‘We’re in a really good place’: Ole Miss baseball ultimately cleaned up in the portal. And the Rebels might not be done.
In this edition of Talk of Champions, Ben Garrett of the Ole Miss Spirit/On3 is joined by Rebel baseball hitting coach Mike Clement.
The Rebels on Monday double-dipped in the NCAA Transfer Portal. Ole Miss landed a pair of potential plug-and-play starters, including coveted Arizona State transfer Luke Hill. Hill slides in for Jacob Gonzalez. Gonzalez was a recent first-round MLB Draft selection of the Chicago White Sox. His vacated position was previously reserved for incoming freshman and former Top 30 prospect Cooper Pratt.
Pratt slid to the sixth round. However, he’s expected to sign with the Milwaukee Brewers, who are paying him nearly $1 million above his slot value.
“We felt pretty good about getting (Pratt) to school,” Clement said. “We thought it was probably 50/50.
“He had a high number (and) he was in summer school. We felt like we’d be getting him to school as the draft got near, then day one goes by and we felt even better about it.
“But the draft is a fickle process and the Brewers saved money with their first couple of picks and were able to load up on him. Certainly happy for him; he gets to fulfill a dream. Selfishly, it was a kick to the gut, for sure. And then you go into scramble mode to scour the portal.
“We were fortunate Luke went in. We had a need, and he knew we had a need. The portal’s a crazy world to swim in, and those things can happen pretty quickly. We got him to campus on Sunday and he committed Sunday night.”
But just as the draft taketh, it giveth, too.
Ole Miss is getting back slugging infielder Ethan Lege, as well as top-end arm Xavier Rivas and starting center fielder Ethan Groff. Lege is likely in for a position switch, however, as detailed by Clement. Ole Miss brought in Duke transfer Andrew Fischer to man third.
“As far as places of need and filling holes and checking boxes, we’re in a really good place,” Clement said. “To ever close the door (on more additions) would probably be foolish.
“I don’t ever want to close the door.”
