Arlington High School’s Principal Shannon Abraham has announced the promotion of two new leaders for the school’s baseball program following Coach Brad Smith's resignation from head coaching. Current varsity assistant coaches and AHS alumni Tyler Poole and Connor Ferguson will lead the Tigers this upcoming 2023 season, with Poole stepping up as Interim Head Coach and Ferguson as Interim Associate Head Coach.
“Coach Poole and Ferguson’s long commitment to Arlington High and this baseball team gives me incredible confidence in their leadership,” Abraham said. “They played for the Tigers as students and had such a strong connection to the team that their careers led them back to Arlington. Coach Poole brings a high level of coaching experience from both public and private schools, while Coach Ferguson has the longest tenure on the current coaching staff, so he knows the team and players well. I look forward to seeing what they’ll do on the field.”
Poole, a 2008 graduate of Arlington High, has served as the assistant varsity and head JV coach since last school year. Prior to that, he was the assistant coach at Madison Central High School (Madison, Miss.), where he helped lead the team to victories in the state championship and National High School Baseball Coaches Association National Championship. His experience also includes head baseball coach and associate athletic director at First Assembly Christian School in Cordova and associate head coach at New Hope High School in Columbus, Miss. Poole received a bachelor’s degree from Mississippi State University and a Master of Science in Sports Administration from Arkansas State University.
Ferguson has remained connected to AHS Baseball since graduating from the school in 2014. Throughout college, he continued to help coach players through the years, and he officially joined the school as a teacher and coach in 2018. Currently serving as assistant varsity and head JV coach, Ferguson has been with the team during three state tournament appearances, one of which included state champion runner-up (2016). He also played on the team during the school’s state championship win in 2012. Ferguson attended Jackson State Community College and the University of Memphis.
“I’m blessed to be in this new interim position – it’s been a dream job of mine since I started playing for the team as a 14 year old,” Poole said. “It’s a privilege to lead a program with kids who are super special, and it’s my honor to help get Arlington to what it can and should be, which is being a state contender year in and year out.”
“I’m extremely blessed and grateful to be in this role, and I’m just ready to get to work with these kids,” Ferguson continued. “This is why I coach; I do it for the kids to help them grow on and off the field. I’m just ready and excited to get going.”
The AHS Baseball season kicks off in the spring.
