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If Ole Miss baseball hits a home run in the College World Series, you may notice a reference to Star Wars in the dugout.
The Rebels have a stormtrooper helmet as a home run prop that began this season. It's carried them through an undefeated run through the regionals and super regionals of the NCAA Tournament. Coach Mike Bianco even wore it after Ole Miss won the Auburn Super Regional.
Ole Miss (41-21) is facing No. 5 North Carolina (50-12-1) in its first game of the CWS on June 12 (6 p.m., ESPN) at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska.
Here's what to know about Ole Miss' stormtrooper helmet.
The stormtrooper helmet first surfaced for Ole Miss during an April series at Florida.
The offense was struggling, so pitchers Hudson Calhoun, Terry Hayes and Wil Libbert thought the team needed a spark. The three of them pitched in to buy at $150 helmet from Target.
"We were in Florida and I think we hadn't scored for, like, 17 innings ... They gave it to our offense. Ever since then, we just decided that we could start hitting again," first baseman Will Furniss said. "We just kept putting it on. It kind of just became a prop."
Strength coach John Carello is in charge of handing out the helmet in the dugout.
MORE: What advice Tim Elko, other 2022 Ole Miss national champions have for Rebels in CWS
The stormtrooper helmet was first used April 4 when Ole Miss won 5-2 against Florida, scoring all of its runs in the ninth inning to win the series.
Ole Miss was 21-11 (4-7 SEC) before that game. Since then, the Rebels are 20-10 and went 11-8 in SEC play.
Stormtroopers are soldiers who fought for the empire in the Star Wars movies. They wore all-white armor, including the helmet.
"I like Star Wars but I only saw the first one, a little bit of the second one," Bianco said. "That's a whole other story. My family rags me all the time. But I know exactly what the helmet is."
All times Central
Friday, June 12
Saturday, June 13
Sunday, June 14
Monday, June 15
Tuesday, June 16
Wednesday, June 17
Thursday, June 18
CWS finals championship series
Best-of-three
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Why Ole Miss baseball wears Star Wars helmet after home run at CWS
Continue reading...
The Rebels have a stormtrooper helmet as a home run prop that began this season. It's carried them through an undefeated run through the regionals and super regionals of the NCAA Tournament. Coach Mike Bianco even wore it after Ole Miss won the Auburn Super Regional.
Ole Miss (41-21) is facing No. 5 North Carolina (50-12-1) in its first game of the CWS on June 12 (6 p.m., ESPN) at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska.
Here's what to know about Ole Miss' stormtrooper helmet.
Why does Ole Miss have stormtrooper helmet?
The stormtrooper helmet first surfaced for Ole Miss during an April series at Florida.
The offense was struggling, so pitchers Hudson Calhoun, Terry Hayes and Wil Libbert thought the team needed a spark. The three of them pitched in to buy at $150 helmet from Target.
"We were in Florida and I think we hadn't scored for, like, 17 innings ... They gave it to our offense. Ever since then, we just decided that we could start hitting again," first baseman Will Furniss said. "We just kept putting it on. It kind of just became a prop."
Strength coach John Carello is in charge of handing out the helmet in the dugout.
MORE: What advice Tim Elko, other 2022 Ole Miss national champions have for Rebels in CWS
Ole Miss record since stormtrooper helmet arrived
The stormtrooper helmet was first used April 4 when Ole Miss won 5-2 against Florida, scoring all of its runs in the ninth inning to win the series.
Ole Miss was 21-11 (4-7 SEC) before that game. Since then, the Rebels are 20-10 and went 11-8 in SEC play.
What is a stormtrooper in Star Wars?
Stormtroopers are soldiers who fought for the empire in the Star Wars movies. They wore all-white armor, including the helmet.
"I like Star Wars but I only saw the first one, a little bit of the second one," Bianco said. "That's a whole other story. My family rags me all the time. But I know exactly what the helmet is."
2026 College World Series schedule
All times Central
Friday, June 12
- Game 1: Troy vs. West Virginia, 1 p.m. on ESPN
- Game 2: Ole Miss vs. North Carolina, 6 p.m. on ESPN
Saturday, June 13
- Game 3: Oklahoma vs. Alabama , 2 p.m. on ESPN
- Game 4: Georgia vs. Texas, 7 p.m. on ESPN
Sunday, June 14
- Game 5: Game 1 loser vs Game 2 loser, 1 p.m. on ESPN
- Game 6: Game 1 winner vs Game 2 winner, 6 p.m. on ESPN
Monday, June 15
- Game 7: Game 3 loser vs Game 4 loser, 1 p.m. on ESPN
- Game 8: Game 3 winner vs Game 4 winner, 6 p.m. on ESPN
Tuesday, June 16
- Game 9: Game 5 winner vs Game 6 loser, 1 p.m. on ESPN
- Game 10: Game 7 winner vs Game 8 loser 7 p.m. on ESPN
Wednesday, June 17
- Game 11: Game 6 winner vs. Game 9 winner 1 p.m. on ESPN
- Game 12: Game 8 winner vs Game 10 winner, 6 p.m. on ESPN
Thursday, June 18
- Game 13 (if necessary): TBD, ESPN
- Game 14 (if necessary): TBD, ESPN
CWS finals championship series
Best-of-three
- Game 1: Saturday, June 20, 7 p.m. on ESPN
- Game 2: Sunday, June 21, 1:30 p.m. on ABC
- Game 3: Monday, June 22, 6 p.m. on ESPN, if necessary
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Why Ole Miss baseball wears Star Wars helmet after home run at CWS
Continue reading...
