From Jaguars to Mud Monsters; Former DeSoto Central Champions Now Teammates in Pearl
“That class (2018-2019) thinks that they can beat us (2015), but we go back and say that we won the first one and I think we would beat them anytime.”
Dallas Woolfolk
PEARL, Miss. (June 16, 2026) - For the past 20 years, Trustmark Park has hosted the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) State Baseball Championships. For all high school players across Mississippi, the road to a state title runs through Pearl.
Monster Notes
Two former DeSoto Central champions are back at Trustmark Park, this time as professional teammates.
- Dallas Woolfolk helped lead DeSoto Central to its first state championship in 2015.
- Kyle Booker was part of back-to-back DeSoto Central state championship teams in 2018 and 2019.
- Trustmark Park has hosted the MHSAA State Baseball Championships for the past 20 years.
- Former DeSoto Central head coach Mark Monaghan called Trustmark Park “Omaha for Mississippi high school baseball.”
The Road to Trustmark
For Mississippi high school baseball, the championship path runs through Pearl.
Mud Monsters Dallas Woolfolk and Kyle Booker know the feeling. So too does former DeSoto Central High School head coach and current Starkville High School head coach Mark Monaghan.
“It’s Omaha for Mississippi high school baseball. It’s all about the road to Trustmark,” says Monaghan on what the ballpark in Pearl represents to the state.
As a coach who now sees his former players donning the teal and black and playing home games on the same diamond where their teams achieved greatness, it’s a very sentimental point of view.
“It’s surreal to know that; to be able to have the memories they made in high school right in front of them and now to share the field as professionals.”
Speaking on the brand of Mississippi baseball that is becoming increasingly more prevalent on a national level, the three-time state champion coach says, “It’s motivating to continue what’s happening with Mississippi high school baseball. We have so many unbelievable programs and coaches here, and none of it happens without support at all levels of the sport, from administration to families. It’s very special and takes a lot.”
Dallas Comes Home
Woolfolk returns to the field where he helped make DeSoto Central history.
The first one
Under Monaghan’s leadership, Dallas helped lead the Jaguars to their first of three state championships in the Monaghan era in 2015.
After being acquired in a trade with the Schaumburg Boomers, the right-hander returns to the same diamond where he etched his name in DeSoto Central program history.
On the mound, Dallas helped lead the Jaguars to their first state title with an 8-1 record and a 1.98 ERA. Returning to the same field more than a decade later carries special meaning for the Hernando native.
“It’s incredible to be back and playing in front of friends and family. It was probably one of the most memorable times of my life,” says the right-hander from Hernando, Mississippi. “Winning the first state championship for your team, it was awesome.”
Dallas gives praise to his 2015 teammates saying, “We had a really good team, and we knew whoever was stepping up on that mound was gonna compete and give us a chance to win every game.”
“Coach Monaghan was able to let us know that talent alone doesn’t win games, it’s playing the game right, doing the little things the right way and competing every pitch.”
Woolfolk made his Mud Monsters debut out of the bullpen on June 10, tossing a scoreless inning and recording his first strikeout with the club.
Booker’s Turn
The Mud Monsters right fielder helped DeSoto Central keep winning in Pearl.
Kyle Booker, a back-to-back state champion with the Jaguars in 2018 and 2019 for titles two and three in program history, is in the midst of a career year with the Mud Monsters. Through 32 games, Booker has already driven in 34 runs, matching his RBI total from all 95 games he played during the 2025 season.
The Mud Monsters’ starting right fielder has fond memories of his two championships at Trustmark Park.
“It’s a blessing to be playing home games at this field, we dogpiled here twice and you really can’t ask for too much more.”
Kyle was in middle school when the 2015 squad brought home the school’s first title.
“I would always go up and watch those games, and they had the eighth and ninth grade teams, so I was able to be around a lot of those guys.”
Booker credits much of DeSoto Central’s continued success to a culture established years before his arrival, beginning with the program’s first state championship team in 2015.
“Even before I got there, the foundation and expectations were set by coach Monaghan.”
When asked if the 2018 or 2019 title was harder to bring home, Kyle says “The first one for sure.”
“On the second one we didn’t even want to dogpile,” Kyle jokes. “We knew we had it won; we just knew what we were supposed to do.”
Championship Debate
Woolfolk and Booker now share a clubhouse, but the Jaguar bragging rights remain unsettled.
2015 vs. 2018-19
While both proudly wear Mud Monsters across their chests today, the debate over which DeSoto Central championship team is better remains unsettled.
Smiling, Dallas says, “That class (2018-2019) thinks that they can beat us (2015), but we go back and say that we won the first one and I think we would beat them anytime.”
“Whatever they say, they are right. All those teams were so unique in their own way,” says Monaghan.
“All three teams were competing against the best to be the best and win that last game.”
Back Where It Started
Eleven years after helping DeSoto Central capture its first state championship at Trustmark Park and seven years after Booker celebrated the last of his two titles on the same field, the former Jaguars now share a clubhouse in Pearl.
While the debate over which championship team was better may never be settled, both helped build the winning tradition that defines DeSoto Central baseball. Now teammates with the Mud Monsters, Woolfolk and Booker are chasing another championship together, hoping to add a Frontier League Cup to their resumes at the same ballpark where their high school dreams became reality.
About the Mississippi Mud Monsters
Baseball Lives Here. It Just Got a Little Weirder.
The Mississippi Mud Monsters are a professional baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, competing in the Frontier League. Built in the mud and rooted in Mississippi, the Mud Monsters believe baseball should be unapologetically fun, a little weird, wildly welcoming, and deeply tied to the place it calls home. Real baseball. Real people. This is swamp-built, Mississippi-made baseball, where the vibes matter just as much as the final score.