SOUTHAVEN, Miss — The Atlanta Braves won the World Series Championship for the first time since 1995 and the city of Southaven, Mississippi has a special reason to celebrate. It's the hometown of the Braves' third baseman Austin Riley.
Austin was drafted in 2015 to the Braves after leading DeSoto Central High School (DCHS) to a MHSAA (Mississippi High School Activities Association) 6A state championship and was Mississippi's Gatorade Player of the Year in 2014.
Currently, Riley still holds the DCHS records for most RBIS, hits, home runs, pitching wins, and strikeouts. This led to DeSoto Central retiring his number 13 jersey in February.
In May 2019, Austin was called up to the Atlanta Braves entering as Baseball America's number 1 prospect and named Rookie of the Month. At the end of his 2021 season, Austin finished with .303 batting average, 33 home runs, and 107 RBIs.
After playing a significant role in the Atlanta Braves 4-2 World Series victory over the Houston Astros, Southaven Mayor Darren Musselwhite has named Friday, December 10th, 2021 as "Austin Riley Day" for the city of Southaven.
Austin will be in Southaven from 1-2pm in the lobby of the BankPlus Sports Center at Snowden Grove Park.