Tim Elko's last ride with Ole Miss has reached its final destination in Omaha
OMAHA, Neb. — Tim Elko announced his intentions to return to Ole Miss for his final season last July.
The final chapter of his story is set to be written 11 months later.
Elko’s 2021 season was one that reached its own legendary status after the three-time Ole Miss captain returned from an ACL tear roughly a month later. He helped the Rebels to within a game of Omaha and the College World Series.
The ending to last season was not enough for Elko, and he decided to come back for one last ride. That ride had some bumps in the road but eventually got back on track and has arrived at its final stop in college baseball’s Promised Land.
Storybook endings seem to be primed for Elko, at least how the baseball gods see it.
It was Elko who made the final out when Ole Miss defeated Southern Mississippi last weekend in the Hattiesburg Super Regional. He caught a pop-up behind home plate.
Securing that ball and punching Ole Miss’ ticket to Omaha was hard for Elko to compute a few days later. After walking around Charles Schwab Field and taking in a practice on Thursday, it is becoming very real for Elko and the Rebels.
“It was an amazing moment,” he said of walking around the stadium. “I’ve always dreamed of playing in Omaha. And I finally got here my last year.
“But just a really cool moment, being out there with all the guys and taking ground balls and just taking it all in. Really cool.”
Related: ‘We’ve been to hell and back’: Ole Miss begins College World Series preparation
Making it to Omaha and being one of the final eight teams is a feather in the cap for Elko and the Rebels.
However, that’s not the main directive over the next week and a half — not after the way this season has gone for Ole Miss.
The Rebels reached as high as No. 1 in the nation a couple weeks in, only to suffer through a downward spiral midway through before figuring it out and winning 13 of their last 16 games.
Elko has more to do in his final games as a Rebel. There is one thing, specifically, left for the Rebels to do now that they have finally reached Omaha.
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“We’ve had a lot of really good teams since I’ve been there, but it feels like a good accomplishment to get here,” Elko said. “It’s not our goal to just get to Omaha. It’s to win a national championship and we’re ready to do that and play well.”
Getting Ole Miss to this position has been a full-team effort.
Elko has been at the epicenter leading the charge.
Being a leader is the main responsibility for a player named team captain. Elko earned that by how he has gone about his business at Ole Miss.
Even players who have not even spent one full season as a teammate of Elko’s knows how valuable the first baseman is, not only to this year’s team, but to the baseball program as a whole.
“That’s a lot of words,” DeLucia said when asked what Elko means to the team. “He’s literally the backbone of this team. He’s kept us in it. He’s come up with some amazing hits, amazing home runs I’ve watched.
“I mean, just all around, he’s been the guy that’s just lifted this team and brought it to the next level.”
Elko and Ole Miss open the College World Series in Bracket 2 on Saturday against Auburn. The game will start at 6 p.m. CT and air on ESPN2.
