Ole Miss baseball has finally returned and the team will be looking to defend their national championship this season.
After beating the odds and winning a College World Series last year (which most people would’ve considered a pipe dream during the middle of the season), the Rebels are hoping to build off that magical run and bleed some of that success over to this season.
Head coach Mike Bianco says that the team’s culture is what really helped them push through adversity last season and climb out of the hole.
“I think what last year did for us as a program (is) that it cemented into us that the system does work,” Bianco said during the Ole Miss baseball media day. “One of the reasons that we’re able to be successful is the culture of the program.”
Bianco went on to say, “I don’t know how many programs can be 7-14 and get out of that hole and win a national championship. That doesn’t happen much.”
Now here comes the big question. Does Ole Miss have what it takes to possibly win the title in back-to-back years? Of course they do, and they should. But what should be taken into account is that the players that were the key to last year’s run have gone to chase their dreams of playing in the majors.
Tim Elko and Dylan DeLucia have moved on to the MLB. Those are some big shoes to replace. Other guys that traveled the MLB route were Hayden Dunhurst, Derek Diamond, Kevin Graham and arguably the Rebels’ most consistent hitter in Justin Bench.
But even after losing several impactful players from last season, there are still plenty of guys that are returning and looking to take that next step this season.
It’ll be interesting to see how players like left-handed starting pitcher Hunter Elliott and outfielder TJ McCants will play after having strong finishes last season.
Fans will be looking forward to watching shortstop Jacob Gonzalez play in, most likely, his last collegiate season. Many have Gonzalez as a top prospect in this year’s MLB Draft and the California native was named to the preseason’s All-SEC First Team.
And with Elko’s departure, Bianco awarded infielder Garrett Wood this season’s captain.
“It’s not a popularity contest, it’s not supposed to necessarily be your best player,” Bianco said about how Wood was given the role as captain. “It’s supposed to be the guy that represents you. A guy that when you think of an Ole Miss Rebel baseball player, ‘Who’s the face of the program? Who carries themself most like that?’”
Although it feels like the Rebels lost a lot of star power during the offseason, Bianco did a fantastic job in reeling in some players to fill in those big shoes.
Bianco took a page out of Lane Kiffin’s playbook and found some success in the transfer portal. Guys that he brought in that will surely make a significant impact this season are outfielder Ethan Groff, first baseman Anthony Calarco and left-handed pitcher Xavier Rivas.
Groff, a transfer from Tulane, can really bring some life to the offense. Last season, Groff had a .404 batting average with 61 hits that included 15 doubles, two triples and nine home runs. His on-base percentage was .503.
Groff is definitely a must-needed bat for the Rebel lineup.
Calarco is coming in from Northwestern where he batted .325, tallied 63 hits that included 18 doubles and 13 home runs and had an on-base percentage of .432.
Rivas is a transfer from the University of Indianapolis and is best known for his ability to strike batters out with ease. In 80.1 innings pitched last season for the Greyhounds, the left-hander averaged 14.3 strikeouts per nine innings, had a 2.24 ERA and allowed just 5.4 hits per nine innings.
“We give out an award in the fall for the pitcher who gives up the least amount of runs,” Bianco said about Rivas during Wednesday’s press conference. “And he won that…(He’s) a guy that I think can pitch well in the weekend for us.”
We haven’t even talked about Bianco’s recruiting class yet.
Both Baseball America and Perfect Game had Ole Miss’ freshman class ranked second in the country headlined by JT Quinn, Sam Tookoian, Will Furniss and Grayson Saunier.
In fact, Saunier, a right-handed pitcher out of Collierville High School, was placed on D1Baseball’s SEC Pitcher of the Year Watch List.
During his high school senior season, Saunier had an ERA of 2.33 and 63 strikeouts in 48 innings. Ole Miss fans have plenty to be excited about with this right-hander.
The Rebels are ranked No. 4 and will start their season taking on Delaware, a team that went 25-26 last year.
They will have a three-game series from Friday, Feb. 17 through Sunday, Feb. 19. Those games will be available to stream on SEC Network plus.
