Around the Diamond: Where would Ole Miss baseball be without Luke Cheng?

Luke Cheng in the off-season was essentially brought in from Illinois State for depth. 

Freshman Owen Paino was a Top 10 SEC newcomer, according to D1Baseball.com, and the leader in the clubhouse to start at shortstop. Ole Miss successfully kept Paino from the MLB Draft last July.

Cheng was pulled him from the NCAA Transfer Portal the same month. Fast forward to April of 2025 and the Rebels likely couldn’t imagine where they’d be without him. 

Paino has struggled both at the plate and in the field to start his Rebel career. Cheng has all but taken over as the primary starter. He hit a walk-off, three-run home run on Tuesday to secure an 18-7 win over Jackson State, the seventh win for No. 9 Ole Miss in its last eight games. 

“He’s been terrific,” Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said. “He helps us and gives us a lot in different ways. Just need to make sure he’s as good to go as he can be.”

“It’s been a rough few weeks,” Cheng said after the game, “but I’m just glad to be out here.”

Cheng has hit .310 with a .532 on-base percentage and 1.118 OPS through 49 plate appearances. He managed all of one home run over four years at Illinois State. Cheng has two in a couple of months at Ole Miss. 

He’s maintained his steady pace despite being hit in the face by a pitch in the Rebels’ SEC-opening win over Arkansas. Cheng has drawn six walks, while being hit by a team-high 10 pitches. He was diagnosed with a concussion and missed about a week.

RELATED: Ole Miss trending towards having Connor Spencer available for Kentucky series

Cheng was a career .270 hitter at Illinois State.

He had 99 hits, 14 doubles and the one home run. He struck out just 71 times in In 366 at-bats.

Cheng appeared in 16 games in 2024 and hit .373 with 11 RBI. He slugged .431 and had a .522 on-base percentage. However, he battled injuries with the Redbirds, too, and has a history of HBPs. 

“I’m an older guy who doesn’t have a ton of games left,” Cheng said. “Being out here and a part of this, we’ll deal with it.”

Next for Ole Miss (22-6, 6-3 SEC) is a Thursday-Saturday series at Kentucky (17-9, 4-5) this weekend.

HOW TO WATCH

TV/Online: SEC Network
Play-by-Play: Derrick Jones
Color: Lance Cormier

HOW TO LISTEN

Radio: Ole Miss Radio Network
Play-by-Play: David Kellum
Color: Brad Henderson

RELATED: Ole Miss continues to move up the national seed projections in latest ‘Bracket Watch’

SCOUTING KENTUCKY

Kentucky infielder Tyler Bell is the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week. He leads the Wildcats in doubles (10) and RBI (31). Bell was a second-round selection in the MLB Draft and the highest-drafted player to attend college. 

Kentucky last time out took two of three at preseason top-ranked Texas A&M. Bell had eight hits, seven RBI, three doubles and a home run in the series. The Wildcats have outscored opponents 217-129 this season and average 8.3 runs per game. They’re 16th nationally for fewest hits allowed (7.33).

Kentucky lost its entire weekend pitching staff after last season, as well as its entire starting infield outside of catcher and two of its three outfielders. OF/DH Cole Hage is UK’s leader in average (.363), runs scored (33), home runs (8), walks (16) and stolen bases (10). He was a three-time first-team All-Ivey League honoree. 

OF Shaun Montoya was second-team All-Mountain West. Catchers Devin Burkes and Raphael Pelletier have played in a combined 326 career games, including 286 starts. Pelletier was twice All-Big 12 honorable mention.

Nick Mingione is in his ninth season as head coach of the Wildcats. Ole Miss leads the all-time series, 54-39. Kentucky swept the Rebels last season.

AROUND THE DIAMOND

Illinois transfer Ryan Moerman tied the single-game Ole Miss record with four walks against Jackson State. … Ole Miss is off to its best SEC start in four years. … UNO transfer outfielder Mitchell Sanford is hitting .449 with seven home runs, 21 runs scored and 17 RBI over his last 12 games. 

Ole Miss is seventh nationally in both total home runs (58) and home runs per game (2.04). 

The Rebels are No. 9 nationally and third in the SEC in walks (189). They’re also 14th and fifth, respectively, in slugging percentage (.558). Ole Miss pitchers are collectively sixth in the NCAA and fifth in the conference in strikeouts per nine (12.1). … Sophomore catcher Austin Fawley is making his return to Kentucky after an off-season transfer to Ole Miss. He appeared in 10 games for the Wildcats in 2024.