POPLARVILLE, Miss. — Walt Thomas, a model of hard work and dedication for Pearl River’s first ever men’s soccer conference championship team, will see the fruits of his labor paid off with his induction into the Pearl River Community College Athletics Hall of Fame on July 26 at the Hollywood Casino in Bay St. Louis.
Joining Thomas in the 2024 induction class are soccer’s Jack Byrd, baseball’s Nick Smith, football and basketball’s Emil Jones and tennis’ Pamela Miller Munger. The 2024 recipient of the Spirit of a Wildcat award will be Marjory and Bobby Thrash. Additionally, PRCC will recognize four championship teams at the banquet: 2003 men’s soccer, 2003 football, 2003-04 men’s basketball and 2004 baseball.
“First it was just disbelief, I was like, ‘What, it has been so long,” Thomas said of receiving his induction call. “It is cool. I worked really hard, especially for my sophomore season, just to do what I could for the team.
“It is cool to be recognized for the work you put into something, especially since I was playing soccer since I was 5. It is proof that, ‘Hey man, you were pretty good at that,’ people saw it and respect it.”
THE ROAD TO POPLARVILLE
As a Petal High Panther, Thomas excelled on the field, scoring a school record 98 goals during his career.
“My freshman year at Petal, we had four girls on the men’s soccer team because we did not have enough guys to field a team,” Thomas said. “I started at sweeper during the first half of that season. My dad finally talked the coach into moving me up to striker and that is when my time at striker began.
“Petal did not make it to playoffs until my senior year and we beat Clinton in the first round. That was a big deal.”
Thomas recalled coming out of high school; there was not a lot of interest from big schools.
“Right out of high school, there was not much; I think Jones was interested,” Thomas said. “What brought me to Pearl River was, they had Brandon Baas and Chris St. John, a bunch of guys I grew up playing select soccer with on the Hattiesburg Gunners select team.
“Then I heard they were bringing in Brennan Brooks and Stephen Kulikowski and other guys from Saint Stanislaus I grew up playing against. Brandon and others came from Oak Grove. When I heard I had the opportunity to play on pretty much a super team, it didn’t take long for me to say, ‘Yeah, I am going to do that.’ I also had a group of friends from Petal who were going to Pearl River who did not play soccer. I would have all my buddies from school and the guys who I played with and against going. It seemed like a perfect situation for my next step.”
LIFE AT THE RIVER
Thomas found the transition to life at The River in the fall of 2002 was super easy. When Thomas was not in class or at soccer, he found himself outside with his “squad” from Petal playing basketball, disc golf or throwing the football. He always was able to find something to do.
“It was nice to have that freedom, but home was super close,” he said. “It got to a point in my second year when I was in the honors dorm; everybody would leave campus for the weekend, and I would stay by myself. It was a good adjustment to starting to do things on my own and not having my parents dictate everything I did.”
Thomas’ transition on the soccer field did not go as smoothly, missing the majority of his freshman season with severe inflammation in his SI joint caused by his growing and tight hamstrings. The same injury that impacted Thomas’ freshman year at The River also interrupted his junior year at Petal, causing him to miss most of that season.
“Once we found out it was just hamstrings and growing, I came up with a stretching regiment for the off season because I wanted to play,” Thomas said. “That took care of it for my sophomore season. I was able to play the entire season.”
Thomas threw himself into his offseason training, making sure he would not miss the opportunity to make an impact when the 2003 season began. His dedication to training paid off, scoring 12 goals during his sophomore campaign.
“That whole offseason, I trained pretty much every day on my own. I was 100 percent gunning to do good things that sophomore season,” Thomas said. “When I showed up, I could run for days; I did not want to get subbed off the field for anything.
“I think we all believed we had one of the best squads in the state. We all played against each other and knew the kind of talent we had. We came together pretty well, camaraderie-wise, in the preseason. Before the first game, we all got mohawks, and I kept mine the whole season.
I feel everyone was amped up for it, and we all knew we had something pretty legit. Every game we showed up.”
Some of his favorite soccer memories were wins over rival Jones, keeping his mohawk all season or the “Wildcat Hoot” rally cry before each game.
“I would put it up in spikes,” Thomas said. “I also had a cast on my right hand after breaking it in practice one day. So, I showed up to games with a mohawk and a cast and people would just look at me like I was a ‘wild thing’, and they did not realize that I was actually the opposite.”
Following the Wildcats’ MACCC and Region 23 championships, Pearl River faced Tyler (Texas) in the Mid-Southwest District Tournament. Pearl River dropped a hard-fought game, 2-1. The Wildcats finished the 2003 season with a 17-3-2 overall record.
“They (Tyler) were a powerhouse. All of their guys were taller than us and seemed faster than us,” he said. “We gave them a fight.
“I was fast, but my thing was I could run forever, so I would be a pest to the defense and wear them down. Those guys did not wear down. I thought it was going to be a battle and it was.”
Thomas is proud to be a member of a team that laid a foundation for the future success of the men’s soccer program.
“Helping to build the program up and bring recognition to the sport and the area, putting Pearl River on the map and being a part of that team is pretty awesome,” Thomas said. “It makes you feel good to be part of something like that. That is the way I felt when I saw the guys being recruited for my freshman year. I knew they were trying to build something.”
Thomas reflected on then coach, Pearl River President Dr. Adam Breerwood, and his ability to prepare and motivate the Wildcats.
“He was a former stud baseball player and I was like, ‘is this guy really coaching soccer?’ But he was a great motivator,” Thomas said. He would come in before the games and give us the hype up speech and get us ready to go out there and handle business.”
AFTER PEARL RIVER
Thomas transferred to Belhaven and spent two years as a member of the Blazers soccer team, earning his degree in Business Administration. After a few years, Thomas joined his father’s business, Thomas Tax and Financial Service, located in Petal, in 2006. He and his brother, Drue, are now partners in ownership of the business, working alongside his mother, sister and one of his nieces.
TICKETS
Tickets for the banquet are $100. Tickets can be purchased at PRCCAthletics.com/Tickets and can ONLY be purchased in advance. No walk-up tickets are available. The deadline to purchase tickets is Thursday.
SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION
Sponsorship packages are available for both the banquet and golf tournament.
To secure your sponsorship package or donate to the event, contact Mary Alice Chandler at mchandler@prcc.edu or 601-403-1193.
HOW TO NOMINATE
Know a former Wildcat who you believe should be considered in the future? Nominate by visiting https://prccathletics.com/hof/Hall_of_Fame_nomination_form or visiting PRCCAthletics.com/HOF and clicking the nomination form link at the top of the page.
For the latest on Pearl River Community College athletics, follow us on X (@PRCCAthletics) and Facebook (PRCCAthletics).
