At first glance, former Grenada High School standout Amari Conley looks the part of a football player at 6-foot-4, 215 pounds. Then, you see him step on the baseball field and you see he’s a quality player on the diamond.
The Holmes Community College center fielder caught the eyes of college coaches during the course of his sophomore season on the Goodman Campus. Hitting in the lead-off spot in the batting order, Conley hit .325 with 10 home runs and 46 RBI to go with 27 stolen bases. He scored 69 runs and was a big part of the Bulldogs’ run to the Region 23 Tournament at East Central Community College.
During his recruitment process, Conley received numerous offers. When it came down to a decision, he made his commitment to the University of Tennessee-Martin, a member of the Ohio Valley Conference to continue his athletic and educational career.
“UT-Martin is a big opportunity for me and my family,” he said. “They offered me a full scholarship and that is rare in baseball. They believe in me and that meant a lot for the opportunity to continue my baseball career.”
Conley was a standout two-sport standout at Grenada High School and took his talents to Holmes Community College from 2023-25. In his freshman season at HCC, he hit .315 with four home runs and 21 RBI. Conley credited two factors for his improved statistics from one year to the next.
“I was a lot more comfortable during my second year because I knew I had my position despite coming from football,” he said. “I was more relaxed and went out and just played my game. Also, we had a number of sophomores and were more mature.”
The move to the lead-off position ended up being a good thing for Conley.
“I remember Coach (Scott) Deloach coming to me when I finished football and asking me about moving to lead-off,” he said. “I thought this might not be too bad even though I had never led off before in my life.”
He also eluded to some inspiration given to him by his former high school coach at GHS, Jake Yarborough.
“None of my success wouldn’t be possible without God,” Conley said. “The night before my first game of my sophomore year, I prayed at every position including the bullpen and dugout. Coach (Jake) Yarborough inspired me to do this when I played for him.”
As Conley prepares to be at Tennessee-Martin, he has goals for his game both offensively and defensively.
“At the plate, I want to be more of a contact hitter,” Conley concluded. “Last year, I struck out 57 times. I want to cut that number down. Defensively, I want to work on my throwing, which mostly involves arm strength.”
Conley joins former Holmes CC and GHS teammate Thomas Kuhn as a four-year. Kuhn earlier announced his intention to attend Erskine College in South Carolina.
