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OXFORD — The dust is starting to settle regarding Ole Miss baseball's transfer portal class.
Coach Mike Bianco and the Rebels have added 11 players in the transfer portal, and five players have departed.
The transfer portal opened June 1 and closed June 30. Ole Miss can still add players who entered the transfer portal in that window but have yet to commit to a new school.
Ole Miss is trying to reload its 2026 roster that made it to the College World Series, but is set to lose Tristan Bissetta, Will Furniss and Judd Utermark to graduation. Other top players, such as pitchers Cade Townsend and Taylor Rabe, are expected to be early-round draft picks in the 2026 MLB Draft beginning July 11 (noon CT, NBC/Peacock).
The Rebels needed to prepare for their 2026 pitching to be wiped out.
Weekend starters Rabe and Townsend are projected as top picks, and Hunter Elliott may take advantage of the leverage that comes with his final season of eligibility to start his professional career. Hudson Calhoun (No. 235) and Wil Libbert (No. 181) are also ranked in the top 250 draft prospects.
Those five pitchers combined to throw 319⅔ innings for the Rebels in 2027, which is 57% of the season. Ole Miss has acted accordingly in the portal.
Kendall Hoffman (Houston), Andrew Rogovic (Northeastern), Charlie Foster (Mississippi State), Eli Pillsbury (Jacksonville State), Charlie Willcox (Georgia Tech), Maverick Rizy (LSU) and Brent Stukes (South Carolina Upstate) are the incoming transfer pitchers.
Those seven pitchers combined for 345⅔ innings in 2026. It's an interesting batch of newcomers who should have a robust competition for innings in 2027.
Willcox was ranked as a 10-out-of-10 recruit by Perfect Game. He has a strong fastball/curveball mix, but his true freshman season at Georgia Tech was uninspiring. He pitched just 14 innings for the Yellow Jackets and had a 9.64 ERA.
Rizy pitched 21⅓ innings at LSU and had a 4.22 ERA. He'll enter Ole Miss as a junior in search of a breakout season. Rizy is a 6-foot-9 right-hander with elite strikeout stuff.
Getting one or two draft-eligible pitchers to spurn the MLB and return to Oxford would be a bonus heading into 2027.
The pieces making up the Ole Miss infield have fallen into place. Second baseman Dom Decker and shortstop Owen Paino return in the middle of the diamond.
First baseman Trey Hawsey transferred from Louisiana Tech, and his stats there (76 hits, 15 home runs) indicate he'll transition smoothly to the SEC. Ole Miss added third baseman Jason Fultz from Clemson on July 2 to complete the puzzle. He was the primary starter for the Tigers and batted .231.
Catcher Austin Fawley is drafted eligible, but can return alongside TCU transfer Brady Dallimore.
Center fielder Hayden Federico returns to anchor the outfield, but the spots to his right and left are up for grabs with Bissetta graduating and Brayden Randle transferring. Houston utility player Blake Fields could be an answer. He played some in left in 2026, batting .261 with the Cougars with three home runs and recording more walks (34) than strikeouts (29).
Ole Miss may look internally to fill the last outfield spot. Junior Topher Jones, a transfer from Pearl River Community College coming off his first season at Ole Miss, got 17 starts at left in 2026. He hit .217 with three home runs.
Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at [email protected] or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: How Ole Miss baseball portal moves can offset heavy pitching losses in MLB draft
Continue reading...
Coach Mike Bianco and the Rebels have added 11 players in the transfer portal, and five players have departed.
The transfer portal opened June 1 and closed June 30. Ole Miss can still add players who entered the transfer portal in that window but have yet to commit to a new school.
Ole Miss is trying to reload its 2026 roster that made it to the College World Series, but is set to lose Tristan Bissetta, Will Furniss and Judd Utermark to graduation. Other top players, such as pitchers Cade Townsend and Taylor Rabe, are expected to be early-round draft picks in the 2026 MLB Draft beginning July 11 (noon CT, NBC/Peacock).
Ole Miss has stocked up on pitching depth ahead of MLB Draft
The Rebels needed to prepare for their 2026 pitching to be wiped out.
Weekend starters Rabe and Townsend are projected as top picks, and Hunter Elliott may take advantage of the leverage that comes with his final season of eligibility to start his professional career. Hudson Calhoun (No. 235) and Wil Libbert (No. 181) are also ranked in the top 250 draft prospects.
Those five pitchers combined to throw 319⅔ innings for the Rebels in 2027, which is 57% of the season. Ole Miss has acted accordingly in the portal.
Kendall Hoffman (Houston), Andrew Rogovic (Northeastern), Charlie Foster (Mississippi State), Eli Pillsbury (Jacksonville State), Charlie Willcox (Georgia Tech), Maverick Rizy (LSU) and Brent Stukes (South Carolina Upstate) are the incoming transfer pitchers.
Those seven pitchers combined for 345⅔ innings in 2026. It's an interesting batch of newcomers who should have a robust competition for innings in 2027.
Willcox was ranked as a 10-out-of-10 recruit by Perfect Game. He has a strong fastball/curveball mix, but his true freshman season at Georgia Tech was uninspiring. He pitched just 14 innings for the Yellow Jackets and had a 9.64 ERA.
Rizy pitched 21⅓ innings at LSU and had a 4.22 ERA. He'll enter Ole Miss as a junior in search of a breakout season. Rizy is a 6-foot-9 right-hander with elite strikeout stuff.
Getting one or two draft-eligible pitchers to spurn the MLB and return to Oxford would be a bonus heading into 2027.
Corner outfielders are the last piece of the Ole Miss baseball puzzle
The pieces making up the Ole Miss infield have fallen into place. Second baseman Dom Decker and shortstop Owen Paino return in the middle of the diamond.
First baseman Trey Hawsey transferred from Louisiana Tech, and his stats there (76 hits, 15 home runs) indicate he'll transition smoothly to the SEC. Ole Miss added third baseman Jason Fultz from Clemson on July 2 to complete the puzzle. He was the primary starter for the Tigers and batted .231.
Catcher Austin Fawley is drafted eligible, but can return alongside TCU transfer Brady Dallimore.
Center fielder Hayden Federico returns to anchor the outfield, but the spots to his right and left are up for grabs with Bissetta graduating and Brayden Randle transferring. Houston utility player Blake Fields could be an answer. He played some in left in 2026, batting .261 with the Cougars with three home runs and recording more walks (34) than strikeouts (29).
Ole Miss may look internally to fill the last outfield spot. Junior Topher Jones, a transfer from Pearl River Community College coming off his first season at Ole Miss, got 17 starts at left in 2026. He hit .217 with three home runs.
Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at [email protected] or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: How Ole Miss baseball portal moves can offset heavy pitching losses in MLB draft
Continue reading...
