the first MVSU player to earn the honor since Scott Hornstra in 2011.
In five games over the past week against Tougaloo and Bethune-Cookman, Holmes went 10-for-20 with four home runs, two doubles, nine runs scored, two stolen bases and two walks.
The Wildcats, who entered the weekend as the SWAC’s top team, were so scared of him that they intentionally walked him to load the bases on Sunday, sparking a six-run fourth inning. There’s good reason to fear Holmes at the plate — he has more home runs (six) than the Delta Devils have totaled as a team during the past two seasons combined (five).
The transition from NAIA to Division I competition brought a learning curve, but it didn’t last long. Holmes struggled briefly during a series at Nicholls early this season, going 1-for-7 with three strikeouts across the first two games.
“They had a good pitching sequence,” said Holmes, who is one of five Rust College transfers on the roster. “I could never guess what pitch was coming, and if I did, it was always the opposite of that pitch.”
But by the series finale, he was locked in, finishing 3-for-5 with three RBIs along with his first home run at the D-I level.
“It always feels good to play the best competition and still play well,” said Holmes, MVSU’s leader in nearly every offensive category.
Since bulking up 10 pounds over the offseason, the 6-foot-2, 205 pounder has discovered newfound power in his swing, already doubling his home run total from last year (three) in just 19 games so far. Opposing pitchers have taken notice, too, rarely throwing him fastballs now in favor of offspeed alternatives.
The added muscle helped, but Holmes has always been built for success on the diamond. The Griffin, Georgia, native hails from a hotbed of baseball talent.
“Baseball is very big in Georgia,” he said. “You got Perfect Game, all kinds of complexes and nationwide tournaments. I started travel ball when I was in middle school and it just grew from there.”
This weekend, the Delta Devils (9-11-1, 3-6 SWAC) hit the road in search of their first series victory over rival Jackson State since 2018 as they try to continue one of their best starts in the past decade. The Tigers (13-15, 1-8) have stumbled out of the gates after compiling a perfect 24-0 conference record last season.
With Stubbs well-connected in the scouting world and Holmes putting up monster numbers, it may not be long before MVSU’s star slugger hears his name called in the MLB Draft — though he won’t technically be eligible until after next season. The Delta Devils haven’t had a player drafted from their program since Kalik May in 2015.
- Contact Riley Overend at 662-581-7237 or roverend@gwcommonwealth.com. Follow @GWC_Sports on Twitter.
