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Ole Miss Gets Final Chance to Change Tone of Season Against Mississippi State

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Ole Miss softball's Cassie Reasner walks off the field after scoring a run in a game against Memphis in Oxford. | Ole Miss Athletics

Ole Miss hasn’t had the season it hoped for, but there’s still a chance to make the ending feel a whole lot better.

Beating Mississippi State always changes the temperature around Oxford, and doing it right after taking a road series at Auburn would give the Rebels something real to hang onto heading into the postseason.

That’s the setup this weekend as Ole Miss closes the regular season with a three‑game home series against No. 16 Mississippi State at the Ole Miss Softball Stadium.

The Rebels sit at 30-22 overall and 4-17 in SEC play, but they finally found some momentum last weekend. Winning two of three at Auburn was one of their best stretches of the year, and now they get their biggest rival in their own park.

The series starts Thursday at 6 p.m. and continues Friday at 6 p.m., both on SECN+. Saturday’s finale is at 2 p.m. on SEC Network and doubles as Senior Day.

If Ole Miss is going to make noise this weekend, it starts with the player who has carried the offense for a month.

Freshman Madi George has turned the last two weeks into her own highlight reel. She broke the single‑season home run record, now sitting at 21, and has hit 11 homers in her last 12 games. She enters the series as the reigning National Freshman of the Week across three major outlets.

The Rebels have followed her lead. They’ve hit 75 home runs this season, a new program record, and rank 20th nationally in homers per game.

When the defense holds up, the results follow. Ole Miss is 18-7 when it plays clean and 12-15 when it doesn’t. The Rebels have also turned 27 double plays, one shy of the program record.

Pitching and free passes have been another dividing line. Ole Miss is 19-4 when issuing two walks or fewer, compared to 11-18 otherwise.

With the second‑toughest schedule in the country, the margins have been thin all year, and they will be again this weekend.

The Opponent: Mississippi State

Mississippi State comes in at 36-15 and 8-13 in SEC play, and the Bulldogs are fighting to stay in the mix to host a regional.

They’ve dropped seven of their last 10, but the strength of their team is obvious.

The Bulldogs lean heavily on its pitching staff, especially transfers Peja Goold and Alyssa Faircloth. Both have thrown more than 130 innings. Goold is 15-10 with a 2.15 ERA and 159 strikeouts, while Faircloth is 11-5 with a 2.56 ERA and 210 strikeouts. Another transfer, Leila Ammon, has been lights out in a smaller role at 8-0 with a 1.70 ERA.

Offensively, the Bulldogs have been streaky. They’re hitting .285 overall but just .223 in SEC play. Seniors Kiara Sells and Nadia Barbary carry most of the load, combining for 25 home runs and 65 RBI. When Mississippi State scores, it usually wins, but the offense has averaged only 2.81 runs per SEC game.

The Bulldogs’ formula is simple. In all but one SEC win, they’ve held opponents to three runs or fewer. If Ole Miss can push past that number, the Rebels will give themselves a real shot.

With three games left, Ole Miss is locked into playing on day one of the SEC Tournament and can land anywhere from the 12 to 14 seed.

But this weekend is about more than seeding.

It’s about finishing strong, honoring the seniors and taking a series from Mississippi State to salvage something meaningful from a tough season.

A rivalry weekend at home is a good place to try.

Softball

Ole Miss Softball Lands Two Players on All-SEC Second Team

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Ole Miss freshman Madi George had plenty to smile about after setting a new single-season freshman home run record against North Alabama. | Ole Miss Athletics

Ole Miss picked up a pair of All-SEC selections on Friday, with freshman Madi George and sophomore Persy Llamas earning spots on the second team.

George continues to stack postseason honors in what has already become one of the best freshman seasons in program history.

She joins Llamas, Amanda Fine and Stephanie Vaglica (1997) as the only Ole Miss freshmen to earn All-SEC recognition, and she becomes the 13th Rebel all time to make an All-SEC team.

Llamas landed on the second team for the second straight year, putting her in rare company. Only four other Rebels have earned multiple All-SEC selections in their careers: Kylan Becker, RT Cantillo, Lauren Grill and Fine.

George has been the headliner all spring. The Leander, Texas native is hitting .385 with 21 home runs, 58 RBI, nine doubles and 27 walks.

She set single-season program records for home runs, RBI and total bases, and she’s one of only two freshmen in the SEC with 20 or more home runs. Her production hasn’t slowed in the postseason either, including two key RBI in the Rebels’ second-round win over No. 5 Tennessee.

Llamas has followed up her breakout freshman year with another strong season at the plate, posting a career-high 70 hits and a .374 average. She’s added nine home runs, seven doubles and 39 RBI, and her 70 hits rank sixth in single-season program history.

She’s also been one of the SEC’s steadiest defenders, holding a .996 fielding percentage with 434 putouts, the fourth-highest single-season total in school history. She already sits inside the top 10 all time at Ole Miss in both fielding percentage and putouts.

Ole Miss now turns its attention to Selection Sunday. The NCAA Tournament field will be revealed at 6 p.m. on ESPN2.

2026 SEC Softball Awards

  • Player of the Year: Katie Stewart, Texas
  • Pitcher of the Year: Jocelyn Briski, Alabama
  • Newcomer of the Year: Alyssa Faircloth, Mississippi State
  • Freshman of the Year: Kendall Wells, Oklahoma
  • Coach of the Year: Patrick Murphy, Alabama

SEC All-Defensive Team

  • Pitcher: Karlyn Pickens, Tennessee
  • Catcher: Reese Atwood, Texas
  • First Base: Abby Hay, Missouri
  • Second Base: Gabi Comia, Florida
  • Shortstop: Gabbie Garcia, Oklahoma
  • Third Base: Ella McDowell, Arkansas
  • Left Field: Dakota Kennedy, Arkansas
  • Center Field: Reagan Johnson, Arkansas
  • Right Field: Ella Parker, Oklahoma

All-SEC First Team

  • Jocelyn Briski, Alabama
  • Brooke Wells, Alabama
  • Robyn Herron, Arkansas
  • Dakota Kennedy, Arkansas
  • Jocelyn Erickson, Florida
  • Keagan Rothrock, Florida
  • Taylor Shumaker, Florida
  • Townsen Thomas, Florida
  • Jaydyn Goodwin, Georgia
  • Sarah Gordon, Georgia
  • Kylee Edwards, LSU
  • Gabbie Garcia, Oklahoma
  • Kai Minor, Oklahoma
  • Ella Parker, Oklahoma
  • Kendall Wells, Oklahoma
  • Jori Heard, South Carolina
  • Alannah Leach, Tennessee
  • Sage Mardjetko, Tennessee
  • Karlyn Pickens, Tennessee
  • Kayden Henry, Texas
  • Teagan Kavan, Texas
  • Viviana Martinez, Texas
  • Katie Stewart, Texas
  • Mya Perez, Texas A&M
  • Kennedy Powell, Texas A&M

All-SEC Second Team

  • Marlie Giles, Alabama
  • Alexis Pupillo, Alabama
  • Payton Burnham, Arkansas
  • Ella McDowell, Arkansas
  • Alyssa Hastings, Auburn
  • Kenleigh Cahalan, Florida
  • Cassidy McLellan, Florida
  • Bailey Lindemuth, Georgia
  • Randi Roelling, Georgia
  • Keirstin Roose, Georgia
  • Carly Sleeman, Kentucky
  • Tori Edwards, LSU
  • Alix Franklin, LSU
  • Jalia Lassiter, LSU
  • Madi George, Ole Miss
  • Persy Llamas, Ole Miss
  • Nadia Barbary, Mississippi State
  • Alyssa Faircloth, Mississippi State
  • Abby Dayton, Oklahoma
  • Isabela Emerling, Oklahoma
  • Audrey Lowry, Oklahoma
  • Reese Atwood, Texas
  • Leighann Goode, Texas
  • Hannah Wells, Texas
  • Sidne Peters, Texas A&M
  • Micaela Wark, Texas A&M
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Softball

Ole Miss Softball Bows Out of SEC Tournament With Loss to Texas

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Ole Miss pitcher Emilee Boyer winds up for a pitch against No. 6 Texas at the 2026 SEC Softball Tournament. | Ole Miss Athletics

Ole Miss finally ran out of magic on Thursday night, and that’s alright. It was still a fun week in Lexington.

The Rebels bowed out of the SEC Tournament with a 6-0 loss to No. 6 Texas, a team that can make even good pitching staffs look uncomfortable.

Ole Miss fell behind early, never quite found the big swing it needed, and spent most of the night trying to claw back against a lineup that rarely gives anything away.

Texas broke the scoreless start with a solo shot from Leighann Goode, then added three more in the third and two in the fifth. That was enough separation for a Longhorns team that’s been one of the most complete groups in the league all season.

Ole Miss had a couple of chances to make things interesting. Tenly Grisham and Taylor Malvin strung together singles in the third, but Texas escaped. In the seventh, a dropped fly ball put Madi George on second and Izzy Rettiger on third after a passed ball. Even then, the Rebels couldn’t push a run across.

So yes, the night ended quietly. But the week didn’t.

Ole Miss came to the SEC Tournament needing something to spark its postseason case, and it got exactly that on Wednesday by upsetting Tennessee.

That win alone changed the tone of the trip. It showed the Rebels still had some fight left after a long regular season, and it gave the selection committee something to think about.

Now the waiting begins. Ole Miss sits at 34-24 and will spend the next couple of days hoping Wednesday’s upset carries weight.

The NCAA selection show is Sunday at 6 p.m. on ESPN2.

Whatever happens, the Rebels didn’t leave Lexington empty handed.

They left with a win that mattered and a reminder that they can still punch above their weight when the moment calls for it.

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Softball

Rebels Shock Lady Vols, Advance to Face Texas in SEC Tournament

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Ole Miss softball players celebrate an upset win against Tennessee in the 2026 SEC Softball Tournament. | Ole Miss Athletics

Ole Miss showed up in Lexington on Wednesday expecting a fight. What the Rebels delivered was something closer to a jolt.

They knocked off a Tennessee team that spent part of the season ranked No. 1 in the country, and they did it with a calm, steady game that never looked too big for them.

A 4-1 win over the No. 5 Lady Vols isn’t supposed to look routine, but Ole Miss made it feel that way.

The formula wasn’t complicated. Kyra Aycock and Emilee Boyer split the work in the circle and held one of the SEC’s most dangerous lineups to four hits.

Tennessee scratched across a run in the second, but that was it. Aycock pitched out of trouble twice, then handed the ball to Boyer, who slammed the door just like she did in the opener.

Once the Rebels settled in, the offense found its rhythm. Mackenzie Pickens and Persy Llamas set the table in the fourth, and Madi George tied it with a ball Tennessee couldn’t handle.

Tenly Grisham followed with a sharp single up the middle to give Ole Miss the lead, and suddenly the team that wasn’t supposed to be here was up 2-1 on a national contender.

The fifth inning is where the upset really took shape.

Ryan Starr walked, Pickens wore a pitch, Llamas walked, and George stepped in again with the bases loaded. The freshman didn’t try to do too much. She just shot a single up the middle and drove in two more. That 4-1 cushion felt bigger than it looked.

From there, Boyer handled the rest. She gave up a single in the sixth, shrugged it off, and finished the game with a strikeout that sent the Rebels spilling out of the dugout.

Tennessee never mounted a real push after Ole Miss took the lead. That alone tells you how locked in the Rebels were.

For a team that entered the tournament as an underdog, this is the kind of win that changes the temperature of a week. Ole Miss didn’t just survive.

It beat a national power straight up and earned another shot on Thursday against No. 6 Texas.

If Wednesday was any indication, the Rebels aren’t done surprising people.

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