RAYMOND, Miss. - The Hinds Community College baseball coaching staff will have a new look for the upcoming 2026-2027 season, as Triston Hickman, Gunnar Dennis and Dylan Coleman will join the program on July 1.

Hickman will serve as the program's hitting coach and recruiting coordinator, while Dennis will take on the role of pitching coach. Coleman will join the staff as the graduate assistant coach.

"All three of these guys will be huge additions to our staff, as they will bring a ton of energy, along with winning experience from being in outstanding programs," head coach Dan Rives said. "All three of them were All-Conference players in our league, so they understand the grind of a junior college season and the level of commitment that it takes to win and succeed at a high level in this league and at the next level."

Hickman, who will also coach the Eagles catching corps and run the strength & conditioning program, is coming off a stint as an assistant coach at Pearl River Community College, where he helped lead the Wildcats to the 2026 NJCAA Division II National Championship. The Stone High graduate and Wiggins native also got his playing career started in Poplarville, where as a sophomore in 2023 at PRCC, he was named to the All-MACCC Second Team after hitting .389 with a .544 on-base percentage and .713 slugging percentage to go along with nine doubles, eight home runs, one triple, 33 RBI and 35 runs scored.

After his playing career at Pearl River was finished, Hickman transferred to Delta State University, where he started 21 games at the catcher position as a junior and later 16 games as a senior, hitting .308 with nine runs scored and eight RBI. He graduated from DSU with a Bachelor's Degree in General Business in 2025.

Dennis comes to Raymond after a remarkable playing career at Meridian Community College, the University of Mississippi and the Evansville (Ind.) Otters of the Frontier League. At Meridian, he had a 3.97 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 22.2 innings as a rookie in 2022, but took off as a sophomore, earning All-MACCC First Team honors after collecting 74 strikeouts in 70 innings to go along with a 3.50 ERA in 2023.

After his time at MCC was done, the Pearl High School graduate moved on to Oxford, where he made 16 appearances (eight starts) for Ole Miss in 2024 and finished with a 4-2 record, tying for the most wins on the team. He chunked 40 innings, had 46 strikeouts and only walked 21, while having a streak of three consecutive appearances in SEC play where he did not allow an earned run. As a senior in 2025, he made 18 appearances (four starts) and had a 4-1 record with 32 strikeouts in 29 innings.

Dennis signed with the Evansville Otters after the 2025 season and finished with a remarkable stat line of 21 strikeouts to just two walks in 13.1 innings with a 2.03 ERA before retiring from his playing career in September 2025. He spent the spring 2026 semester working with Peak Velocity Performance and The Box, along with serving as the pitching coach at East Rankin Academy. He graduated from Ole Miss in 2025 with a Bachelor's Degree in Multi-Disciplinary Studies.

Coleman is a Madison native who got his playing career started at Hinds, where as a sophomore in 2023, he was named to the NJCAA All-American Second Team after hitting .412 with 18 doubles, 14 home runs and 66 RBI as the team's everyday third baseman. He would leave Raymond after two seasons to play at Delta State University, where he was named a Division II All-American after hitting .398 with 17 home runs, 12 doubles and 58 RBI in his junior season of 2024. In 2025, he had a .359 batting average with 69 hits, 13 home runs and 48 RBI in his final season in the Green and White.

He spent the 2026 season at the University of North Alabama, where he was named a First Team All-ASUN member after batting .292 with 73 hits, 16 home runs, 10 doubles and 55 RBI's in his final campaign. Coleman recently graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Accounting.

Hickman and Dennis will take the place of Caleb Upton and Cade Killingsworth, who were both assistants during the 2026 campaign, and who have both moved into the high school ranks. Coleman will replace Josh Turner, who was with the Eagles in 2026 as a graduate assistant and recently completed his Master's Degree from Missouri Valley College.

"I would like to thank Caleb, Cade and Josh for their efforts this season, as they made a big impact on our run to regionals," Rives said. "We wish them nothing but the best as they move forward in their careers."

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