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January 14, 2008

Pryor native headed to NJCAA Hall of Fame

Pryor native Perry Keith, Head Baseball Coach at Connors State College, will be inducted into the NJCAA Baseball Hall of Fame. Keith will be inducted at the NJCAA Baseball Hall of Fame at the 2008 JUCO World Series Banquet on Friday, May 23, in Grand Junction, Colo.

Keith has amassed a record of 1,146 wins to 318 losses in his 23 years as head coach at Connors State. He is believed to be the youngest collegiate

baseball coach to reach 1,000 wins when he

accomplished the feat at age 42.

Keith has guided the Cowboys to 11

Bi-State East Conference

championships, five Region 2 titles, three NJCAA South Central District crowns and three appearances at the Division 1 JUCO World Series, most recently in 2006. The Cowboys have also finished second in Region 2 nine times under Keith and have been ranked in the top 10 of the NJCAA Division 1 Baseball Poll every season since he took over the program in 1985.

For his efforts, he has been awarded Bi-State Conference Coach of the Year 11 times, Region 2 Coach of the Year five times, and South Central District Coach of the Year three times.

He has coached 23 NJCAA All-Americans, 25 NJCAA Academic All-Americans and his program boasts a graduation percentage of 95 percent.

Keith, who played for Connors State from

1981-82, has also helped many young men achieve their dreams of playing

professional baseball. Since 1985, over 80 Connors State baseball players have been selected in the MLB Draft,

including shortstop Kyle Gilligan in the 27th round of the 2007 draft. Former Connors State shortstop Julio Lugo won a World Series ring with the Boston Red Sox this past season.

Keith also runs the Heartland All-Star Classic held each year in Mayes County. It brings players from the region as well as a team from Canada to Mayes County to compete in a four-day tournament. Keith wrote in the program last season that he brought the

tournament to Mayes County “because of the wonderful people in this

community and the support they give their and their love for baseball.”

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