People are so gracious to give me some of their very valuable time, in order for this column to be written. Coach Wyatt Tullos Jr. stopped mowing the baseball field to give me this interview. In asking the first questions, I discovered that he followed in his father’s footsteps. From County Line, near Union, Mr. Wyatt Tullos Sr. was a 41-year educator, basketball coach, and principal. In the late 60s, he was principal here at Decatur High School, then he served as Supervisor of Drivers’ Education of the State of Mississippi from 1970 -1990. He passed away in April of 2018.
Coach Tullos was born Sept. 22, 1973, after his oldest sister Sandra was born 19 years earlier, and his sister Deborah was born 14 years before his birth. Deborah Cook is a pediatrician in the Dallas area, but his sister Sandra died in 2014. His mother Glenda Smith Tullos, from Edinburg, was also an educator, teaching for over thirty years before retiring from the Jackson Public Schools.
Wyatt attended Clinton public schools until seventh grade when he entered Woodland Hills Baptist Academy, graduating from there in 1992 as Valedictorian. In high school he played baseball and basketball year round, and was a four-year starter in college baseball with a career batting average of .303. He graduated as one of three valedictorians of Holmes Community College in 1994. Pre-med at Holmes, he graduated from Mississippi College in 1996, with a double major in history and political science, and was accepted into law school. A graduate assistant in grad school, he worked on his master’s there for a year.
Though he had proven—with his constant 4.0 average at Holmes and Mississippi College, his having received the Halbrook Award for Academic Achievement Among Student Athletes in 1996, and other academic honors—that he could have succeeded in other fields, he decided to coach baseball. He began coaching at Lake High School in 1997, stayed there three years, and finished his master’s in 2000.
He met Miss Holly Hamrick, daughter of Bill and Barbara Hamrick of Newton, at church in 1998, and they were married June 10, 2000. The next year, living in Columbus, while Holly worked on her master’s at Mississippi State University, Wyatt taught and coached at Hamilton High School.
Holly had graduated from Newton County High School in 1996, from East Central Community College in 1998, and from Mississippi University for Women, in 2000, with a B.A. in English. In 2005 she finished her master’s. Holly later found her niche in nursing, graduating from nursing school in 2009. She has been a wound care nurse for six years, first at Regency Hospital, then at Anderson Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Center.
In 2001, Coach Tullos received the opportunity to come back here to be Newton County baseball coach. He taught algebra and various math subjects from 2001-2018, but he is now teaching Drivers’ Education, as his father did before him.
The Tulloses have four delightful children. Marilyn, the oldest, born February 2003, is in the 11th grade, and wants to be a missionary. Josie, in the 8th grade, was born January 2006, and is considering becoming a coach. These older girls both play tennis and run cross country. Erin, in the third grade, born January 2011, plays tennis and basketball, takes gymnastics, and definitely wants to be a veterinarian. They got their boy, Wyatt Tullos, III, in September 2013, and he is now a kindergartener. He loves tractors, power tools, fishing, and any kind of ball.
Coach Tullos told me of his Christian upbringing. Having been reared in a Christian home, he told of how, at the age of six, in 1979, he made his profession of faith and was baptized at First Baptist Church, Clinton. He was active in Sunday School, Royal Ambassadors, and Cub Scouts.
He said his mother, now retired, is “always there, a fantastic cook, kind, loving, a great supporter, and always in my court.” While he was growing up, his father urged him, “Develop the gifts God gave you to further the kingdom.” Dad also told me, “Try to be a good citizen, a good employee, and live at peace with those around you.” Wyatt remembered, “He was a great dad. My hero, for sure.”
He told me of Christian coaches who were strong influences on him, beginning with Coach Doug Lycette at Woodland Hills, now at Northwest Rankin. “He’s been there in every big event in my life…When our children were born, he came to visit and prayed over them.” He said of Coach Lycette, “He inspired me to want to do things the right way.”
Coach Quinby Morgan, at Holmes Community College, and Coach Tom Gladney, at Mississippi College, were two more “great solid Christian men.” He said of them all, “I was very blessed to have had each of them. They helped me grow up as a young man.”
After a while, he said he realized, “God put us all here for a purpose. A calling of mine is just helping boys grow up into godly young men, good citizens, good husbands, good employees, maybe even good bosses.” The team has a devotional time after practice on Wednesdays, with different guest ministers, such as his pastor, Dr. Randy Rich, of Hickory Baptist Church, leading their time together.
Coach Tullos and his wife Holly both work in positions at their church. Wyatt has been teaching Sunday School, presently the young adult class, he says, “probably fifteen or more years.” He also drives the MissionFuge bus, having taken kids to Ridgecrest in North Carolina two years, the University of Mobile two years, and Shorter University, in Rome, Georgia, one year. The Mission Fuge camps involve the youth, not only in worship and Bible study, but in service in the community to which they have traveled.
He praised his wife as a great wife and mother, saying, “She’s the glue that holds it all together, especially in the spring during baseball season.” He added, “Holly is a fantastic singer.” She sings in the choir and does Bible drills with the children. Holly also works with a team of people to serve Wednesday night supper at church.
Coach Tullos is beginning his 19th season as head coach of the Cougars. His career record is 417-252 in 21 seasons as a head coach, the past eighteen at Newton County. The titles he has won and the honors he has received are too numerous to list; however, in his 18 seasons here since 2002, he has compiled a 350-221 record. Under Coach Tullos, the Cougars have won five Division titles, have been to the playoffs in 13 of those seasons, and was the South State Runner-Up in 2008. The Cougars were the South State Champions in 2006, 2013, and 2016, and won the 3A State Championship in 2006. The team was also the 4A State Runner-Up in 2013 and 2016.
Coach Tullos was named the Premier Preps Coach of the Year by the Meridian Star in 2016. It is obvious to me that, though he could have been a doctor or a lawyer, it was God’s plan for our Wyatt Tullos Jr. to be a baseball coach and to help influence and train boys to be the men God calls them to be.
