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Hunter Elliott Returns as SEC Pitcher of the Year Favorite

Published

7 months ago

on

Rebels pitcher Hunter Elliott reacts on the mound after a strikeout against Western Kentucky

First pitch for the 2026 collegiate baseball season is just 10 days away.

Ole Miss will begin its campaign with a three game series against Nevada on February 13 and we have a pretty good idea who will be on the mound for the Rebels then.

Hunter Elliot is returning for one final season in Oxford and is set to be one of the SEC’s best pitchers. In fact, Elliot was projected to be the SEC Pitcher of the Year by D1Baseball’s Kendall Rogers.

It would be a remarkable end to a remarkable college career for Elliot. He was the Rebels’ co-ace as a true freshman when Ole Miss entered the NCAA Tournament as the last team in and then won a national championship. He earned All-America honors and went 2-0 with 28 strikeouts, allowing just four runs in the postseason.

Elliot missed most of the 2023 season and all of 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery. He returned last season and quickly established himself as one of the nation’s best pitchers.

He started 16 Friday night games and led Ole Miss with a 2.94 ERA, .197 opponent batting average, 10 wins, 85.2 innings pitched, 102 strikeouts and 13 pickoffs (most in the nation). He was the fifth Rebel all-time to win 10 games and record more than 100 strikeouts.

Rankings Snub

It is worth noting/reminding everyone D1Baseball didn’t even include Ole Miss in its top 25 rankings. Yet, the site’s co-owner projects the Rebels to have the best pitcher.

Why the difference?

It’s not because the Rebels’ lack talent. Elliot is one of the best pitchers in the nation and Ole Miss is the only team to have multiple 20-plus home run hitters last season with catcher Austin Fawley, Judd Utermark and Illinois State transfer Daniel Pacella.

“Preseason rankings are what you did the previous year and what you have coming back,” Ole Miss hitting coach Mike Clement told Ole Miss Spirit when the rankings were released. “We haven’t always been ranked because we had a poor year the previous year or we lost a ton. Neither one of those two things are true this year. That’s where some of the surprise and frustration may come in.”

Ole Miss did lose 11 players to the MLB Draft, including nine pitchers. But there’s enough talent still on the roster.

No, the lack of a top 25 ranking likely comes from the brutal schedule the Rebels have to play. Ole Miss, currently, has nine series against ranked teams.

Ole Miss may not have cracked D1Baseball’s preseason top 25, but nothing about this roster says “middle of the pack.”

With a bona fide ace in Hunter Elliot and one of the most dangerous power-hitting cores in the country, the Rebels aren’t lacking talent. They’re just staring down a gauntlet of a schedule.

If anything, that’s the point. This program has lived in the deep end for years, and Elliot’s return only reinforces that Ole Miss expects to matter again.

Rankings or not, the Rebels are built to prove themselves where it counts.

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Baseball

Hunter Elliott Joins Elite Ole Miss Company in Win Over Texas A&M

Published

4 months ago

on

May 9, 2026

By

Ole Miss first baseman Will Furniss celebrates after his RBI double in the seventh inning Friday against Texas A&M. | Ole Miss Athletics

Ole Miss didn’t play a perfect game Friday night, but it played the kind that matters in May.

The Rebels beat No. 9 Texas A&M 5-3 in the series opener at Swayze Field, leaned on their ace when they needed him most, and walked off the field with a win that keeps the postseason picture moving in the right direction.

And Hunter Elliott gave them a little history to go with it.

Elliott looked like the version of himself Ole Miss fans have grown accustomed to seeing. Six innings, one earned run, 11 strikeouts, and the kind of command that makes even a top‑10 offense look uncomfortable.

His seventh strikeout of the night pushed him to 300 for his career, making him only the third Rebel to ever reach that mark. Drew Pomeranz and Lance Lynn are the company he joined. Not bad.

He finished with 304 by the time he handed the ball off, and the Rebels needed every bit of it.

Three errors made the night messier than it had to be, but Elliott, Hudson Calhoun and Walker Hooks kept Texas A&M from turning those mistakes into something bigger.

The offense did its part early. A run in the first, another in the second, another in the fourth. Nothing flashy, just steady pressure.

Will Furniss drove in two, including a seventh‑inning double that pushed the lead back to two runs. Tristan Bissetta added an RBI single right after. Dom Decker, Austin Fawley and Judd Utermark all chipped in with two hits.

Texas A&M made it interesting in the fifth and again in the eighth, but Hooks closed the door with two innings of work and a little help from Furniss, who snagged a sharp liner at first to end it.

So Ole Miss takes the opener, and now Saturday turns into a double‑header. That’s not ideal, but it does give the Rebels two chances to trim their magic number.

They’re trying to play their way into hosting position, and every win from here on out matters a little more than the last.

Friday night was a good start.

Now they get two cracks at making it a great weekend.

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Baseball

How to Watch Ole Miss Baseball’s Crucial SEC Opener Against Texas A&M

Published

4 months ago

on

May 8, 2026

By

Ole Miss' Collin Reuter crosses home plate in a SEC game against Kentucky. | Dylan Cohron, HottyToddy.com Images

The end of the regular season is fast approaching and the importance and intensity of each game is only going to grow larger and larger.

With that growth, pressure will grow too and that’s what makes this weekend in Oxford important.

No. 20 Ole Miss is on the bubble of hosting a NCAA Regional and needs more than one or two wins to get on the right side of that bubble. A win or two against No. 9 Texas A&M would make the final weekend of the season a lot less stressful.

The Rebels get their first chance Friday night at Swayze Field. Here’s everything to know about the series-opening game.

The Opponent: Texas A&M

Texas A&M head coach Michael Earley is only in his second season, but he’s already stacked back‑to‑back 30‑win years and has this group sitting at 36-10 heading into the weekend. The Aggies are second in the SEC at 15-8 and have taken five of their last six league series, including sweeps of LSU, Texas and Missouri.

The formula has been pretty simple. They walk a lot, they hit a lot of home runs and they score in bunches. A&M ranks 11th nationally in walks and third in homers, which adds up to 422 runs on the year, good for 9.2 per game. The pitching and defense hold up their end too. The Aggies own the seventh‑best strikeout‑to‑walk ratio in the country at 3.23 and the third‑best fielding percentage in the SEC.

Junior outfielder Caden Sorrell leads the power surge with 21 home runs, second in the league and top 10 nationally. He’s one of five Aggies hitting over .300. Gavin Grahovac tops the lineup at .362 and brings plenty of pop with 17 homers, 13 doubles and three triples. Jake Duer, Nico Partida and Bear Harrison are also above .300, with Partida and Harrison both in double‑digit homers.

On the mound, Ethan Darden and Aiden Sims are lined up for Friday and Saturday. Darden has been a bullpen mainstay with a 2.88 ERA and a 4-0 record in 25 innings, and this would be his first start as an Aggie. Sims has made 12 starts and sits at 8-1, leading the team in both strikeouts with 68 and innings pitched with 65.

Starting Pitchers

LHP Ethan Darden vs. LHP Hunter Elliott

  • Darden: 4-0, 2.88 ERA, 25 IP, 21 H, 9 R, 8 ER, 10 BB, 19 SO, .231 Opp. BA
  • Elliott: 4-2, 5.49 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, 59 IP, 57 H, 37 R, 36 ER, 31 BB, 77 SO, .256 Opp. BA

Weather Forecast

The Rebels and Aggies should have favorable weather conditions Friday night at Swayze Field. The National Weather Service forecast calls for clear skies, mostly sunny with temperatures in the mid 70s. There’ll be a slight south wind moving at five miles an hour.

How to Watch: No. 9 Texas A&M at No. 20 Ole Miss

  • Who: No. 9 Texas A&M Aggies (36-10, 15-8 SEC) at No. 20 Ole Miss Rebels (32-17, 12-12 SEC)
  • When: 6:30 p.m., Friday
  • Where: Swayze Field, Oxford, Miss.
  • TV: SECN+
  • Radio: Live Radio
  • Stats: Live Stats
  • Series History: Ole Miss leads the all-time series 21-20
  • Last Meeting: Texas A&M 6, Ole Miss 0 (May 12, 2024)
  • Last time out, Rebels: lost to No. 22 Arkansas, 5-4
  • Last time out, Aggies: def. Prairie View A&M, 16-7

Student-Athlete Availability Report

Texas A&M

Out

  • IF/P #2 Nico Partida
  • P #12 Josh Stewart
  • P #28 Caden McCoy

Ole Miss

Out

  • P #17 Marko Sipila
  • P #29 Grayson Gibson
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Baseball

Texas A&M Makes Friday Night Rotation Change Ahead of Ole Miss Series

Published

4 months ago

on

May 8, 2026

By

Ole Miss Rebels pitcher Cade Townsend delivering a pitch against Nevada

No. 20 Ole Miss faces an important weekend series starting Friday night.

The Rebels’ final week of the regular season will be a lot less stressful if they can win a pair of games against No. 9 Texas A&M. At a minimum, they have to avoid a sweep.

Ole Miss needs four more SEC wins to feel confident about hosting a NCAA Regional when the NCAA Tournament starts in three weeks. But that’s a lot easier said than done and the work will begin soon enough.

How successful this home series finale for Ole Miss is will depend on the bats launching bombs and the pitching staff throwing its best stuff.

The second half of that recipe begins with the starting pitchers for the weekend. And like we predicted earlier in the week, there’s no surprise who Ole Miss is starting.

Hunter Elliott gets the ball first on Friday, followed by Cade Townsend and Taylor Rabe. That’s the rotation the Rebels have used for almost a month now.

Texas A&M, though, did have a surprise in its starting rotation.

The Aggies are giving Ethan Darden his first start of the season in Friday’s series opener and everybody’s favorite pitcher, TBA, is slated for Sunday. The only part of the rotation unchanged is Aiden Sims starts Saturday’s game.

Darden, a Clemson transfer, started nine games for the Tigers last season and went 4-2 with a 6.08 ERA. Moving to the bullpen this year has suited him. He’s 4-0 with a 2.88 ERA across 25 innings and has been one of the steadier arms on the staff.

Shae Sdao had been the Friday starter all season, but the numbers haven’t backed up the role. Among SEC pitchers with at least one inning per team game, he ranks last in ERA during league play at 9.74, last in WHIP at 2.16 and last in hits allowed with 57. He’s 0-4 in SEC games, and the struggles finally forced a change.

This could be a good or bad thing for Ole Miss.

If the Rebels’ bats aren’t active, it won’t matter who’s throwing the pitches. But if they are and Darden is more like an opener, Ole Miss could force the Aggies to deplete some of their bullpen.

We’ll find out in a few hours if that’s going to happen or not.

Ole Miss Starting Pitchers

Hunter Elliott, LHP

  • Season stats: 4-2, 5.49 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, 59 IP, 57 H, 37 R, 36 ER, 31 BB, 77 SO, .256 Opp. BA

Cade Townsend, RHP

  • Season stats: 5-1, 2.42 ERA, .96 WHIP, 52 IP, 37 H, 17 R, 14 ER, 13 BB, 73 SO, .193 Opp. BA

Taylor Rabe, RHP

  • Season stats: 3-3, 4.17 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 45.1 IP, 44 H, 21 R, 21 ER, 7 BB, 54 SO, .251 Opp. BA

Notable Relief Pitchers

  • Walker Hooks, LHP: 3-1, 2.45 ERA, .82 WHIP, 5 SV, 40.1 IP, 24 H, 14 R, 11 ER, 9 BB, 46 SO, .176 Opp. BA
  • Landon Waters, RHP: 0-1, 0.90 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 2 SV, 20 IP, 11 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 10 BB, 21 SO, .159 Opp. BA
  • Hudson Calhoun, RHP: 3-3, 4.33 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 2 SV, 35.1 IP, 29 H, 19 R, 17 ER, 20 BB, 55 SO, .221 Opp. BA
  • Landon Koenig, RHP: 3-0, 5.12 ERA, 1.76 WHIP, 2 SV, 19.1 IP, 29 H, 15 R, 11 ER, 5 BB, 29 SO, .341 Opp. BA

Texas A&M Starting Pitchers

Ethan Darden, LHP

  • Season stats: 4-0, 2.88 ERA, 25 IP, 21 H, 9 R, 8 ER, 10 BB, 19 SO, .231 Opp. BA

Aiden Sims, RHP

  • Season stats: 8-1, 3.60 ERA, 65 IP, 50 H, 30 R, 26 ER, 18 BB, 68 SO, .208 Opp. BA

TBA

Notable Relief Pitchers

  • Clayton Freshcorn, RHP: 2-1, 2.34 ERA, 11 SV, 34.2 IP, 35 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 4 BB, 39 SO, .261 Opp. BA
  • Juan Vargas, RHP: 2-1, 3.91 ERA, 23 IP, 16 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 8 BB, 16 SO, .193 Opp. BA
  • Grant Cunningham, RHP: 3-1, 6.00 ERA, 1 SV, 30 IP, 42 H, 21 R, 20 ER, 9 BB, 26 SO, .333 Opp. BA
  • Shane Sdao, LHP: 3-4, 6.55 ERA, 57.2 IP, 75 H, 44 R, 42 ER, 15 BB, 67 SO, .307 Opp. BA
  • Weston Moss, RHP: 4-2, 5.12 ERA, 51 IP, 50 H, 30 R, 29 ER, 17 BB, 48 SO, .258 Opp. BA
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