Ole Miss DB Anthony Alford leaves team for pro baseball career

Anthony Alford, in his first year with Ole Miss after transferring from Southern Miss in January 2013, has decided to leave the program and pursue a pro baseball career.

The school announced Alford’s decision on Tuesday.

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Alford, a sophomore safety, had played in all four of the Rebels’ games this season and had six tackles as a backup in the secondary. He also returned two punts for eight yards.

As a true freshman at Southern Miss in 2012, Alford started five games at quarterback and completed 44.9 percent of his passes for 664 yards, with two touchdowns and four interceptions. He also ran for 329 yards and six scores on 105 carries.

Alford was a third-round pick by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2012 draft out of Petal (Miss.) High School and played briefly in the lower levels of their farm system each of the last three years.

This summer, he played in nine games at Rookie-level Bluefield, hitting .207/.343/.310 with a homer and two RBI and in five games at Class-A Lansing, where he hit .320/.320/.480 with a double, a homer and three RBI.

In 2012 and 2013, Alford played for the Blue Jays’ Rookie-level affiliate in the Gulf Coast League. He played 11 games total, hitting .200/.340/.375 with two doubles, a triple, a home run and three RBI.

He played center field and also spent some time as a designated hitter. A speedy prospect, Alford was 11-for-11 stealing bases over the last three seasons.

His contract with Toronto allowed him to play college football and leave the team for summer camp each year.

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