Ole Miss pitcher Xavier Rivas out for the season with elbow injury suffered in intrasquad game

OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss senior left-handed pitcher Xavier Rivas will miss the upcoming season after suffering a UCL tear during an intrasquad on Friday at Swayze. 

Head coach Mike Bianco confirmed Rivas’ diagnosis after practice Saturday, following an MRI earlier that morning. Rivas will undergo Tommy John surgery that ends his season before it began. 

Rivas, a transfer from Indianapolis last season, was expected to again this season be a weekend starter for Ole Miss. He finished the 2023 season with a 6.35 ERA, striking out 68 and walking 40. 

He was a stalwart on the mound last year for the Rebels, especially after the loss early in the season of ace Hunter Elliot. Elliot is also expected to miss this season. Rivas finished fourth in the SEC in strikeouts in SEC games and 10th in innings pitched, going five innings or more in five of his 10 SEC starts on the mound. 

Ole Miss begins the 2024 season with a four-game series at Hawaii on February 16, before returning to Oxford for the home opener against Arkansas State on February 21. 

Prayers for Xavier as he begins his recovery. Stay tuned to The Rebel Walk for more info as we get set for the start of baseball season. 

Evelyn Van Pelt

Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn’s love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.