Former Newton County standout Kamon Shelwood has found a new home.
Shelwood was a redshirt freshman at Coahoma Community College their season got canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now Shelwood is headed to New Orleans and will now play baseball at Xavier University, who competes in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference in NAIA.
Shelwood had several opportunities to play at the next level after Coahoma.
“Jackson State was interest and so was Clark in Atlanta and Blue Mountain,” Shelwood said. “There were several schools that were showing interested until all of this went crazy.”
Shelwood said he had been talking with the New Orleans university for a while.
“Xavier is recruiting me a as designated hitter,” Shelwood said. “I started talking to them for the last year or so. They are bringing their program back for the first time since the 1960s so it’s exciting to be part of something new. I think we have a good coaching staff and should have a chance to make a bang in the conference.”
Shelwood redshirted his freshman year at Coahoma and was playing first base and right field for the Tigers to start the season.
“It was definitely a culture change at Coahoma,” Shelwood said. “Coming from the central part of the state to north Mississippi, it was very different from where I’m from. It was a lot like the Memphis area. The slang, the talk, the food, everything. It was a big change.”
Shelwood said he is majoring in mass communication and one day hopes to go into television journalism.
“School isn’t going to be a problem because I have already done a lot of school so I will be able to jump right into my major when I get there,” Shelwood said. “I’m a big sports fan, everything from soccer all the way to cricket. I want to be like Stephen A. Smith or Shannon Sharpe. I just want to stay safe and stay out of trouble in New Orleans.”
Since coming home, Shelwood said he has been working on finishing his schoolwork and staying in shape while trying to make some extra money.
“I have been working and trying to save a little money,” Shelwood said. “I have been doing my schoolwork and spending some time with my family. I’ve been catching up with them from the time we have lost in the past. And I’ve been doing pushups and setups and trying to run some to stay in shape. I’ve worked really hard at stretching.”
