POLL POSITION: Ole Miss returns to the Top 25 after first series sweep
The Ole Miss baseball team is a Top 25 team once again after a lengthy absence from the national polls.
On the heels of the Rebels first series sweep of the season, taking all three games against Eastern Kentucky this past weekend at Oxford-University Stadium, they find themselves back in the D1Baseball rankings.
With a start to the season that includes a pair of wins over ranked opponents in Arlington, Texas opening weekend, Ole Miss (6-1) moved up to No. 24 in D1Baseball latest Top 25 released on Monday.
This is the first ranking for the Rebels since the 2023 season. They were not included in the 2024 preseason rankings by D1Baseball and never cracked the Top 25 during the season, which finished with a 27-29 record.
Ole Miss has won five straight games, outscoring EKU 26-7 over the weekend. Despite the results going their way the Rebels offense is one that is still working to catch up to what appears early to be a revived pitching staff under first-year pitching coach Joel Mangrum.
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“We’re scratching out runs on a consistent basis, but if you wanted to be critical, we are missing those big hits that put crooked numbers on the scoreboard,” Ole Miss head coach Bianco said over the weekend. “We need to do more of that. We have scored in a lot of innings, but we want to blow some games open with some giant hits as well.”
The Rebels did not crack the Top 25 of the Baseball America or Perfect Game polls on Monday.
This week provides another chance at a win over a ranked opponent for Ole Miss.
As per usual all three major collegiate baseball programs are starting the season off strong. This includes the Rebels Tuesday opponent in Southern Mississippi.
The Golden Eagles are off to a 7-1 start and also moved into the Top 25 at No. 22 in D1Baseball’s rankings. They had their seven-game winning streak snapped in a loss to Louisiana Tech at home as part of a doubleheader on Saturday.
Last week Southern Mississippi beat No. 18 Mississippi State, 3-0, in Hattiesburg.
Ole Miss and the Golden Eagles are scheduled for a 4 p.m. CT first pitch on Tuesday. The game will air on SEC Network+. The Rebels will then host Wright State for a three-game weekend series starting on Friday.
Below is the complete D1Baseball Top 25 rankings:
- Texas A&M (5-1)
- LSU (6-1)
- Tennessee (7-0)
- Arkansas (6-1)
- North Carolina (6-0)
- Georgia (8-1)
- Florida State (7-0)
- Florida (7-0)
- Oregon State (5-2)
- Virginia (3-3)
- Oregon (6-2)
- Wake Forest (7-1)
- Clemson (6-1)
- Vanderbilt (7-1)
- Texas (5-1)
- Oklahoma (6-0)
- Duke (4-3)
- Mississippi State (6-1)
- Dallas Baptist (6-1)
- UC Santa Barbara (6-1)
- Troy (6-1)
- Southern Mississippi (7-1)
- Cincinnati (4-2)
- Ole Miss (6-1)
- TCU (5-2)
