Though fans sometimes forget Ole Miss athletes soon after the young stars depart from Oxford, many former Rebels are now performing at high levels in professional leagues. Recent NFL draftees and Olympic medallists headline a crew of former Rebel standouts who are still playing — and still thriving — against stronger competition.
Football
Currently, around 28 NFL players are Ole Miss products — a list headlined by DK Metcalf and A.J. Brown. This most recent Rebel draft class, however, may be the strongest to pass through Oxford, highlighted players such as Jaxson Dart and Tre Harris.
Dart and Harris both played at Ole Miss during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons after transferring from University of Southern California and Louisiana Tech, respectively. Dart was a three-year starter and holds the Ole Miss records for most passing yards in a game and most career passing yards.
“I think I’m really confident in my preparation each day, and I feel like anytime I step on the field I don’t have doubts in my play,” Dart said in a Giants press conference on May 9. “As a quarterback, you’re really only as good as the guys around you, so you want to make sure everybody’s on the same page as you.”
The brotherhood formed at Ole Miss clearly lasts beyond college. In a July 15 interview with Kay Adams, Harris previewed the Chargers Week 4 matchup against Dart and the Giants. It was all love from Harris for his old quarterback. The wideout called Dart a great friend and even stated that Dart should begin the season as the Giants’ starting signal-caller.
Harris finished his Ole Miss career with numerous All-SEC and All-American recognitions. He was one of only two receivers in SEC history to average over 100 receiving yards per game.
Baseball
The Ole Miss Baseball program has thrived under Mike Bianco since he was hired in 2001. Beyond team success, many former Rebels are performing well individually. One of the heroes of the 2022 national championship season, Tim Elko, was recently called up from Triple-A by the Chicago White Sox. A shining moment of his young professional career was his walk-off homer against the Detroit Tigers in June.
During Ole Miss’s 2023 season, Kemp Alderman led the Rebels in batting average, on-base percentage and home runs. He also won the 2023 Ferriss Trophy, which is given to the best collegiate baseball player in Mississippi each year. The Miami Marlins drafted Alderman in the second round of the 2023 MLB Draft, and he now plays for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, Miami’s Double-A affiliate.
“I grew up as a kid always going to Ole Miss games,” Alderman said in an interview with The Daily Mississippian. “(It has) always been a dream school for me to play at. So when (Ole Miss was) my first offer, I didn’t hesitate, and I knew that’s the place I wanted to be and glad I chose Ole Miss.”
Alderman has performed well in his minor league career. This season, he is batting .287 with 14 homers, 47 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. His biggest challenge so far has been the mental transition from college to the pros.
“Baseball is the same game we’ve been playing our whole life,” Alderman said. “That’s never going to change, but it’s the mental side of it. It’s the mindset that you know every day you’re playing with a lot of different guys. I mean, it’s not like college, where you have the same teammates all year and it’s those guys in the locker room.”
He also gave some advice for current Rebels.
“Don’t rush the moment and try to enjoy it every day,” Alderman said. “One day you look up and then you’re like, ‘Dang man, I miss those… times in the locker room, hanging out with (my) teammates.’ Just embrace the moment and treat every game like it’s your last, because you never know when you’ll play your last one.”
Basketball
Rebel basketball was on fire last season. Both the men’s and women’s teams made noise in the postseason and finished the season ranked in the AP Poll. One of the Ole Miss Women’s Basketball stars, Madison Scott, was drafted No. 14 overall to the Dallas Wings in the 2025 WNBA Draft.
Scott played five seasons for Ole Miss (2020-2025) and finished her career with over 1,600 points and 1,000 rebounds. She is one of only four players in school history to accomplish this feat.
“I know that I can come in immediately and be a force on defense,” Scott said in an April 14 press conference following the WNBA draft. “I’ve been in a program for five years where our motto was ‘dictating this rough.’”
Scott’s Ole Miss career was hugely successful. She was named to the First Team All-SEC once, the Second Team All-SEC twice and the SEC All-Defensive Team twice. She led the team in blocks last season and was top five on the team in blocks in every season she played.
“It’s embedded in me,” Scott said. “It’s in my blood to play defense at a high level.”
Olympic Rebels
Rebel talent shines on the international stage, too. Rafaelle Souza, a former Ole Miss soccer star from 2011-13, now captains the Brazilian women’s national football team and plays for the Orlando Pride of the National Women’s Soccer League. Souza was a First-Team All-American at Ole Miss; she also scored the second-most goals (44) in Ole Miss history.
“(Football) changed my life,” Souza said in an interview with Optus Sports. “I got my education, I helped my family and now I’m in a better place because of football.”
Ole Miss athletes have even found success on the Olympic stage. Former Rebel pole vaulter Sam Kendricks won a silver medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics and a bronze medal in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Kendricks is from Oxford and attended Ole Miss from 2013-14. He won two NCAA championships and was a five-time All-American before choosing to leave the NCAA and focus on his professional career.
“The best is yet to come for me,” Kendricks said in an interview with FloTrack. “I’m still in my prime. My goal this year is to break the American record by any means necessary.”
The cheers and support from the fans does not stop at Vaught-Hemingway, Swayze Field or The Pavilion. From football fields to baseball diamonds, from Olympic stadiums to global soccer pitches, Ole Miss athletes continue to make their mark far beyond Oxford. With each touchdown, home run or medal, they help to extend the legacy of an institution that prepares athletes for the highest levels of competition.
Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown was the Ole Miss commencement speaker in 2025. His message to the graduates was one that echoes throughout every corner of the campus and far beyond.
“One never graduates from Ole Miss,” Brown said.
