Ole Miss Baseball looks to reclaim SEC elite status in 2025 with pitching changes, top recruits

OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss baseball enters 2025 with a renewed focus on reclaiming its place among the Southeastern Conference’s elite after finishing 2024 with a 27-29 record (11-19 in the SEC) and missing the NCAA tournament for the fifth time in the Mike Bianco era. 

With head coach Mike Bianco returning for his 25th season as the Ole Miss skipper, the Rebels will look to blend returning talent with Perfect Game’s No. 4 ranked high school recruiting class in the country in 2024. However, the latest SEC coaches poll ranked Ole Miss at No. 15 out of 16 teams in the conference. 

New era on the mound

One of the Rebels’ most pressing concerns from the 2024 campaign was finding consistency on the mound. During the offseason, Bianco added former Minor League Baseball pitching coach, Joel Mangrum, to his staff. According to Bianco, Mangrum will be calling pitches in 2025 for Ole Miss. 

The Rebels walked the sixth most batters in the SEC last season, ultimately resulting in giving up the third most runs as well. Giving up free bases often allows offenses to take situational hitting approaches, and score runs, something Ole Miss will look to limit in 2025. Although changes were made in Oxford, the strength of the SEC has not changed. The conference is still considered the best in the country and the Rebels will need returning arms and new faces to rise to the challenge of facing future pro-hitters. 

Ole Miss will return 2024 Friday night starter Riley Maddox, who was undoubtedly the most consistent starter for the Rebels last season. Additionally, lefty Hunter Elliott will also return from his arm injury after missing all of last season, looking to return to his freshman season form. Elliott was the only Rebel named to a preseason All-SEC team, earning second-team honors. 

2️⃣6️⃣ 🔙@elliotthunter10 x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/1ZROsbl72H

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) February 5, 2025

Senior Mason Nichols will return for Ole Miss after starting six games in 2024, and key pieces of the bullpen such as Brayden Jones, Connor Spencer, Sam Tookoian and Mason Morris will all don the red and blue once again in 2025.

Offensive and defensive consistency 

Before jumping into the new additions who will make impacts for Ole Miss this season, pitching is not the only area of improvement needed to be discussed. Ole Miss lost six players from its everyday-2024 lineup and will look to returning faces to lead the way. 

The Rebels finished second-to-last in almost every major offensive category in 2024. Ole Miss also had the worst fielding percentage in the SEC, made the most errors and allowed the most stolen bases. 

Luke Hill will be the guy the Rebels need to lead this new lineup. The former Arizona State transfer turned his season completely around in 2024, starting all but one of the 30 conference games and batting .321 in those. Key returners from the 2024 position players also include Will Furniss, Judd Utermark, Brayden Randle and catcher Campbell Smithwick. In recent intrasquad games for the Rebels, Smithwick has looked much more comfortable behind the dish compared to his freshman season.

Recruiting and transfer additions

Losing a ton of the talent from the 2024 roster, Bianco had work to do in the offseason to prepare for the gauntlet that is SEC baseball this season. His answer was adding 10 transfers and reeling in another top-five recruiting class. 

Ole Miss added two transfer catchers in junior Collin Reuter from BYU and sophomore Austin Fawley from Kentucky. Reuter played in 94 games at BYU and Fawley played in 18 games at Kentucky, bringing much needed depth and experience behind the dish. 

The Rebels will also have three new experienced faces in the outfield who will likely all see chances to start in 2025. Isaac Humphrey from Louisville and Mitchell Sanford from New Orleans were ranked in the top 40 of D1baseball’s outfielder rankings, and Ryan Moerman from Illinois brings much-needed pop with 31 home runs in 129 games played. 

Mitch and Isaac recognized as two of the best outfielders in college baseball heading into the 2025 season 💪@d1baseball x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/NctdoDqpP1

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) February 7, 2025

Ole Miss also added infield depth with former Illinois State shortstop Luke Cheng, while right-handed pitchers Alex Caney and Will McCausland bring more experience to the Rebel pitching staff.

Bianco added three top 100 Perfect Game recruits to the 2025 roster who will all look to play a role in the path back to being elite. Most notably, Ole Miss added the No. 21 ranked player in the country Owen Paino. The true freshman has already worked at shortstop during intrasquad games leading up to the season and brings serious pop to the lineup measuring at 6-foot-3, 225 pounds. 

𝗢𝗣 @OwenPaino x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/7clZZOqJ7d

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) February 8, 2025

Third baseman Ethan Surowiec and right-handed pitcher Cade Townsend are the other top 100 recruits and have both seen plenty of reps during the fall and spring scrimmages. The Rebels also added three more players ranked in the top 200 with infielder Hayden Federico, outfielder Jackson Miller and right-handed pitcher Owen Hancock. 

Moving forward

With pitching changes, offensive adjustments, roster construction and a focus on bringing in defense, the Rebels have the potential to rebound in 2025. Although the conference is more stacked than ever with the expansion to 16 teams, Bianco’s leadership and the team’s adaptability to change will be vital to the rise back to the SEC elites. 

Ole Miss will kick off the season with a great test at the Shriners Children’s College Showdown in Arlington, Texas when they take on Arizona, on Friday, Feb. 14, in the first game of the weekend series.