The Ole Miss softball team begins a nine-game home stand today and will carry through this weekend’s Red & Blue Classic and next weekend’s SEC ‘s opening series versus Alabama. The Rebels host central Arkansas in a single game today at 5 p.m. CT.
Ole Miss (11-5, 0-0 SEC) tangle with the Sugar Bears on The SEC Network+ today.
SCOUTING UCA
The Bears entered the 2026 season with a new look, as longtime head coach Jenny Parsons retired. However, her former assistant Kayla Lucas leads the 9-6 Bears into Oxford for the first time since 2021.
Lucas is now a head coach again after spending five seasons at Division II Young Harris, where she coached the Mountain Lions to four NCAA Division II Softball National Tournaments, including an appearance in the National Championship game in 2019
Central Arkansas’ lineup is balanced on offense, but the main power threat is graduate student Emma Robertson, who joined the program via Houston. Robertson is hitting .293 with a team-high three home runs and 13 RBI. Trinity Brandon, a senior transfer from Lamar, has provided a spark to the Bears offense, hitting .360 with seven doubles and nine RBI.
Sophomore Addie Graham, who faced the Rebels in Lafayette, La., last season, is riding an eight-game hit streak into Oxford and hitting .340 with eight stolen bases thus far.
Once again, the Rebels could face a dynamic freshman pitcher, as Central Arkansas has been buoyed by the freshman Jaleigh White, who is 3-0 with a 1.64 ERA (21.1 IP) with 15 strikeouts. Graduate student Bailie Runner, who faced the Rebels last season is also back, leading the team in innings pitched with 37.0 IP, while going 5-2 with a 2.65 ERA and 19 strikeouts.
The Bears have shined in Conway thus far, going 4-2, but are just 5-4 outside of Conway, including 0-2 in true road games so far.
OLE MISS CLUBHOUSE
- Ole Miss is set to open a nine-game home swing in what will carry the team into SEC play, beginning with a Wednesday night matchup with Central Arkansas.
- Freshman Madi George has been the breakout star of the season thus far, hitting a sizzling .435 with a team-high four home runs and 10 walks, while adding 17 RBI through the first 16 games of her career.
- Sophomore Persy Llamas remains scorching hot as well, hitting .414 through the first 16 games with three home runs and a team-high 18 RBI.
- Mackenzie Pickens matched the program’s single-game RBI record on Sunday, with six RBI to defeat Mercer. The mark had only been achieved six times in program history.
- Ole Miss recorded its largest margin of victory (15 runs) since a 15-0 win over Hawaii in 2024, in the win over Mercer on Sunday.
- Head coach Jamie Trachsel became the program’s all-time winningest coach on Feb. 13, recording her 188th win at the helm.
- Senior Kyra Aycock has jumped right into a key rotation role, leading the SEC in complete games (four), while also stepping up for six wins, ranking eighth in the nation (six).