Baseball is in Jarrett Hoffpauir’s bloodline.

His father, Johnny Lee Hoffpauir, was the head coach at Vidalia High School from 1979 to 2010, while his brother, Josh Hoffpauir, is an assistant coach at the University of Southern Mississippi.

After experiencing a wealth of success during his playing days — playing for major league teams such as the St. Louis Cardinals and Toronto Blue Jays — Jarrett Hoffpauir is now establishing his own mark as a coach.

“After I got done playing baseball, I didn’t know what I wanted to do,” Hoffpauir said. “I got away from the game and took a sales job for about a year. Then I realized baseball is in my blood. It is something I enjoy doing, and I love it here.”

A month ago, Hoffpauir wrapped up his fifth season as the Delta Charter School head coach — which was the most successful year in program history. He helped the Storm navigate through a rough first half of the season to make a run to the LHSAA Class 1A State Championship game, including a 9-2 win over the No. 1 seed LaSalle in the state quarterfinals.

Although Delta Charter came up short in the end, losing 6-3 to Merryville in the championship, the way Hoffpauir reversed the Storm’s season, and for his efforts, was named The Natchez Democrat’s 2018 All-Metro Baseball Coach of the Year.

“It’s a big honor,” Hoffpauir said. “There’s a lot of good coaches (in the Miss-Lou,) very good programs as well. So to be nominated for that, it’s awesome.”

Hoffpauir said a big turning point for Delta Charter this season was its game against Rayville, which he said he thought the Storm showed up automatically thinking it would get a victory. When the Storm didn’t win, Hoffpauir said he gave a talk to his players.

“I think the guys realized we weren’t going to win just by showing up,” Hoffpauir said. “They realized we had just had everybody come together as a team, and our seniors stepped up. We were a pretty good baseball team during the second half of the year.”

Players such Freddie Mango, Trenton Miller, Trey Poole and Drake Smith — which all made the All-Metro team this year — took control of the season for the Storm. Plus, the team started to reap the rewards of playing together for a few years.

“It goes back to having these guys since they were in the seventh and eighth grade,” Hoffpauir said. “I had them all the way through and all of that has finally paid off. Those benefits of playing together for a really long time came into effect and it’s just going to get better.”

Although Hoffpauir said it’s tough to lose players such as Smith and Miller — both to graduation — he said he still feels good about Delta Charter’s chances for next season.

The Storm will bring back Mango, Poole and other key contributors such as Andrew Brown, Landon Davis and Cole McGivaren. With those players back, along with others, Hoffpauir said he believes the program is heading in the right direction.

“Last year in our first year of eligibility to make the playoffs, we got beat in the quarterfinals,” Hoffpauir said. “Then this year, we get beat in the finals. So our program is on the rise. Our kids are doing things right. We got a lot of support from parents and the administration. As a coach, that is all you can ask for.”

While Hoffpauir said he is proud of what he and his staff are building at Delta Charter, he said he is just happy to be back in his home town and constructing his coaching legacy.

“It’s cool to come back to your home town and coach baseball,” Hoffpauir said. “I’ve really enjoyed this job, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”