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Bracket Watch: It is still early but Ole Miss is back as a host contender

11by:Jake Thompson•03/26/25•

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Ole Miss baseball helmet. Mandatory credit: Ole Miss athletics

Spring has been good for Ole Miss athletics and, for now, it looks like the baseball team could be on a path to continuing the good vibes.

The season is not yet at the midway point and the No. 15 Rebels (19-5, 4-2 Southeastern Conference) Still have eight SEC weekend series to go, including this week’s with visiting Florida (18-9, 0-6), plus the SEC Tournament but postseason conversation is already bubbling.

Baseball America rolled out its first Field of 64 projections on Wednesday and Ole Miss found itself in a host spot as the 15 National Seed. Joining the Rebels at Oxford-University Stadium would be Georgia Tech as the 2 Seed of the Oxford Regional, Loyola Marymount (3 Seed) and Creighton (4 Seed).

This is a breath of fresh air as the Rebels have been way on the outside of the NCAA Tournament looking in over the last couple years since winning the program’s first national championship in 2022.

Going off these projections Ole Miss would be paired with No. 2 National Seed Arkansas, setting up yet another potential Fayetteville Super Regional between to the SEC clubs.

Of course this is just all crystal-ball gazing and good conversation topics in late March. Though it should also be viewed as a testament to the early season turnaround the Rebels have shown this season.

Looking at the metrics Ole Miss is No. 7 in RPI after Tuesday’s win over Memphis for its fourth straight victory. The strength of schedule is No. 15 according to Warren Nolen, so the metrics are good heading into April.

This week presents another chance to stack SEC wins against a Gators team that is scuffling after blowing its ninth-inning lead against No. 4 Florida State on Tuesday and still searching for its first SEC win.

Part of that is due to the injury bug that has it the pitching staff. Florida is without Friday starter Liam Peters and Saturday starter Pierce Coppola. Ole Miss is no stranger to what can happen when the ace goes down to an injury for an extended amount of time

“I haven’t really looked at it much but from a distance you’ve heard they had some injuries on the mound and in the field,” Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco said. “That makes a huge difference. We know it as well as anybody, but they are also Florida. They’re really good and really talented. I know we’re not going to read too much into that. Team that was ranked in the top five at the beginning of the year so we gotta be ready to play.”

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