Softball
Ole Miss Softball Heads to Lexington With Late-Season Momentum
Ole Miss heads into the SEC Tournament with a little momentum, a little chaos, and a lineup that suddenly looks like it can hit its way into any game.
After a regular season that ended with back-to-back walk-off home runs and the first series win over Mississippi State since 2021, the Rebels get a fresh start in Lexington.
They open as the No. 13 seed against No. 12 South Carolina on Tuesday afternoon. First pitch was bumped up to around 4 p.m. CT because of weather in the forecast. The early rounds air on SEC Network, with ESPN taking over for the semifinals and final. If Ole Miss advances, Tennessee waits on Wednesday.
⛈️ WEATHER UPDATE
Due to potential inclement weather in the Lexington area, Game One between @AuburnSoftball and @MizzouSoftball has been moved up to 11 AM ET tomorrow, May 5th.
Game Two (@UKsoftball vs. @HailStateSB) will follow +35 minutes after the conclusion of Game One.… pic.twitter.com/Wjjkuw5gn0
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) May 4, 2026
The Rebels arrive with a few things working in their favor. The offense has been loud for weeks.
Freshman Madi George has turned the home run record book into her own project, passing Lexie Brady’s single-season mark and piling up 11 homers in her last 15 games. She also set the program records for total bases and RBI in the final stretch of the season.
As a team, Ole Miss has hit 78 home runs, a new program high and good for a top-25 national ranking.
The formula has been pretty simple. When the Rebels defend it cleanly, they win. They’re 20-7 when they avoid an error and 19-5 when they keep the walks to two or fewer. They’ve also turned 27 double plays, one shy of the school record.
And they’ve played their way into the tournament with some confidence.
Ole Miss took its last two SEC series, including one over No. 16 Mississippi State, and hit eight home runs against Texas A&M for the biggest SEC series total in program history. They added seven more at LSU.
It’s not a bad time to be swinging well.
The force is strong with these ones 🌌 #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/cbqqZphsLV
— Ole Miss Softball (@OleMissSoftball) May 4, 2026
South Carolina, though, is no easy draw. The Gamecocks have played one of the few schedules tougher than Ole Miss and enter at 30-25.
They reached a Super Regional last year and still have the pieces to make another run. Tori Ensley leads the lineup with a .360 average, 13 home runs, 45 RBI, and 12 steals. Quincee Lilio brings patience and contact, and Arianna Rodi adds more power.
The biggest challenge is likely in the circle. Jori Heard has been one of the SEC’s most reliable arms this season with a 1.94 ERA and 122 strikeouts.
Emma Friedel and Nealy Lamb give South Carolina depth behind her, and the Gamecocks have stacked quality wins over Louisville, Washington, Clemson, Texas A&M, and Missouri.
Ole Miss has won at least one game in the SEC Tournament each of the last four years. This group has taken its lumps, but it’s also found something late. With the bats heating up and a clean slate ahead, Tuesday feels like a chance to keep that going.
Softball
Ole Miss Softball Lands Two Players on All-SEC Second Team
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
Softball
Ole Miss Softball Bows Out of SEC Tournament With Loss to Texas
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.
Softball
Rebels Shock Lady Vols, Advance to Face Texas in SEC Tournament
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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