Carlton “Corky” Palmer’s commitment and service to The University of Southern Mississippi is immeasurable. Since he became head baseball coach in 1997 his record-breaking teams have attracted national attention.
Palmer has taken the Southern Miss baseball program to an unprecedented level with the best five-year run in the school’s history. With three straight 40-win seasons from 2003 to 2005, a 39-win season in 2006 and a fourth-straight NCAA Tournament bid – a first in school history – Southern Miss looks to be firmly established as a program headed in the direction of becoming a perennial power.
A Hattiesburg native, Palmer started his baseball career at Hattiesburg High School and furthered his reputation as a starting catcher and team captain for legendary Southern Miss coach Pete Taylor.
After graduation, Palmer put his extensive knowledge of the game to use as a coach. At Columbus’ Lee High School and Columbia High, his teams consistently won conference titles and appeared in the state playoffs. In his six years at the high school level, his teams posted an impressive 102-52 record.
In 1985 and 1986, Palmer served as an assistant coach at Southern Miss and then moved on to Meridian Community College, where in 10 seasons his teams posted a 409-160 record, earned five Mississippi-Louisiana Conference titles, four district and regional championships, three trips to the Junior College World Series, and in 1996 advanced all the way to the title game.
In 1997, then-Golden Eagle Head Coach Hill Denson lured Palmer away from Meridian for an assistant’s role, and on Denson’s retirement following the season the search for a new coach went no further than Palmer, who was introduced as Southern Miss’s 12th head baseball coach.
Palmer was inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame in 2006. He is a member of the Eagle Club, and in 1998, he was elected to the M-Club Hall of Fame.
Palmer and his wife, Debbie ’75, have been married for 30 years and reside in the Hattiesburg area. The couple has been active annual members of the Association for the past 16 years.