Southern Miss senior shortstop Ozzie Pratt wants to end the season in Nebraska.

He’s a self-proclaimed “academic weapon”, a pizza chef, and a pretty good shortstop. In the final stretch of his Golden Eagle career, Ozzie Pratt is having a good time – with high hopes for a postseason run to close out the 2025 season.

Heath Hinton: Ozzie, what turned you onto baseball as a young kid?

Ozzie Pratt: My dad played baseball, my mom played softball, I had four uncles that played baseball and one that played football – all mostly at the Division I level. A couple of them at the Division II level. Baseball and sports just ran in my family. It’s been baseball since I was two years old and I just never stopped.

Heath: You’ve got such a baseball family as you said, you’ve got brothers that play baseball too. What are the conversations like with your family around the dinner table?

Ozzie: My family’s really pretty chaotic. My dad works, my mom works, and my brothers are kinda just all over. But whenever get together it’s a lot of competition. It’s a lot of ‘Hey, I’m better than you – no you’re not.’ Just competing a lot but it’s hard to get everybody at the table. But a lot of crap talk goes on when we do.

Heath: When you get a break and you’re driving home, what your go to tracks to listen to in the car?

Ozzie: A lot of Enzo, like EDM. Suicide Boys has been my top artist for like eight years. It’s a good mix of a lot of everything. Also a lot of Beastie Boys, Led Zeppelin, some punk also because my dad listened to a lot of that. Some Black Flag. It’s all over the place. There’s always a mood for something. A lot of The Who lately.

Heath: You’re getting ready for game day. Does your music taste change?

Ozzie: I tried to make a playlist one time but I got really superstitious because I only got one hit or something that game. So I dumped that and haven’t listened to it since. Now it’s just really whatever I’ve been really listen to a lot. Recently it’s been a lot of Weekend Millionaire by Skizzy Mars.

Heath: A lot of coaches say you’re just a happy dude all the time. Where does that come from?

Ozzie: I guess I was just raised really competitive. My dad played at Utah and mom was a hall of fame player at Nova Southeastern down in Fort Lauderdale. My uncle Scott Pratt played for the Indians organization after playing at Auburn. There’s pictures of him just blowing bubble gum playing for the Indians.

Baseball’s too mental of a game to take too seriously. I can’t believe there’s anyone that plays like that and does really well. I just go out there and not try to think. I’m not thinking about what pitch is coming and all that at the plate. It’s really just go out there and have fun and not overthinking.

Heath: What makes baseball great to you?

Ozzie: How competitive it is. The worst team in the country can go out and beat the best team in the country any day. It’s just such a crazy game – anything can happen. I’m not a big basketball or football guy, so I couldn’t tell you anything about that. But watching from the outside, it seems like every team Tom Brady is on seems to make it far, every team that Lebron James is on seems to make it far. The team that the best hitter and pitcher is on – you still never know. There can be miracles and there can be absolute domination. That’s what I love about it.

Heath: You’ve played at BYU and you just got back from App State. Is BYU the most beautiful park you’ve played at or somewhere else?

Ozzie: No bias or anything, I would honestly have to say the Pete. Just because you don’t really get anywhere where people can people can pull their trucks beyond right field or have bonfires and are just having a good time. Everybody’s so passionate.

BYU was awesome, the field is amazing. We had that heated turf to where whenever it would snow they would flip the heater on and it melts all the snow. The background was always super pretty with the mountains, but there’s always something special about the Pete. Almost like the Coliseum back in the Roman days.

Heath: How many times do you get to the Roost after games to get some food and a cold beverage?

Ozzie: I mean, I don’t ever go out there to get a cold beverage I’ve got my Powerade. Sometimes they’ll cook jambalaya out there and I’ll get some of that. Sometimes they’ll cook and we’ll go out there. It’s so much fun going out there. When we lose it’s not as much fun, but when we win is.

Heath: A lot of guys on the team are outdoorsman. Are you following in those footsteps?

Ozzie: I don’t really hunt much, but fishing’s my passion. I love to be out on the water. I born in Fort Lauderdale and spent the first eight years of my life there. When I was out in Utah, I would fly fish on the Provo River and it was a lot of fun out there. I don’t really want to go sit in a deer stand, but if you tell me we’re going out on the water and sit out there for eight hours, I’ll go sit out there for 12.

Heath: Going into the last part of your last season, what’s different about this team compared to last season?

Ozzie: I really think ever since I’ve been at Southern Miss – the culture is just so good. We’re all best friends and hang out all the time since I’ve been here and we’re keeping it alive this year. On the field, there’s a lot of ‘yesterday is not today.’ Last year was last year, who cares. Put that in the past.

We went far, won the tournament, but then we got put out in the regional. That can’t happen again. We have to push farther and make it all the way to Omaha until we end our season on a win. That’s really the big thing that’s going around this year. We just have to go out every day and do better than we did the day before.

Heath: What do you want to tell Southern Miss fans?

Ozzie: Southern Miss fans are the best fans in the country. When I’m making pizzas they come in, they’re the best. I love going out and playing in front of them every weekend.