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Ole Miss baseball great Tim Elko knocking on the door of MLB

Ben Garrettby:Ben Garrett•04/12/25•

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All-time Ole Miss baseball great Tim Elko is knocking on the door of Major League Baseball. 

Elko and Jacob Gonzalez, his former Rebel teammate, were among the 24 players invited to spring training with the Chicago White Sox. However, neither broke came with the team. 

The 26-year-old Elko returned to Triple-A Charlotte, where he was promoted last July. Elko so far this season is hitting 343/.425/.457/.882 for the Knights in 35 at-bats. He has a hit in 18 of his last 21 games, as well as two hits or more in nine and at least one RBI in 12. He’s walked 12 times but struck out 40 percent of the time. 

Elko’s slashing .354/.439/.481/.920. His lone home run of the season to date — which carried a 108.9 mph exit velocity — was on March 28.

“Ole Miss means the world to me,” Elko said after Ole Miss’ first-ever national championship in 2022. “I remember following the (2021) draft, I was praying and trying to figure out what I was going to do. God told me that I’m not done at Ole Miss.

“I listened to that, and I was like, ‘All right, well, let’s do this thing then.’ I came back, and it was the best decision I could have ever made.”

Elko was the primary first baseman for Ole Miss’ title-winning team. 

He topped the Rebels in slugging percentage (.642), RBI (75), home runs (24) and total bases (154). Elko set a new single-season program record for home runs. 

The Rebels suffered through consecutive losing seasons after winning it all. However, they’re up to No. 6 at the midway point of 2025. Ole Miss (26-8, 8-5 SEC) dropped its series opener to No. 5 Tennessee (30-4, 10-3) on Friday night. Game 2 is Saturday at 4 p.m. CT. 

“He’s the backbone of this team,” Ole Miss ace Dylan DeLucia said of Elko, in comments made three years ago this June and during Ole Miss’ run of 10 wins in 11 postseason games. DeLucia was Most Valuable Player of the College World Series.

“(Elko’s) kept us in it. He’s come up with some amazing hits and amazing home runs I’ve watched. Just all around, he’s been the guy that’s just lifted this team and brought it to the next level.”

Elko hit .289 with 18 home runs and 73 RBI last season. 

Elko split time between AA and AAA. He belted 28 home runs the year prior. Elko and Gonzalez were both no-roster invitees to spring training.

Elko was an almost-unprecedented three-time team captain at Ole Miss. He started every game for the Rebels during the title run. Elko got off to a slow start in the College World Series. Even still, he finished with a .280 batting average and hit two home runs. 

The most consequential was in Game 1 of the finals, when Elko was 4 for 5 with a homer and three runs scored against Oklahoma. Ole Miss swept both games.

Elko has a statue in his honor at Swayze Field, the home of the Rebels. 

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

The White Sox drafted Elko in the 10th round of the 2023 MLB Draft. 

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