Rebel Roundabout: ‘M’ Braves welcome Gonzo and Captain home with ‘Ole Miss Night’

The Mississippi Braves — the Double-A affiliate of MLB’s Atlanta Braves — don’t roster a single Ole Miss Rebel across any of their four levels. 

But the organization has branded Thursday night against Birmingham ‘Ole Miss Night’ all the same. 

Jacob Gonzalez and Tim Elko are a pair of all-time Ole Miss baseball greats and now-members of the Birmingham Barons. The teams are playing a six-game series in Pearl this week. 

Gonzalez was promoted in May after a hot start at Winston-Salem. He posted a 161 wRC+ through the Dash’s first 10 games. Gonzalez hit .273 overall and posted a .364 OBP, three home runs, seven doubles and 15 RBI. He has a .260 average and .330 OBP with Birmingham, as well as two home runs, nine doubles and six stolen bases.

The Chicago White Sox made Gonzalez their first-round selection (No. 15 overall) in the 2023 MLB Draft. Both Gonzalez and Elko were integral members of Ole Miss’ first-ever national championship in the summer of 2022. The Rebels won 10 of their 11 NCAA Tournament games despite being the last team named to the field.

This week, they may be our opposition with the @BhamBarons, but welcome back to Trustmark Park a pair of former @OleMissBSB stars, @TimElko and @jakegonzalez717. Thursday is Ole Miss Night, and fans wearing Ole Miss gear get a $5 ticket at the Trustmark Park box office, thanks… pic.twitter.com/inopZu6icL

— Mississippi Braves (@mbraves) July 9, 2024

Elko was a three-time captain over his Rebel career.

He led Ole Miss in slugging percentage (.642), RBI (75), home runs (24) and total bases (154) as a senior. The homer total still stands as the single-season Ole Miss record. Elko was a 10th-rounder of the White Sox that year. A statue in his honor was constructed at Oxford-University Stadium/Swayze Field.

“Just an amazing university,” Elko previously told MLB.com. “I feel so special and honored for them to do that for me and for that national championship team. It’s pretty awesome.”

Elko slashed .337/.535/.917 for the Barons in May and earned Double-A Player of the Month. He recorded a hit in 22 of 25 games and two or more in 11. Mixed in was a 14-game hit streak (May 11-28).

Elko has maintained his torrid pace the last few months. He’s up to a .297 average, .336 OBP and .825 OPS. Elko has eight home runs, 36 RBI and 18 walks.

Rebel Rumor Mill: Flurry of Ole Miss baseball activity isn’t slowing any time soon

OLE MISS PLACES 90 ON SEC SPRING ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL

Ole Miss placed 90 athletes from its baseball, golf, softball, tennis and track & field teams on the SEC Spring Academic Honor Roll. The list was released on Tuesday. A GPA of 3.0 or better was required to qualify.

Baseball (13): Hunter Elliott, Will Furniss, Patrick Galle, Bo Gatlin, Ethan Groff, Brayden Jones, John Kramer, Ethan Lege, Mitch Murrell, Mason Nichols, Xavier Rivas, Grayson Saunier and Sam Tookoian

Men’s Golf (3): C.J. Easley, Tom Fischer and Kye Meeks

Women’s Golf (6): McKinley Cunningham, Nicole Gal, Ellen Hume, Natacha Host Husted, Elle Johnson and Andrea Lignell

Softball (9): Lexie Brady, Angelina DeLeon, Aynslie Furbush, Tenly Grisham, Makenna Kliethermes, Jamie Mackay, Taylor Malvin, Paige Smith and Grace Thompson

Men’s Tennis (6): Lukas Engelhardt, John Hallquist Lithen, Noah Schlagenhauf, Nikola Slavic, Walker Stearns and Gordon Whitwell

Women’s Tennis (7): Lucie Devier, Ludmila Kareisova, Emma Kette, Rachel Krzyzak, Anaelle Leclercq-Ficher, Kelsey Mize and Reka Zadori 

Men’s Track & Field (21): Frankie Amore, Iangelo Atkinstall-Daley, Aiden Britt, Cole Bullock, Costen Campion, Mason Collins, Marcus Dropik, Dereck Elkins, Luke Etherton, Cade Flatt, Mason Hickel, Gavin Nembhard, Miles Phillips, Cole Piotrowski, Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan, Chase Rose, Gabe Scales, Ryan Star, Carson Turner, Miles Walden and Ahmad Young Jr.

Women’s Track & Field (25): Jerricka Ambus, Beth Arentz, Sophie Baumann, Skylar Boogerd, Jalani Davis, Emma Freeman, Laurel Fulcher, Raylynn Gibbs, Abigail Green, Skye Gross, Ryann Helmers, Kathryn Hosp, Madison Hulsey, Hannah Ielfield, McKenzie Long, Gabrielle Matthews, Jasmine Mitchell, Samantha Ouellette, Sarah Schiffmann, Annie Strong, Loral Winn, Olivia Womack and Gracyn Yelverton

OLE MISS’ RYANN HELMERS NAMED THIRD-TEAM ALL-AMERICAN

Ryan Helmers, an Ole Miss track & field and cross country senior, picked up CSC third-team Academic All-American honors on Tuesday.

Helmers is a native of Sanderson, Texas. She’s appeared five times on USTFCCCA All-Academic teams over her Ole Miss career.

Helmers is the second All-American in Ole Miss cross country history. She recorded the best finish ever (No. 23) by a Rebel woman at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. She sits in the Top 15 in Ole Miss track & field history in three categories.