Jackson Academy welcomes three new head coaches for the 2026-27 school year: Head Baseball Coach and Associate Athletic Director Chuck Box, Head Fast Pitch Softball Coach Chad Hodges, and Head Girls Golf Coach Tyler Freeman.
Successful High School Baseball Coach Returns to Mississippi
Chuck Box has joined JA after five years in Texas as a director of program development at Texas A&M and then the University of Texas. When Box found the right fit at the high school level, returning to Mississippi and to high school coaching made sense, for him and for JA.
“I wanted to lead a program. I missed high school baseball,” said Box, who will also be associate athletic director at JA. “The rhythm of the year, young player development, the small school community, Friday night football.” His goal is to bring the Raiders the first state championship since 2011.
“When I began looking for a place I wanted to be, my criteria was very specific. I wanted to be somewhere where excellence was celebrated in all areas of the institution, not just athletics. I wanted to be somewhere where excellence was celebrated in academics, the arts, socially, and spiritually. I wanted to be at a school that was committed to developing players at the highest level, somewhere where we can win the last game we play in each season. JA checked those boxes for me,” he said.
Box won 283 games and six state championships in 10 seasons at Jackson Prep. He guided Hartfield Academy to two state runner-up finishes in four seasons and won a school record of 35 games in 2021, including a 34-game winning streak.
Box has more than a decade of college experience. He was the head coach at Freed-Hardeman University in Tennessee and Itawamba Community College in Mississippi for a combined 11 seasons where he won 363 games. Box, a 1991 Freed-Hardeman graduate and a 2010 Freed-Hardeman Athletic Hall of Fame member, guided his alma mater to a 44-10 record and a TranSouth Conference regular season championship and was ranked as high as No. 7 in the national NAIA coaches poll in 1997. He also led Itawamba to a No. 1 national ranking in 2000 and a state junior college championship.
“Having worked with Coach Box before [at Prep when Walker was an assistant athletic director], I’ve seen firsthand how he builds a program, from its structure and organization to a daily commitment to player development and accountability,” JA Athletic Director Brandt Walker said. “He brings a proven track record of success and a clear vision for what it takes to compete at a high level year in and year out.”
He and his wife, Amanda, have a daughter, Hazel, a ninth grader at JA.
Championship Pitcher Leads Softball Program
A former state championship pitcher from Florida and one of the most popular softball instructors in the Metro Jackson area is JA’s new softball coach. Chad Hodges was a star pitcher for Winter Garden Calvary Christian in Florida and played college baseball for Seminole State College in Florida and Shorter University in Georgia and professionally for the Pompano Beach, Florida, Pelicans.
He is currently coaching softball for the 16-and-under showcase Mississippi Rampage and does private lessons at D-Bat in Pearl. Hodges previously coached baseball at Eagles View Academy and Lake Howell High in Florida.
“Getting the opportunity at such a prestigious school is an absolute privilege, and I cannot thank the administration and athletic department enough for the chance to help take the JA softball program to higher ground,” Hodges said. “We have a great group of girls and watching them grow and compete has been an amazing experience.”
Tennessee Native Named Girls Golf Coach
Upper School Mathematics Instructor Tyler Freeman was named the girls golf coach in the spring of 2026. The 2026-27 season will be Freeman’s first full year coaching the team. He joined JA after serving at Belhaven University where he was the men’s golf coach and director of game day operations.
Freeman, who played golf at Coffee County High in Tennessee, and the University of Tennessee Southern in Pulaski, Tennessee, coached at Belhaven for seven years. He also coached junior golf at Coffee County High and Warren County High in Tennessee and at Shorter University before coming to Belhaven.
Twelve of Freeman’s Belhaven players were Academic All Conference. Several of his players had runner-up finishes. The team finished as high as third in a tournament.
Freeman and his wife, Keri, live in Flowood, with their son, Carson, a K3 student. They are expecting another child this fall.
“I’m honored to be a part of the JA community,” Freeman said. “I’ve already seen firsthand what the support is like, and I’m grateful to be chosen to lead the girls golf program.”
