Mike Bianco addresses how back-to-back Mississippi titles will fuel rivalry

One season after Mississippi State reached the pinnacle of the college baseball world, Ole Miss couldn’t let their rival have all the shine — capturing their first College World Series title on Sunday.

After hoisting the trophy, Rebels skipper Mike Bianco addressed if back-to-back championships by the rival programs will fuel their rivalry.

“I’m sure it will. I’m sure our fan base will be very proud. I’ll leave it at that,” answered Bianco. “But I will say this, when we won in Hattiesburg at the super regional, I got a text from Chris Lemonis, the head coach at Mississippi State, and I got a text from Coach Gautreau, their hitting coach, both of them: Congratulations, good luck in Omaha. And my response back to both of them was: Thanks so much, I really appreciate it, and we’re hoping to keep the trophy in Mississippi.

“As we’re leaving Hattiesburg, Mississippi, that was a national seed that hosted a super regional. The rivalry is great, but it’s a rivalry with all three of us because all three of us have great baseball programs.”

As you can see, there’s immense respect between the leaders of both programs, but that won’t stop Ole Miss and Mississippi State faithful from wanted bragging rights over their rivals.

Mike Bianco: ‘Don’t know if you can describe’ feeling of winning Ole Miss’ first national championship

Moreover, Ole Miss entered Selection Sunday with doubt. A losing record in conference play and a loss in the SEC Tournament meant the Rebels had a solid chance of not making the NCAA Tournament. The committee put head coach Mike Bianco and his squad in as the 64th team and as it turns out, they find themselves as national champions.

Bianco has been at the helm for over two decades, with this season being just his second College World Series appearance. He said at times in the past, not breaking through has been a major disappointment. However, this year and this team were one of the best he’s ever had and capped it off with a championship.

“As you can imagine, so much goes into it,” Bianco said. “We’ve had so many great teams over the years and so many times, we came short of this place. It’s been really disappointing. But for 22 years, a lot of guys have worn the uniform. They are a part of this but the biggest part goes to these guys. You’ve talked about our story all week and I’ve never seen a group of kids that were more resilient, more relentless. Of course, super, super proud.”

Eight different times, Ole Miss has made it to a Super Regional under Bianco, including three straight. Not appearing in Omaha has frustrated the fan base at times but the waiting ended up paying off, winning just the school’s second-ever national championship, regardless of sport.

Bianco knew if his team was able to pull through and hoist the trophy at the end of the day, it would be a special moment for everyone involved. He revealed what the mindset for the Rebels was going into the NCAA Tournament and how it translated as they advanced.

“I don’t know if you can describe it,” said Bianco. “As we continued to play, continued to get a chance in the NCAA Tournament, we talked about the journey. We talked about what a great story this would be and it was. We had a lot of great moments along the way. A lot of them ended Omaha and you know, one of the challenges, when we won in Hattiesburg, was — don’t go there just to show up. Go to win.”