Softball
Ole Miss Looks to Carry Power Surge Into Road Series at No. 15 LSU
Ole Miss is back on the road this weekend for another ranked SEC matchup, this time heading to Baton Rouge to take on No. 15 LSU.
It’s the start of the final 10 games of the regular season, and if the last few weeks have shown anything, it’s that the Rebels are more than capable of throwing a wrench into a ranked team’s weekend plans.
The series opens Friday at 6 p.m., continues at 5 p.m. Saturday, and wraps at 1 p.m. on Sunday. All three games will stream on SECN+.
📍Checking in from Baton Rouge #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/DB1n89ma4b
— Ole Miss Softball (@OleMissSoftball) April 17, 2026
Ole Miss Getting Hot
The Rebels (27-18, 2-13 SEC) are coming off a weekend where they hit eight home runs against No. 13 Texas A&M, the most they’ve ever hit in an SEC series. They’ve now reached 60 home runs on the season, averaging 1.33 per game, and it’s almost guaranteed they’ll break last year’s program record of 67.
A lot of that surge is tied to the top of the order. Cassie Reasner is in the middle of her best stretch of the season, hitting .486 with four home runs and 11 RBI over her last 11 games. She’s still riding momentum from her seven RBI night at Memphis, the best single game mark in program history.
Freshman Madi George continues to rewrite the record book. She broke the freshman single season home run record on Tuesday with her 15th, passing Lauren Grill’s mark from 2007. She’s now two away from tying the overall single season record.
MADI. GEORGE. 🤯@madilynn_george x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/CUZmJNQnqQ
— Ole Miss Softball (@OleMissSoftball) April 15, 2026
Persy Llamas is matching that pace in her own way, hitting .444 with two home runs and seven RBI over her last 11 games.
The Opponent: LSU
No. 15 LSU (29-14, 6-9 SEC) has started to find its stride again.
The Tigers just took a non-conference series from Arizona and have won seven of their last 10, including a win over now No. 1 Oklahoma.
The pitching staff is the anchor. Jayden Heavener leads the way with a 2.38 ERA across 111.2 innings, and Cece Cellura has been a reliable No. 2 option with a 3.25 ERA in 69.0 innings.
LSU doesn’t rack up strikeouts at the same rate as most SEC staffs, but they generate soft contact and keep games manageable.
Offensively, former Rebel Jaila Lassiter is one of the key pieces. She’s hitting .323 with seven home runs and 26 RBI and will face Ole Miss for the first time since transferring. Kylee Edwards has been one of the SEC’s hotter hitters lately, up to a .315 average with a team-high eight home runs.
Final Thoughts
Ole Miss has already shown it can take down ranked teams, and this matchup has enough volatility on both sides to make things interesting.
LSU is playing well, but the Rebels are swinging the bats with confidence and have a few hitters who can change a game with one swing.
If Ole Miss keeps the defense clean and continues to find power in big spots, they’ll have a real shot to make noise in Baton Rouge.
If you want to tighten the tone, shift the angle, or make it more column-like, I can help shape it however you want.
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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