Ole Miss Baseball Set to Open 2025 Season at Shriners Children’s College Showdown

OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss Baseball returns this weekend as it opens the 2025 season at the Shriners Children’s College Showdown in Arlington, Texas. The tournament begins on Friday, February 14 as the Rebels open against No. 21 Arizona.

OLE MISS NOTES | SEC NOTES | ARIZONA NOTES

LEADING OFF

• The Rebels return to the College Showdown for the first time since 2021 when they opened the season with wins over TCU, Texas Tech, and Texas.
• For the first time since Opening Weekend in 2021, the Rebels will be opening their season with three ranked matchups, taking on No. 21 Arizona, No. 19 Texas, and No. 15 Clemson.
• Ole Miss announced the hiring of Joel Mangrum to serve as the team’s pitching coach on June 13.
• Mangrum was most recently a Minor League Pitching Coordinator in the Cleveland Guardians system working with former Rebels like Dylan DeLucia and Doug Nikhazy.
• Hunter Elliott returns to the mound for the first time since 2023 on Friday against Arizona after missing nearly two seasons due to Tommy John surgery.
• All three pitchers in this weekend’s starting rotation were ranked on D1Baseball’s Top 150 Starting Pitchers (No. 26 Elliott, No. 62 Maddox, No. 117 Nichols).
• All three pitchers are also Mississippi natives and are three of the four remaining members of the 2022 National Championship Team.
• Mitchell Sanford (No. 24) and Isaac Humphrey (No. 35) were named to D1Baseball’s Top 100 Outfielders and are each in the top 11 in the SEC.
• The Rebels will host Arkansas State on Tuesday February 18 for their home opener at Swayze Field.

PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS

Game 1 vs. Arizona: LHP Hunter Elliott (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. RHP Collin McKinney (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Game 2 vs. Texas: RHP Riley Maddox (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. LHP Luke Harrison (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Game 3 vs. Clemson: RHP Mason Nichols (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. LHP Justin LeGuernic (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

BROADCAST INFORMATION

All three games this weekend will be streamed live on FloCollege with Brant Freeman (PxP) and Ty Harrington (analyst) on the call.

Fans can also listen to all three games on the Ole Miss Radio Network with Gary Darby (PxP) and Brad Henderson (analyst) on the call.

PRESEASON ALL-SEC

Hunter Elliott was named to the 2025 Preseason All-SEC Team as one of five starting pitchers named to the Second Team. Elliott is the first Rebel to be named to the Preseason All-SEC Team since Jacob Gonzalez in 2023 and the first Rebel pitcher to earn the honor since Parker Caracci in 2019.

Since being named a three-time Freshman All-American in 2022, Elliott has been sidelined for nearly two full seasons with an elbow injury. In 2022, Elliott set an Ole Miss freshman record for strikeouts in a season with 102. He finished second on the team with a 2.70 ERA over 20 appearances.

FRESHMEN READY TO MAKE AN IMPACT

The 2025 freshman class was named the No. 4 class in the country by three different publications: D1Baseball, Baseball America, and Perfect Game. They are one of five SEC classes in the top 10 and the third-highest ranked in the conference.

The class includes Hayden Federico, Owen Hancock, Walker Hooks, Cooper Johnson, Jackson Miller, Brett Moseley, Owen Paino, Jake Reigert, Tate Sirmans, Ethan Surowiec, and Cade Townsend.

Owen Paino is arguably the most heralded on the list as he was also named the No. 48 overall shortstop in the country by D1Baseball, No. 6 on Perfect Game’s 2027 MLB Draft Board, No. 7 on Perfect Game’s Fresh Arrivals On Campus, No. 8 on Perfect Game’s Top 75 Collegiate Freshmen, and No. 12 on Baseball America’s Top 25 College Baseball Freshmen.

TRANSFER TO THE SIP

Ole Miss’ 2025 roster features 10 new transfers from Division I, Division II, and JUCO ranks.

Mitchell Sanford, a transfer from New Orleans, and Isaac Humphrey, a transfer from Louisville, were both ranked on D1Baseball’s Top 50 Transfer Impact Hitters. D1Baseball also named them as two of the Top 35 outfielders in the country.

Sanford is the reigning Southland Hitter of the Year and was also named to the All-Southland First Team and All-Defensive Team in 2024 after hitting .381 with New Orleans last year. Humphrey played three seasons at Louisville where he hit .300 in 166 games in his career.

Will McCausland, a transfer from Saint Joseph’s, was named to D1Baseball’s Top 85 Transfer Impact Pitchers after playing two seasons for the Hawks. Ryan Moerman, an outfielder from Illinois, is a two-time All-Big Ten Second Team honoree who has played in 129 career games.

Alex Canney, a pitcher from Division II National Champions Tampa, is a three-time All-American and six-time All-South Region award winner.

The combined newcomer class of both transfers and freshmen was ranked No. 10 in the country by Baseball America.

TOP OF THE HILL

Luke Hill was ranked as the No. 29 third baseman in the country according to D1Baseball’s Preseason Top 50 Third Basemen List. He was the ninth-highest ranked third baseman from the SEC and the eighth-highest ranked junior on the list.

Hill is coming off a sophomore campaign in which he hit .291 with 36 runs scored, 35 walks drawn, and 12 stolen bases. The Louisiana native really turned things up in SEC play, hitting .321 with an on-base percentage of .414 and 19 runs scored in 29 conference games.

BACK BEHIND THE DISH

Campbell Smithwick was ranked No. 22 on D1Baseball’s Preseason Top 50 Catchers list ahead of the 2025 season. Smithwick was the third-highest ranked sophomore and the seventh-highest ranked catcher from the SEC on the list that looks at every backstop in the country. He was also ranked No. 60 on Perfect Game’s Top 100 Collegiate Sophomores List.

Smithwick is coming off a freshman season in which he played in 30 games and led the Rebels in on-base percentage at .449. His .266 batting average was also the fifth-highest on the team in 2024.

NEW FACE IN THE DUGOUT

Joel Mangrum was hired as the newest Ole Miss Baseball assistant coach on June 13 and will be heading into his first season as the team’s pitching coach. A native of Brandon, Mississippi, Mangrum came to Oxford after professional and college coaching stints with the Cleveland Guardians, ULM, New Mexico State, Austin Peay, Milligan College, and Hinds Community College. Mangrum spent six seasons with the Guardians, four of them as Minor League Pitching Coordinator. He was promoted to Pitching Coordinator in 2020 after serving as a Minor League Pitching Coach in 2018 and 2019.

During his time as Minor League Pitching Coordinator, Cleveland’s Double-A team posted the second-best ERA and batting average against in the Eastern League three of the four seasons. Mangrum worked with and helped develop former Rebels Doug Nikhazy and Dylan DeLucia as pitchers in the Guardians organization. Prior to professional baseball, Mangrum spent time at ULM, Austin Peay, New Mexico State, and Milligan College.

Next Up: 

First pitch in the opening game of the season is set for 3:00 p.m. as the Rebels take on Arizona.