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OXFORD — The 2026 Ole Miss baseball team is no Cinderella like the 2022 Rebels, the last team in the NCAA Tournament who won the program's first national championship.
Ole Miss (41-21) got back to the College World Series for the first time since then and will open play in Omaha, Nebraska, against North Carolina (50-12-1) on June 12 (6 p.m., ESPN).
The run to Omaha has some similarities to Ole Miss' 2022 national championship team, which swept a regional at Miami and a super regional at Southern Miss.
The 2026 Rebels are also 5-0 in the postseason with all their games on the road, but the path to make the tournament was much less stressful.
In 2022, Ole Miss was likely one loss from being excluded from the field. In 2026, the Rebels were likely one win away from being a top-16 regional host seed.
"The similarities, that (2022) team was obviously the proverbial last team in," Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said. "This team wasn't that. This team was one of the last teams not to host. They were one of the teams that was for sure going to get in."
This Ole Miss team is considered much more of a national championship contender than the 2022 team that surprised almost everyone.
Ole Miss played regular-season series against three of the seven other teams that made the CWS (Texas, Alabama, Georgia), going 3-6. Eight of Ole Miss' SEC opponents made the NCAA Tournament
The tough path continued in the NCAA Tournament. The Rebels emerged from the Lincoln Regional by scraping by No. 1 regional seed Nebraska and No. 3 Arizona State.
Ole Miss won two extra-inning games against ASU, and got a 6-3 win over host Nebraska.
"We use the mantra we handle hard well," Bianco said. "And our guys have done it. They did it last weekend in a very difficult regional, and just a great opponent and atmosphere (in Auburn)."
Ole Miss swept the No. 4 national seed Tigers in the super regionals.
"This team has had a much harder road to get (to the College World Series) than 2022," Bianco said.
The Ole Miss pitching staff is its biggest strength heading into Omaha.
Starters Taylor Rabe and Cade Townsend are projected as top-100 prospects in the 2026 MLB Draft.
Rabe (5-3, 3.71 ERA) has been lights out with a 2.07 postseason ERA over two starts. He is 6-foot-6 with an upper-90s fastball and 98 strikeouts in 70⅓ innings with just 11 walks.
Townsend (5-3, 3.94 ERA) has a five-pitch arsenal that keeps hitters off balance and Ole Miss didn't even need him against Auburn.
Why have neither of them been the Friday ace in 2026? Hunter Elliott, who started the first game for Ole Miss in the regional and super regional, has something harder to quantify.
"(Elliott) has got as much guts as anybody that's ever put on this uniform," Bianco said.
Elliott (5-3, 5.15 ERA) is the lone remaining player from the 2022 national championship team, and Ole Miss is 6-0 all-time in the NCAA Tournament when he is the starting pitcher.
He has pitched 41⅔ career innings in the NCAA Tournament and has a 2.38 ERA.
"Hunter lives to pitch in these big moments," Rabe said. "It's awesome to have him and be able to pitch him and be able to pitch him in these big moments."
Walker Hooks (3-1, 2.43 ERA) gives Ole Miss cushion out of the bullpen. He has emerged as the closer after beginning the season as a set-up man. Two of Hooks' nine saves in came in the super regional at Auburn.
Ole Miss has two home run-hitters who can be part of program history in the CWS.
Tristan Bissetta, a transfer outfielder from Clemson, leads Ole Miss with 23 home runs. He is one away from tying Tim Elko's program record set in 2022.
Judd Utermark, who has 22 home runs, can extend the all-time program record he set on May 12. Utermark has 51 career home runs, which breaks Kyle Gordon's record of 48 that had stood since 1987.
Georgia catcher Daniel Jackson (31) and Texas outfielder Aiden Robbins (24) are the only players in the CWS field with more home runs than Utermark and Bissetta. The Ole Miss duo has combined for five home runs in the NCAA tournament.
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: Why Ole Miss baseball can win College World Series for second time
Continue reading...
Ole Miss (41-21) got back to the College World Series for the first time since then and will open play in Omaha, Nebraska, against North Carolina (50-12-1) on June 12 (6 p.m., ESPN).
The run to Omaha has some similarities to Ole Miss' 2022 national championship team, which swept a regional at Miami and a super regional at Southern Miss.
The 2026 Rebels are also 5-0 in the postseason with all their games on the road, but the path to make the tournament was much less stressful.
In 2022, Ole Miss was likely one loss from being excluded from the field. In 2026, the Rebels were likely one win away from being a top-16 regional host seed.
"The similarities, that (2022) team was obviously the proverbial last team in," Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said. "This team wasn't that. This team was one of the last teams not to host. They were one of the teams that was for sure going to get in."
This Ole Miss team is considered much more of a national championship contender than the 2022 team that surprised almost everyone.
Ole Miss baseball had more difficult path to Omaha in 2026
Ole Miss played regular-season series against three of the seven other teams that made the CWS (Texas, Alabama, Georgia), going 3-6. Eight of Ole Miss' SEC opponents made the NCAA Tournament
The tough path continued in the NCAA Tournament. The Rebels emerged from the Lincoln Regional by scraping by No. 1 regional seed Nebraska and No. 3 Arizona State.
Ole Miss won two extra-inning games against ASU, and got a 6-3 win over host Nebraska.
"We use the mantra we handle hard well," Bianco said. "And our guys have done it. They did it last weekend in a very difficult regional, and just a great opponent and atmosphere (in Auburn)."
Ole Miss swept the No. 4 national seed Tigers in the super regionals.
"This team has had a much harder road to get (to the College World Series) than 2022," Bianco said.
Ole Miss pitching is among college baseball's best
The Ole Miss pitching staff is its biggest strength heading into Omaha.
Starters Taylor Rabe and Cade Townsend are projected as top-100 prospects in the 2026 MLB Draft.
Rabe (5-3, 3.71 ERA) has been lights out with a 2.07 postseason ERA over two starts. He is 6-foot-6 with an upper-90s fastball and 98 strikeouts in 70⅓ innings with just 11 walks.
Townsend (5-3, 3.94 ERA) has a five-pitch arsenal that keeps hitters off balance and Ole Miss didn't even need him against Auburn.
Why have neither of them been the Friday ace in 2026? Hunter Elliott, who started the first game for Ole Miss in the regional and super regional, has something harder to quantify.
"(Elliott) has got as much guts as anybody that's ever put on this uniform," Bianco said.
Elliott (5-3, 5.15 ERA) is the lone remaining player from the 2022 national championship team, and Ole Miss is 6-0 all-time in the NCAA Tournament when he is the starting pitcher.
He has pitched 41⅔ career innings in the NCAA Tournament and has a 2.38 ERA.
"Hunter lives to pitch in these big moments," Rabe said. "It's awesome to have him and be able to pitch him and be able to pitch him in these big moments."
Walker Hooks (3-1, 2.43 ERA) gives Ole Miss cushion out of the bullpen. He has emerged as the closer after beginning the season as a set-up man. Two of Hooks' nine saves in came in the super regional at Auburn.
Judd Utermark, Tristan Bissetta keep Ole Miss in any game
Ole Miss has two home run-hitters who can be part of program history in the CWS.
Tristan Bissetta, a transfer outfielder from Clemson, leads Ole Miss with 23 home runs. He is one away from tying Tim Elko's program record set in 2022.
Judd Utermark, who has 22 home runs, can extend the all-time program record he set on May 12. Utermark has 51 career home runs, which breaks Kyle Gordon's record of 48 that had stood since 1987.
Georgia catcher Daniel Jackson (31) and Texas outfielder Aiden Robbins (24) are the only players in the CWS field with more home runs than Utermark and Bissetta. The Ole Miss duo has combined for five home runs in the NCAA tournament.
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: Why Ole Miss baseball can win College World Series for second time
Continue reading...
