Ole Miss picked up a commitment in the 2028 class Monday afternoon, and it’s a significant one. Shortstop Tyce Johnson, ranked the No. 16 prep prospect in the 2028 MLB Draft class by Baseball America, announced his pledge to the Rebels.
The profile
Johnson, a 2028 graduate of Linfield Christian School in Temecula, California, is listed at 6-foot-1, 175 pounds and bats left, throws right. He plays shortstop and second base, with outfield also on his card. Perfect Game grades him a 10 — its top tier, described as “potential very high draft pick and/or elite level college prospect.”
The measurables back it up:
- 6.71-second sixty-yard dash (6.76 at a later Prep Baseball Report event)
- 90-plus mph arm strength across the infield; PBR clocked him at 89 mph infield velocity
- 105.3 mph max exit velocity, with a perfect 100 hard-hit percentage at a May 2026 event
- 78.7 mph max bat speed and 24.2 mph max hand speed
Perfect Game’s scouting report calls him a “pure shortstop” with “excellent footwork, very quick and fluid transfers, accurate throws across from a low slot release, plenty of arm strength.” A scout at the Palm Beach Classic described “an athletic frame, easy takeaway with quick hands” producing “loud contact” — a double to right field recorded at 92 mph off the bat with a 12-degree launch angle.
His 2026 production: .389 with two home runs and 21 RBI, plus a .545 average with two home runs and six RBI at 16U WWBA.
Why it matters
He’s a California prep shortstop with a national ranking, committing to an SEC program more than a year before he’d ever sign — the kind of early, high-ceiling pledge that shapes a recruiting class. He has also been an Area Code Baseball Underclass Games participant and played for Canes National 17U and BPA, the travel circuits where the top of the class is sorted out.
There’s a long runway between now and his arrival. The 2028 MLB Draft is two years out, and a player at this ranking is exactly the profile that gets drafted out of high school. That’s the risk every commitment of this caliber carries.
What Ole Miss is getting
A left-handed-hitting middle infielder who projects to stay at shortstop, with plus speed, plus arm strength. Perfect Game’s assessment that he “projects to stick long-term” at the position is the line that matters most — the profile is a defender first, with the bat coming.