After the Ole Miss softball team went 0-2 in the NCAA Tournament in 2024, they stocked up on talent in the offseason, adding eight transfers and eight incoming freshmen.
The Rebels were 31-27 in the 2024 season. They struggled in conference, going a lowly 7-17 in SEC play.
The Rebel’s 2025 season opens today versus Clemson at 10 a.m. in Boca Raton, Fla.
Because the Rebels’ home field was under construction last season, the team had to practice at various places around Oxford and preferred to play on the road.
“We were in multiple places and we could not practice on our field — we had no technology. We were at Oxford High School or mTrade Park,” Head coach Jamie Trachsel said in an interview with The Daily Mississippian. “We got on our field two days before we actually played a home game. … (There were) 400 fans at most in the outfield. They couldn’t see anything. They couldn’t hear anything. We did not prefer to play here.”
Now with a new stadium, fans should expect renewed energy and better play at home from the Rebels. Not only did the Lady Rebels get an upgraded home field, they also did very well in the transfer portal and in recruiting high school players.
Their most notable addition is Aliyah Binford from Baylor. She is a senior who can pitch and play infield. Binford could fill the role of Aynslie Furbush, who is a graduate manager this season.
Binford was named to the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 50 watch list. In 2024, she made 47 starts, totaled 154 K’s, compiled 34 hits and had an average of .272.
“(Binford’s) an athlete — low ego, high output, just wants to be in there. … Her body of work speaks to that,” Trachsel said.
Ole Miss lost nine players between graduation and the transfer portal since last season, including Catelyn Riley, Grace Sparks, Makenna Kliethermes, Paige Smith, Delany Rummell and Jaila Lassiter.
Lassiter will be the most missed from the 2024 team this season, as the junior outfielder transferred to LSU.
The Rebels got a solid replacement in Taylor Strain from Baylor. Strain, a senior, has played in 144 games, tallying 46 RBIs and 22 extra base hits and hitting .279 in her college career.
The combination of Riley, Sparks and Kliethermes is going to be tough to replace, as the three pitchers compiled 26 wins and 243.2 innings last season.
“Pitching is life. If you don’t have pitching, it’s really hard to win,” Trachsel said. “But we have an elite pitching coach who holds lots of records for winning and knows nothing but winning in her entire career.”
Lilly Whitten may ease those losses. She is coming from Missouri and is entering her junior year. In 11 appearances last year, she pitched in 29.2 innings to the tune of a 1.18 ERA and went 5-0. Opponents batted .212 against her.
Alison Cooper — a senior transfer from Wichita State who tossed six shutout innings against No. 1 Oklahoma — will also have to step up. Head coach Trachsel expects her to have big contributions for the team.
MacKenzie Pickens is one of the most notable high school recruits this year. She is coming off a Georgia 7A State Championship. Over her four years at Buford High School, she set the career home run and RBI records. In her sophomore year, she batted .449 with 53 RBIs.
Ole Miss also acquired a solid two-way player in Persy Llamas. Not only will she provide a talented arm in the circle and a good bat at the plate, but she can also play well in the field. Llamas had a .990 fielding percentage as a sophomore.
