25 Teams in 25 Days: Ocean Springs Greyhounds

Rise and shine! It’s time to go to work with the Ocean Springs Greyhounds! With a 5 a.m. start every morning, Head Coach Jake Bramlett knows right away who’s all in for the 2026 season.

“Every year, you worry a little bit about if this is going to be a group that’s going to be here on time and show up ready to work to 5 o’clock in the morning, and this group has answered the bell,” said Head Coach Jake Bramlett. “Most of them, at 4:30 and 4:45, are getting here and getting music playing and getting ready to go. And the motivation is they know they’re a young team. They know they have a lot of work to do and have a lot of experience to gain early, and they’re trying to get in and practice.”

They may not be the oldest team, but there’s no shortage of grit or chemistry. Now, it’s time for a big junior class to rise to the occasion — and there’s no doubt they’ll give it their all for the love of the game.

“They’re a unique group. They really love football. The junior class is one of those groups that you watched in seventh, eighth, and ninth grade, and they know how to practice and they love football. You can spot the ball and let them go for an hour and a half, and they’ll keep on rolling. They’ll keep tackling each other, get back up, grin and keep going,” said Coach Bramlett. “Their identity is going to be something a little bit different than what we’re used to here with the lack of seniors on the football team. I think we have seven going into the year. It’s going to be a different year, but their mindset is on an upper level right now. It’s a very good work ethic. They show up and take care of each other, and I’m excited to see how they respond on Friday nights.”

“We’re ready to go,” said junior Lanny Waltman. “We’ve been knowing it was going to come, so now it’s just time to play.”

“We’ve been a team for a while, and this group has been together since the seventh grade. We’ve always been together, so being a leader isn’t really hard because we’re all just family,” said junior Logan Carter.

“It’s a young group, but everybody has hard work and dedication to be able to compete with older groups, and I feel like as long as we have that and team chemistry gets higher, we’re going to be special,” said Landen Donald.

On Friday nights, you’ll see plenty of new faces battling for playing time, but you’ll also see some familiar ones who know the Greyhound way. Coach Bramlett breaks down the experience returning to his roster this season.

“We have four returning on offense and two on defense, so a big lack of experience, but the quarterback started every game last year. He played a good bit as a freshman, and the growth from year to year is going to be key for him, and we’re expecting a really big jump this year. The game has slowed down for him a little bit. He’s doing a great job at practice with his reads and understanding what we’re trying to do and learning the defensive side of the ball. Lanny Waltman played a good bit when he was a freshman and played a lot last year. Him and Solo were A and B. Logan Carter played nine games last year as a receiver, and Sebastian played eleven games at right guard, so those are the guys returning on offense, and then bringing Kaegan Lymon over from the defensive side. He’s going to be playing some offensive line as well. On the defensive side, you’ve got Santiago Gaetan, who started a good bit of games, and Bryson Hathorn, who played in every single game last year, so those are your two returners on defense. We have a lot of guys who were some role players last year and got a little bit of experience later in the season, but we’re going to expect a lot out of them coming out week one,” said Coach Bramlett.

And when it comes to the groups he expects to make some noise this fall, Bramlett is especially excited about his defense — and the new identity they’re building.

“Defensive front, I feel like, is going to be really good. We’ve got a bunch of guys on there that are really athletic at the D-line position and at the linebacker position. We have a lot of depth right there, and we look forward to seeing them play. We’ve got a bunch of new guys in the defensive backfield, and we’ll see who steps up,” Coach Bramlett said. “This year, we’re going to play a lot of guys both ways, especially early, to get those guys in shape. When you get to the playoff run, you want the best guys out on the field, so those guys have got to get ready for that. I look forward to kind of getting back to that small-school mentality of guys not coming off the field on Friday nights.”

It’s a challenge this group is ready to embrace, and if those early mornings are any indication, these Greyhounds are ready to ride.

“Really, we just want to win. That’s the biggest motivator,” said Logan Carter. “We want to get in there and beat every team we play. That’s always the motivator.”

“It just feels like everybody wants the same things I want, and that’s to come win and prove people wrong who have been doubting us because we lost a lot of seniors,” said Landen Donald.

“We know who we are, and we’re going to make a big statement,” said Lanny Waltman.

Ocean Springs kicks off its 2026 campaign Thursday, August 27, welcoming the Meridian Wildcats to Greyhound Stadium.