A Look Ahead: Ole Miss Earns No. 7 Seed in 2025 SEC Baseball Tournament, Awaits Florida or South Carolina

OXFORD, Miss. — After beating the No. 6-ranked Auburn Tigers 2-1 in the series at Swayze to end the regular season, the Rebels head into the Hoover Met Complex as the No. 7 seed and a first round bye in the SEC tournament.

Ole Miss is scheduled to play at 4:30 p.m. CT on Wednesday, May 21, in game seven, against the winner of No. 10 seed Florida vs. No. 15 seed South Carolina on May 20. The winner of game seven on May 21 will play against the No. 2 seed Arkansas Razorbacks at 3 p.m. CT on Friday, May 23.

🚨 The 2025 SEC Baseball Tournament Bracket.

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— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) May 18, 2025

Click here for PDF of SEC Tournament Bracket

Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament 

The Rebels beat out Tennessee and Alabama in the three-way tie for the seventh seed in the SEC Tournament thanks to a better record against the common opponents of Florida, Vanderbilt and Auburn. Ole Miss finished 6-3 against those opponents while the Volunteers finished 5-4 and the Crimson Tide 3-6.

Ole Miss baseball holds a 41-39 record all-time in the SEC Tournament since it began in 1977, with three titles in that span — seventh most among the current conference teams. The Rebels hosted and won the inaugural tournament at Swayze Field in 1977.

Current head coach Mike Bianco has been at the helm during two of the those championship wins (2006 and 2018). The Rebels are appearing in the tournament for the 28th time this season. With the additions of Texas and Oklahoma in 2024, all 16 teams in the conference qualify for this year’s trip to Hoover.

Can the Rebels get hot?

In a recent episode of “The Season” on the Ole Miss Athletics YouTube channel, Bianco told his team: “If you have any more left in the tank, it’s time to empty it.”

Baseball is often about peaking at the right time, and in 2022, Ole Miss caught fire late and won a national title. This year’s team may not mirror that run, but they have already exceeded expectations after being predicted to finish 15th in the SEC before the start of the season.

On the mound, the Rebels showed growth despite struggles. They allowed the fifth-fewest stolen bases in the SEC and led the league with 22 pickoffs. Left-hander Hunter Elliott was responsible for 11 of them. The southpaw allowed no more than two runs in each of his last four starts, pitching at least five innings in each and earning wins in three those games. Freshman lefty Walker Hooks also finished tied for second in the conference in pickoffs with four.

Hunting Season 🗓️@elliotthunter10 x #HottyToddy pic.twitter.com/nOmRKAlrYL

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) May 16, 2025

Although sophomore standout Mason Morris drew attention in the Ole Miss bullpen, junior transfer Will McCausland emerged as the Rebels’ most reliable arm down the stretch. McCausland allowed just one earned run in his final five appearances.

The pitching staff took a step forward with first-year pitching coach Joel Mangrum developing talent, but it was the bats that propelled Ole Miss to countless high-scoring wins. At the plate, Ole Miss hit 102 home runs — fourth in the SEC — and drew 306 walks, which was second in the league.

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— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) May 17, 2025

Austin Fawley and Judd Utermark tied for the team lead with 16 home runs. Fawley surged in SEC play, blasting 10 home runs in conference game, while Utermark led the team with 59 RBIs and batted .292. Utermark delivered a career performance in game two against Auburn, going 3-for-5 with two homers and seven RBIs. He went 7-for-14 in the series with 10 RBIs overall.

A new career-high 7️⃣ RBI for @JuddUtermark vs. Auburn on Friday https://t.co/zPRbRQ2Dyf pic.twitter.com/rYAbP1A1WH

— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) May 17, 2025

Standout junior Luke Hill led the Rebels in batting average for the season and in conference play. The third baseman hit for an average of .333 in the SEC while batting .345 overall. Hill ended the regular season with a 39-game on base streak and reached base in every game since the beginning of conference play. First baseman Will Furniss and outfielder Mitchell Sanford also hit over .300 in conference play.

Down the stretch, Campbell Smithwick went 3-for-7 at the plate with three RBI in the series against Auburn while in the designated hitter spot, and Collin Reuter went 4-for-7 with four RBI in his last four SEC pinch-hit and designated hitting opportunities.

Ole Miss nearly won was many conference games in 2025 (16) as they did in the last two seasons combined (17). The Rebels won 37 games overall in the regular season, the most for the program since winning 32 games at the end of 2022 regular.

Up next 

The 2025 Diamond Rebels will prepare to head to Hoover, Alabama at the beginning of the week to begin practicing for the tournament. No. 7 seed Ole Miss will await the winner of No. 10-seed Florida versus No. 15-seed South Carolina, and prepare a second round matchup on Wednesday, May 21, at 4:30 p.m. CT. All games during the SEC Tournament will be televised on the SEC Network.