2026 Ole Miss Rebels baseball team

During the 2025 season, the Rebels finished 43–21, including a 16–14 record in Southeastern Conference play.^[2] The team advanced to the finals of the 2025 Southeastern Conference baseball tournament before losing to Vanderbilt.^[3] The Rebels also hosted a regional as part of the 2025 NCAA Division I baseball tournament, but were defeated by fourth-seeded Murray State in the regional final.^[4]

Outfielders Isaac Humphrey, Ryan Moerman, and Mitchell Sanford, infielder Luke Cheng, and right-handed pitchers Riley Maddox, Mason Nichols, Alex Canney, and Connor Spencer all graduated from the program following the 2025 season.^[5]

Eight Rebels from the 2025 roster entered the NCAA transfer portal following the season. The portal was open from June 1 to July 1, 2025.^[6] On June 11, catcher Campbell Smithwick entered the portal,^[7] committing to Oklahoma State on June 25.^[8] On June 13, LHP Ryne Rodriguez entered the portal,^[9] committing to Houston.^[10] Infielder Ethan Surowiec officially entered the portal on July 5, but had filed a request prior to the July 1 deadline. The day after Surowiec entered the portal, he committed to Florida.^[11] Other transfers include outfielder Tyler Acevedo to Iona,^[12] outfielder Connor Chisolm to Murray State,^[13] outfielder Hudson Mattox to Nicholls,^[14] and outfielder Jackson Miller to Wake Forest.^[15] RHP Cole Ketchum also entered the portal, but did not commit to another team.^[16]

The 2025 Major League Baseball draft took place on July 13–14, 2025. A total of eleven Rebels were selected, the most in a single draft since 2014. All signed with their respective MLB teams.^[17]

With nine high school commits, the Rebels ranked 38th in Perfect Game's Class of 2025 recruiting rankings.^[18] Cannon Goldin, an outfielder out of Buford High School (Georgia), ranked as the 151st best recruit in the country by Perfect Game, and was the highest-rated Ole Miss incoming recruit.^[18][19] Blake Ilitch, a RHP out of Brother Rice High School (Michigan), ranked 174th.^[18][20] Outfielder Bryden Bull from Las Vegas High School (Nevada), came in as the 187th-best recruit. Other recruits included RHP Noah Allen of North Oconee High School (GA) RHP Leo Odom of Sumrall High School (Mississippi), Luke Romine of Hernando High School (Mississippi), RHP Evan Farrow of Vandegrift High School (Texas), LHP Grayson Gibson of Calvary Christian Academy (Florida), and catcher Kelven Perera of Miami Springs Senior High School (Florida).^[18]

Infielder Coy James, out of Davie County High School (North Carolina), also committed to Ole Miss, but was selected in the fifth round by the Washington Nationals, who he signed with. James was the fifteenth-ranked Class of 2025 recruit by Perfect Game and was the 2025 Gatorade North Carolina Baseball Player of the Year.^[18][21]

Nine players transferred to the Rebels.^[9] On June 12, LHP Grant Richardson, a senior from Grand Canyon, committed to the Rebels, marking the first transfer for the team this year. Richardson previously missed all of the 2025 season recovering from Tommy John surgery.^[22] Two senior outfielders transferred in on June 14: Tristan Bissetta from Clemson,^[23] and Daniel Pacella from Illinois State.^[24] The following day, sophomore LHP Wil Libbert of Missouri committed to Ole Miss.^[25] Senior San Diego State RHP Marko Sipila committed to the team on June 21.^[26] Two more junior right-handed pitchers committed on June 23: Landon Koenig, a North Dakota State starter,^[9] and Owen Kelly, who previously played for Saint Louis. Kelly was an All-Atlantic 10 Conference second-team selection during the 2025 season.^[27] Dom Decker, a junior outfielder from the Murray State team that eliminated the Rebels from the playoffs last season, committed to the Rebels on June 29.^[28] On July 6, former Mississippi State signee Topher Jones, a sophomore infielder from Pearl River Community College, committed to the Rebels, marking the final transfer in for the team, and the only from a junior college.^[29]

Richardson was selected by the Athletics in the sixth round of the 2025 MLB Draft.^[30] On July 23, 2025, Richardson signed with the Athletics, meaning he no longer would play for the Rebels.^[31]

The Southeastern Conference revealed its 2026 preseason coaches poll and its preseason All-SEC teams on February 5, 2026. In the preseason poll, as voted on by the 16 SEC baseball head coaches, Ole Miss was predicted to finish 10th in the conference. Two Rebels made preseason All-SEC teams: starting pitcher Hunter Elliott was a first-team selection, while first baseman Will Funiss was a second-team selection.^[32] Elliott was also named a third-team preseason All-American selection by Perfect Game on January 7, 2026,^[33] and a first-team preseason All-American selection by D1Baseball on January 20, 2026.^[34]

The Rebels announced their schedule for the 2026 season, including nonconference and Southeastern Conference opponents, on September 9, 2025.^[35]

The Rebels opened play by hosting a three-game series against Nevada on the weekend of February 13–15. Ole Miss swept the Wolf Pack by scores of 11⁠–3 on February 13,^[36] 5–1 on February 14,^[37] and 13–2 in seven innings on February 15.^[38] In their first midweek matchup of the season against Arkansas State on February 17, the Rebels won in walk-off fashion. Down by three runs in the fifth inning, the Rebels tied the game in the eighth before a Brayden Randle sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth plated the game-winning run for a 7–6 Rebel home victory.^[39] The following day, the Rebels beat in-state foe Jackson State by a score of 18–3 in seven innings.^[40]

On the weekend of February 20–22, the Rebels hosted their second nonconference weekend series, against Missouri State. The Rebels won the first game, 11–6, on February 20,^[41] the second, 6–3, on February 21,^[42] and the third, 3–2, on February 22. The Rebels' 8–0 start to the season was their best start since 2018.^[43] Following the series against Missouri State, Ole Miss entered the D1Baseball Top 25 rankings for the first time this season, placing No. 25.^[44] The Rebels won their only midweek game of the week against Southeast Missouri State at home on February 24 by a score of 13–3, before heading to Daikin Park in Houston for the weekend's BRUCE BOLT College Classic.^[45] In the first game of the tournament, on February 27, the Rebels were handed their first loss of the season by Baylor, by a score of 5–6 in ten innings.^[46] The following day, the Rebels defeated Ohio State 8–0 to finish off February with a 10–1 record, including a perfect 9–0 at home.^[47]

The Rebels started the month of March with the final game of the BRUCE BOLT College Classic, against No. 9 Coastal Carolina on the first of the month. In their first ranked matchup of the season, the Rebels were soundly defeated, 2–9, meaning the Rebels went 1–2 in the tournament.^[48] Following the weekend, Ole Miss dropped out of D1Baseball's Top 25.^[49]

In a midweek game in which the Rebels hosted Memphis on March 3, the Rebels handled the Tigers by a score of 7–⁠1.^[50] The following day, the Rebels defeated North Alabama at home. After trailing 1–⁠4 by the bottom of the sixth, Ole Miss came back to defeat the Lions by a score of 8–5⁠ before a home weekend series against Evansville.^[51] Due to a chance of rain, the Rebels and Purple Aces played a doubleheader on March 6.^[52] Ole Miss took both games, with the first game finishing 7–2 and the second ending 14–2 in seven innings.^[53] An 8–3 victory over the Purple Aces on March 8, saw the Rebels complete the series sweep.^[54] In this five game stretch, third baseman Judd Utermark went 7-for-17, amassing four home runs, and ten runs batted in. Utermark's performance earned him a spot on the Baseball America College Team of the Week for week four.^[55]

On March 10, Ole Miss traveled to Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to face No. 7 Southern Miss in a mid-week matchup. Tied 1–1 going into the bottom of the ninth inning, the Rebels blew the lead, losing 1–2 as a result of a Southern Miss walk-off hit.^[56]

The Rebels opened Southeastern Conference play with an away weekend series against No. 2 Texas. The Rebels handed the Longhorns their first loss on March 13 after a back-and-forth game that lasted eleven innings. Down 3–7 in the top of the ninth inning, the Rebels scored five runs, including a grand slam from Tristan Bissetta. The Longhorns tied the game, 8–8 in the bottom of the ninth before a bases-loaded walk scored the winning run for the Rebels in the eleventh.^[57] The following day, the Longhorns defeated the Rebels in dominant fashion, 2–11.^[58] Texas got the series win on March 15, defeating the Rebels 2–8.^[59]

On March 17, the Rebels defeated Austin Peay at home, 9–5.^[60] The Rebels' SEC home opener took place against No. 15 Kentucky on March 19. Starter Hunter Elliot gave up no earned runs while Bissetta hit two home runs in the Rebels' 5–0 win, giving the Wildcats their first conference loss.^[61] The Wildcats followed with a 1–3 victory over the Rebels.^[62] In the rubber match, the Rebels secured their first SEC series win by a score of 12–9 over the Wildcats, with infielder Will Furniss breaking the 9–9 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning with a two-RBI single.^[63] Following the series, Ole Miss was ranked number 18 by D1Baseball for the following week.^[64] Bisetta's five home runs over the week earned him a spot on the Baseball America Week 6 College Team of the Week.^[65]

On March 24, the Rebels traveled to Memphis and were met with defeat, 2–6,^[66] before a home series against SEC in-state rival No. 6 Mississippi State. In the first game, on March 27, the Rebels led 4–3 going into the top of the ninth, before the Bulldogs scored two unanswered runs to take the opening game, 4–5.^[67] The following day, the Rebels fell by a wider margin, 1–6, securing the Bulldogs' ninth series win against the Rebels in the last ten years.^[68] The Bulldogs completed the series sweep on March 29, defeating Ole Miss, 1–7.^[69] The sweep affected the Rebels' polling numbers, and became unranked in any major poll when the following week's rankings were revealed.^[70]

The Rebels closed out the month of March with a 7–4 win against Little Rock at home on March 31.^[71] The Rebels finished the month with a 10–9 record, including a 9–4 home record, 1–4 away record, and a loss at a neutral site.

The Rebels opened the month of April with an away series against No. 21 Florida at Condron Ballpark in Gainesville, Florida. On April 2, the Rebels defeated the Gators by a 6–4 margin.^[72] The following day, the Rebels were shut out by the Gators, 0–2.^[73] In the rubber match on April 4, the Rebels were down 0–2 going into the ninth inning. A two-run home run by Judd Utermark off of Gators reliever Joshua Whritenour evened up the score, before a sacrifice fly from Brayden Randle gave the Rebels a one-run lead. Hayden Federico gave the Rebels two insurance runs by way of a single. In the bottom of the ninth, the Gators failed to score, giving the Rebels a 5–2 comeback victory to take the series.^[74]

Ahead of week eight, D1Baseball ranked Ole Miss No. 25 in the nation.^[75] On April 7, the Rebels hosted Alcorn State, defeating them soundly in seven innings by a score of 11–1.^[76] The Rebels then hosted No. 24 LSU that weekend. The Rebels started with a 6–3 victory on April 10,^[77] before a 12–2 win in seven innings on April 11 clinched the series for the Rebels. This marked Ole Miss' first run rule game since a 12–2 win against South Carolina the previous year.^[78] The Rebels finished off the sweep on April 12, by defeating the Tigers by a score of 8–7. Up by seven runs in the seventh inning, the Rebels gave up seven in the seventh to tie the game. Rebels shortstop Brayden Randle pushed across the winning run in the bottom of the eighth to give the Rebels their first SEC sweep of the season.^[79]

The Rebels remained ranked No. 25 for week nine.^[80] On April 14, the Rebels traveled to Trustmark Park in Pearl, Mississippi, for a neutral-site rematch against No. 22 Southern Miss. The Rebels made up for their early-season loss by defeating the Golden Eagles, 10–3.^[81] For weekend play, the Rebels traveled to Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee, to take on Tennessee. In the first game on April 17, the Rebels handled the Volunteers by a score of 7–4.^[82]

The 2026 Southeastern Conference baseball tournament will be held from May 19–24 at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in Hoover, Alabama.^[83]

Date m/dd is for last scheduled game of series. Blank are not scheduled. Blue are home games, otherwise away.

Updated for all games through April 26, 2026. Texas at Texas A&M, one game cancelled, but may be made up.