It’s almost time for the Ole Miss softball team to return to the diamond for the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, as part of a grand-slam slate of games starting on Friday, Feb. 10. Ole Miss will face North Carolina in the opener.

The team capped a stellar 2022 season with a 41-19 record, the second-most wins in a single season in school history. The Rebels finished 12-12 in the SEC, earning a NCAA Tournament appearance for the second-straight year under third-year head coach Jamie Trachsel.  

Trachsel has improved her squad each year at Ole Miss and will be looking for continued success on the diamond. 

Ole Miss made history by going 24-1 through the first 25 games. The team broke through the Top 25 in multiple polls and finished eighth in the SEC. The Rebels won a game at the SEC Tournament for the first time since 2019 and secured the program’s sixth-straight NCAA Regional bid, earning the No. 2 seed in the Los Angeles Regional. 

Ole Miss survived a slew of top 10 opponents, winning key matchups against No. 9 Arkansas and No. 8 Kentucky. 

The Rebels found their stride down the stretch, winning nine of their final 11 contests and taking series from No. 11 Tennessee and No. 16 Georgia to close out the regular season and tie the program record with 38 regular season victories.

The momentum from last year has earned the Rebels a No. 25 2023 preseason ranking in the D1 Softball Preseason poll in part due to a talented freshman class, including three top-100 players in the country, two of whom are from Mississippi.

Following a standout season, Rebel outfielders Tate Whitley and Abbey Latham earned NFCA All-Region honors.

Whitley led the SEC in hits with 74 during the regular season, while Latham became the program’s all-time RBI leader in March. 

Those Rebels will be key to another strong season as they lead a younger team.