As a 49-year veteran championship baseball coach, Larry Watkins has guided successful programs for the Petal Panthers and the Sacred Heart Crusaders.  A native of Meridian, Larry lettered in baseball and basketball at Meridian High, was awarded the Skewes Award as Most Athletic, and was a member of the 1971 Meridian state baseball championship team.  He played basketball and baseball at Meridian Junior College and played baseball at Delta State.  Larry received his college degrees from Meridian Junior College, Delta State, and William Carey.  Coach Watkins launched his distinguished 49-year career in 1977 at Petal High where he achieved his greatest coaching success.  He guided the Panthers to 6 state runner-up finishes and 6 state championships—4 in class 4A and 2 in Class 6A.  Coach Watkins is one of the winningest coaches in Mississippi high school baseball ranks as he coached in 1,327 games and his teams claimed 992 wins with only 335 losses.  He coached at Petal for 42 years, serving 21 of those seasons as athletic director.  Larry arrived at Sacred Heart in 2020 and has been guiding the Crusader diamond program for the last 7 years.  Larry has served his profession with great distinction as he is a longtime member of the MAC.  He is also a member of the American Baseball Coaches Association and the National High School Baseball Coaches Association.  He has served as president of the National Baseball Coaches Association and the MHSAA Athletic Directors.  Additionally, Coach Watkins served on the National High School Baseball Coaches Association Ranking Committee and the Field of the Year Committee.  He has been a clinic speaker for the MAC and the Easton Baseball Coaches.  He was an associate scout for the Kansas City Royals from 1989 to 1999.  Larry is a four-time All-Star coach with the Crossroads Diamond Club All-Star Game and led Team USA to a gold medal in an international tournament in Taiwan in 1999.  Among his many coach of the year awards, Coach Watkins is a three-time coach of the year for the Southern District National High School Baseball Coaches Association and, in 2010, he was named the National High School Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association.  In addition to MAC Hall of Fame Honors, Coach Watkins has been inducted into the Crossroads Diamond Club Hall of Fame, the Delta State Coaches Hall of Fame, and the National High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2017.