Butch Thompson inducted to the 2014 ICC Athletic Hall of Fame
Lee Adams/LetsGoICC.com

Former ICC baseball standout and Amory native, Butch Thompson will be inducted into the ICC Athletic Hall of Fame Saturday October 25.

Thompson, who is currently heading into his seventh season at Mississippi State University, attended ICC from 1988-90 and stood out as Coach Roy Cresap’s closer. During his two season at ICC, Thompson pitched in approximately 70 games.

His two seasons at ICC landed him at Birmingham-Southern College where he led the Panthers to consecutive Southern States Conference Championships. Thompson began his coaching career at Huntington College in Montgomery, AL in 1993, but return to his alma mater and took them to their first NAIA World Series in 1995.

World Series appearances would become a regular part of his coaching career as he has now coached in seven of them, most recently the Bulldogs in 2013. In 2002, Thompson landed his first Southeastern Conference job for a different set of Bulldogs in Georgia. After four years in Athens and a NCAA College World Series appearance, he accepted a job at Auburn where he would serve as the pitching coach.

Thompson joined the staff at Mississippi State in 2009 where he has continued to build his impressive résumé. Through 21 seasons, Thompson has had 27-players selected for Division I All-Conference Honors, 22-pitchers (that were not drafted out of high school) selected in the MLB Draft and 21 Division I All-American Honors. He has coached in 13 Regionals, 9 Conference Championships, 7 College World Series while winning 1 National Championship and 1 National Championship Finalists. Thompson has also had 8 nationally ranked recruiting classes and 6 players who have made it all the way to play in Major League Baseball.

At Amory High School, he was a two sport standout and had trouble making his mind up between football and baseball. It appears baseball was a wise choice and all of his accomplishments make him a perfect fit for the ICC Athletic Hall of Fame.