‘It’s Postseason and My Last Ride’: Ole Miss’ Judd Utermark Ready for NCAA Regional
OXFORD, Miss. — Senior third baseman Judd Utermark met with the media after the announcement of Ole Miss landing in the Lincoln Regional as the No. 2-seeded team. The Rebels’ opening game comes on Friday where they’ll face the No. 3-seeded Arizona State Sun Devils.
Utermark and his team have put a lot of work into getting prepared for the regional, following the 10-8 loss to Missouri in the opening game of the SEC Tournament in Hoover.
“We wanted to play in Hoover as long as we could, but now that’s out of our control,” Utermark said Monday. “Now we are focused on how we get better and win a regional.”
In the Lincoln Regional, Ole Miss is paired with Arizona State, No. 4-seed South Dakota State, and the host school and No. 1 seed, Nebraska.
“I love it. I have never been to Lincoln, Nebraska; there is a lot of history there in that ballpark. I’m interested to see how it plays. I don’t know the dimensions or how it plays, but it is nothing we can’t handle, and we have a lot of confidence going in there.“
Judd Utermark on playing in Lincoln
The Southeastern Conference is well-represented in this year’s NCAA Tournament field. The conference portion of the schedule really prepares a team for the tournament.
“I really like how the regionals are set up, where two conference teams can’t be in the same one. I think it not only helps the viewership, but the atmosphere playing in those two different conferences. Nebraska, we didn’t get to play them in the regular season. Now we get to face off against them. I really like it and we have a lot of confidence going in there after playing in the best conference in America. We are looking forward to how that pans out.“
Judd Utermark
Nebraska baseball calls Haymarket Park home, which holds about 8,500 fans.
“No matter if we were playing in a backyard stadium or Omaha, we are going to come with a lot of juice and energy to play. It’s postseason and my last ride.“
Judd Utermark
Utermark and his teammates have been handling the downtime before taking the field for their first game in the regional.
“I think you have to get your mind right,” Utermark said. “Sometimes that is not thinking about it as much. Playing your game and improving with practice, lifting, hydration, and everything that comes with this spot.”
Utermark and the Rebels open their Road to Omaha on Friday at 8 p.m. CT on ESPNU.
Adam Brown
Adam Brown returns to The Rebel Walk after being on the Ole Miss beat as a Sports Editor for over 13 years. He is a lifelong Oxford resident. Brown graduated from the University of Mississippi with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
Prior to The Rebel Walk, Brown was the sports editor of HottyToddy.com covering every Ole Miss sport and local high school sports in the community.
