Ole Miss Baseball will begin its 2025 season in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. The Rebels face Arizona in their opening game on Friday, Feb. 14, followed by Texas on Saturday, Feb. 15 and Clemson on Sunday, Feb. 16.
In the past two seasons, Ole Miss has fallen short of post-season NCAA Tournament play. Under head coach Mike Bianco, who has led the team for 24 years, the program has appeared in the tournament 18 times with eight Super Regional and two College World Series appearances.
The Rebels won the College World Series in 2022 but lost a large number of star players after that championship run, including Tim Elko, Dylan DeLucia, Justin Bench and Hayden Dunhurst.
While Bianco and his staff have not reproduced the impact of those departed players, they have grabbed some key additions in the transfer portal in the past couple of years.
Returning from the 2024 season, catcher Campbell Smithwick and infielder Luke Hill hope to retain their positions in the lineup despite the influx of new talent.
Bianco noted Owen Paino and Hayden Federico as infielders who “could have an impact immediately” in the lineup during a presser in September 2024. Additionally, freshmen pitchers Cade Townsend, Owen Hancock and Kaden Lopez should contribute heavily for the Rebels on the mound.
Ole Miss also added some new transfers. Previously at Louisville, Isaac Humphrey transferred to Ole Miss after spending his first three years with the Cardinals. The outfielder boasts a career .300 batting average and ranks No. 44 on Perfect Game’s Top 75 Collegiate Seniors list.
Luke Cheng, a transfer from Illinois State, is coming in to give some needed infield depth. Although he has primarily been a shortstop, it is unclear where Cheng will play this season.
There will be an intense competition between Cheng, Paino and Hill, who started a bulk of the games last year. With Andrew Fischer transferring to Tennessee during the offseason, Hill or Paino could potentially get some playing time at third base.
Returning pitchers Hunter Elliott and Mason Nichols will be huge for the pitching staff.
Nichols, one of the remaining members of the 2022 championship team, made 17 appearances last season and started six. He tied the team lead in wins with a 4-2 record and posted a 4.15 ERA. He joins Humphrey on the Top 75 Collegiate Seniors list at No. 61.
Elliott is returning for the Rebels after missing all of last season and the majority of the 2023 season with a UCL injury before having Tommy John surgery — an elbow surgery — in May 2023.
In his freshman season, Elliott had a breakout campaign that put the country on notice. He made 20 appearances and finished second on the team in ERA (2.70) and strikeouts (102). He started the CWS title clinching game against Oklahoma, allowing two earned runs and striking out six. Elliott was named a Freshman All-American by D1 Baseball, Perfect Game and Collegiate Baseball.
