No. 17 Ole Miss Softball Set for NCAA Fayetteville Super Regional vs. No. 4 Arkansas

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – (Release) The No. 17 Ole Miss softball program returns to action in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, competing in the Fayetteville Super Regional against No. 4 Arkansas.

The Rebels (40-18, 11-13 SEC) open their third Super Regional in program history on Friday at 11:10 a.m. CT against host Razorbacks (43-12, 14-10 SEC). Game two is set for Saturday at 8 p.m. CT, with a potential tiebreaking game three set for Sunday.

LEADING OFF

• Ole Miss enters the NCAA Super Regional as one of four unseeded teams remaining in the event, joining Georgia, Liberty and Nebraska.
• Ole Miss is 20-18 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and are making their ninth consecutive appearance and seeking their first ever Super Regional win in their third appearance.
• The Rebels scored 10 runs in game one against Arizona, good for the most Arizona has ever allowed in a regional. The Rebels also ended a 23-game winning streak in regionals for the Wildcats and handed them a home regional loss for the first time since 2004.
• Ole Miss has smashed the program record for home runs in a season with 63. That breaks 2023’s mark of 49.
• Persy Llamas looks to polish off a historic freshman campaign, as she leads her team in multi-hit games (20) and already has the most RBI ever by an Ole Miss freshman and the second most in a single season in program history.
• Aliyah Binford and Llamas enter the day on the cusp of the single season RBI record at Ole Miss. Binford is tied with Abbey Latham (2019) for first at 54, while Llamas stands at 53.
• At 171 strikeouts, Miali Guachino has the most strikeouts in a single season by a Rebel since Mary Jane Callahan (177) in 2004. Guachino currently stands in third on the single season strikeout list at Ole Miss.

TOURNAMENT TIME
Ole Miss enters the Super Regional of the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history in their ninth consecutive NCAA appearance and fifth consecutive under head coach Jamie Trachsel, holding an all-time record of 20-18 overall. The Rebels are seeking their first ever Super Regional win and title and trip to the Women’s College World Series. Both of the program’s regional titles came in Oxford. The Rebels are 0-4 all-time super regional games with their last appearance coming in 2019.

Ole Miss is one of four unseeded teams remaining in the field, joining Georgia, Liberty and Nebraska.

FAMILIAR FOES
The Rebels are set to meet the Razorbacks for the second time this season, after winning a three-game series against them in March. The Rebels earned their first ever run rule win over a top-10 opponent in game one, winning 9-1, before taking game two, 9-3.

The Rebels have won the last two series against Arkansas in conference play, but have only ever met once in the postseason in the 2022 SEC Tournament. The Rebels won the last series in Fayetteville in 2024.

RECORDS BROKEN
The Ole Miss Rebels recorded a monumental achievement, when the NFCA announced their All-South Region honorees. Ole Miss finished with a program-high six, smashing the old record of three.

First Team – Lexie Brady (Catcher) & Jaden Pone (Outfield)
Second Team – Miali Guachino (Pitcher), Persy Llamas (First Base) & Aliyah Binford(Pitcher/Utility)
Third Team – Mackenzie Pickens (Second Base)

Brady and Pone gave the Rebels multiple First Team honorees in a season for the first time in program history. The duo become the sixth and seventh First Team honorees, joining Tate Whitely (2023), Kylan Becker (2019), Elantra Cox (2017 & 2016), RT Cantillo (2014) and Lauren Grill (2010 & 2008).

Additionally, three Rebel freshmen took home honors, also setting a program-high. Llamas joins Amanda Fine (1997) as the only freshmen to earn both All-SEC and All-Region honors in the same season.

AMONG THE SEC’S BEST
Ole Miss made history following the conclusion of the regular season as three players took home All-SEC selections.

Leading the charge was outfielder Jaden Pone, who thanks to winning the SEC batting title (conference play only) with a .427 batting average, took home All-SEC First Team and SEC All-Defensive Team honors in left field. Pone became just the second Rebel in program history to earn a first team honor, joining two-time winner Kylan Becker. Additionally, she became the first All-Defensive Team honoree since Tate Whitley in 2023 and the fourth in program history since its inception.

Joining Pone as first-time honorees were Lexie Brady and Persy Llamas, who each took home All-SEC Second Team honors. Llamas becomes the first Rebel freshman to earn All-SEC First or Second Team honors since Amanda Fine in the program’s first year of 1997.

As a unit, the Rebels had three players tabbed to the first or second team, which marks the most honorees in program history.

SETTING THE MARK
The Rebels have jumped back into the national spotlight this season behind a historic campaign, as the team has already broken a number offensive program records.

Ole Miss has already set several offensive single-season highs, with 63 home runs, beating 2023’s old record of 49. Additionally, the Rebels have beaten the old program high in RBI with 311 on the season, passing 2022’s (286). The Rebels also have moved past the all-time total bases record of 677 in 2017 with 760 and counting this season. Finally, the Rebels have passed the single-season runs record with 340, breaking the old mark of 318 (2017). Further records are still in play including:

Single-Season Doubles: 84 (2022) – Currently: 82
Single-Season Batting Average: .309 (2015) – Currently .310

The Rebels are also tied with the program record for strikeouts in the circle, with 360. The program record was set in 2019.

BRADY BOMBS
Perhaps the most critical bat for the Rebels is the veteran Lexie Brady, who brings a powerful bat to the middle of the lineup. Brady launched 13 home runs and 35 RBI in her breakout junior campaign and has surged to even new heights in 2025.

The power surge has been constant for Brady, who is hitting .338 with a career-high 16 home runs and 47 RBI. After starting the season 0-11 at Florida Atlantic, Brady has surged to a .366 batting average in the 48 games since and has 15 home runs in her last 45 games.

Brady continues to pound the ball at the plate and has at least one extra-base hit in 21 of her last 44 games played. Her 16 home runs are the most by any Rebel in program history, breaking a record that stood since 2003 (DeDe Justice). Brady also made added history with 6 RBI in game one against No. 23 Georgia, matching the Ole Miss single game record.

ALL EYES ON ALIYAH
Two-way star Aliyah Binford joins the Rebels for her final season of eligibility after a standout career in the circle and at the plate at Baylor and has generated talk since arriving in Oxford. Binford is hitting .335 with 13 doubles, three triples, 11 home runs, 54 RBI and slugging .616, while also holding a 10-3 record and 3.77 ERA through 25 appearances in the circle.

Her efforts in the circle have caught national attention and placed her in the Ole Miss record books after being named the SEC Pitcher of the Week on Mar. 3. Binford delivered back-to-back complete games that week, beginning with a one-hitter against Nicholls and ending the week with the program’s first solo no-hitter since 2014 in a win over Murray State. Binford added her name to the record books again by tying the single season program record for RBI with 54.

A STAR IS BORN
Freshman Miali Guachino has burst onto the scene as one of the top freshman pitchers in the nation and an early candidate for national freshman of the year. The Pala, Calif., native has wasted little time in becoming a star, as she broke the Rebels single-game strikeout record with 19 at Southern Miss, shattering the old record of 15. She followed that up with her first collegiate no-hitter against Samford and SEC Co-Pitcher of the Week honors on Mar. 18.

Guachino enters the NCAA Super Regional at 15-11 with a 3.45 ERA (142.0 IP) and has struck out 171 batters, which is fourth in the SEC and ranks 32nd in the nation. Guachino has tallied 11 complete games, six solo shutouts and has four performances with 10 or more strikeouts.

FRESHMAN SENSATION
Persy Llamas has been a revelation in her first season in Oxford, from the moment she stepped on a field. From her very first collegiate at-bat, where she hit a pinch hit three-run home run to take the lead in a 3-2 win over No. 25 Clemson to a three-run blast to power the Rebels past No. 4 Florida in the SEC Tournament, Llamas ranks second on the Rebels in total RBI (53) and has proven to be a highly capable batter at first base.

In fact, her 53 RBI rank third on the Rebels all-time single season chart and are the most by a Rebel freshman in program history.

Clutch play from Llamas has continued in SEC play, as the freshman hit a go-ahead, solo home run to power the Rebels past Missouri in game two and clinch the series. As a result, Llamas was named the SEC’s Co-Freshman of the Week on Apr. 1.

Llamas opened her collegiate career with 81 at-bats without a strikeout, good for the most by a Rebel since Hailey Lunderman in 2016 and remains one of the most difficult to strikeout in the nation.

MACK ATTACK
Freshman infielder Mackenzie Pickens recorded a breakout performance en route to SEC Freshman of the Week honors on Feb. 24. Pickens hit .600 over four games at the Rocket City Softball Showcase, tallying a home run, a double, six RBI and two stolen bases.

The Flowery Branch, Ga., native has adjusted to the college game quickly, hitting .327 with eight home runs and 35 RBI, while becoming the first SEC Freshman of the Week from Ole Miss since Blaise Biringer in 2021.

Her biggest moment yet came during the second round of the SEC Tournament, when she blasted a three-run, go-ahead home run in the eighth inning to take down No. 4 Florida and advance to the quarterfinal. She added a two-run blast in the regional final game vs. No. 12 Arizona.

SCOUTING ARKANSAS
Fresh off a strong regional victory in which they took down Saint Louis and Oklahoma State (twice), the Arkansas Razorbacks seek their first ever appearance in the Women’s College World Series.

Head coach Courtney Deifel has led Arkansas to a 43-12 record, recording several big victories. Leading the way for Deifel is Softball America’s Player of the Year, Bri Ellis, who is having a monster season, hitting .457 with 26 home runs and 72 RBI, while also drawing 64 walks. Ellis has run away with most major records at Arkansas and leads the nation in on base percentage and slugging percentage.

Ellis is not the only threat in the lineup, as the Razorbacks hit .327 as a unit. Courtney Day is hitting .319 with 16 home runs and 65 RBI, while freshman Ella McDowell has been a revelation, hitting .360 with 18 extra-base hits and 52 RBI.

Robyn Herron remains the biggest weapon for Arkansas in their rotation, going 18-6 with a 2.57 ERA (138.2 IP) and 155 strikeouts. She is aided by the strong play of Payton Burnham, who is 15-2 with a 2.56 ERA (106.2 IP) and 83 strikeouts. Cam Harrison and Reis Beuerlein are the two main choices out of the bullpen.

Deifel and the Razorbacks are in a Super Regional for the first time since 2022 and the third Super Regional in her tenure. She’s been a strong defensive coach, as the Razorbacks lead the nation in fielding percentage.