Rut Horne has been coaching the Ferriday Gators for a long time now.

During countless decades in the dugout, he has had his fair share of Dixie Debs state championship and World Series contending teams. This year, however, determining who will be on the all-star team for the Gators will not be as easy as in years past.

“In my 20-plus years of coaching, figuring out who will make the all-star team this year will be by far the hardest,” Horne said.

Ferriday played its last series of the season on Thursday, which means the Gators’ coaching staff will meet tonight to select the 12 all-stars — 18 athletes are up for contention.

Horne said he believes deciding this season’s all-stars will be tough because of the depth Ferriday possesses.

“We have 18 players who can hit,” Horne said. “We have 18 players who can play defense. We got three really strong pitchers as well. We have a bunch of ball players.”

A lot of the depth can be credited to a new rule that allows 19-year-olds to play instead of having the cutoff age being 18 years old.

One of the players who took advantage of the new rule is Bailey Book, who has been named to the all-star team in years past and knows just how hard it is to make the squad.

“Mr. Rut (Horne) picks the best from all the areas,” Book said. “It’s pretty hard because you have Monterey, Vidalia, Natchez, Ferriday and even Jena sometimes. You have to compete against the best from everywhere. So it’s pretty tough to make the team.

“However, it makes you work harder.”

The toughest decision will probably be at pitcher, Horne said, because two of the 19-year-olds who returned to this year’s team were starters last season. However, he feels that any one of his players could go out and get a strike for the squad if needed.

Although Horne will have his hands full tonight, he said the team the Gators played on Thursday gave him a way to gauge which players could make an impact as an all-star.

“It’s a good measurement for us because the team we are playing has good pitching,” Horne said. “They have good hitters. Every girl on their team can hit out the park. So this will give me some good insight on who probably should be on all-stars this year.”

Despite having experienced players available for selection, Horne said there is a 12-year-old and two 14-year-olds who could possibly claim a spot on this season’s roster.

“They could beat out some of the older players,” Horne said.

Horne went on to say the decision will also be hard to make because of the talent surge in the Miss-Lou. He also said it is because everyone wants to be a Gator.

His players believe that, too.

“(The Ferriday Gators) are known to be the best,” Book said. “That’s why I want to be on this all-star team because I want to be the best.”