Photo by Ole Miss Athletics
In a trend that is very quickly becoming the normal around college baseball, Ole Miss head baseball coach Mike Bianco boasts a roster with talent with years of experience in college baseball, a group of veterans that hope to lead Ole Miss back to Omaha.
In 2025, Ole Miss narrowly missed on a chance to return to Omaha for the first time since winning the programs first national championship in 2022. Finishing the season 43-21 (16-14 SEC) Ole Miss reached the SEC tournament championship game losing to Vanderbilt, and were knocked out of the NCAA regionals in a fighting effort to Murray State. As expected, Ole Miss did benefit greatly from the run in 2025, retaining multiple high powered starters, and attacking both the transfer portal and high school recruiting window hard.
As head coach Mike Bianco put it in media days this week “Older teams usually win in our league”, and that’s the expectation from Ole Miss fans for this upcoming baseball season. Ole Miss will produce ten seniors on this years team, but the spotlight will be on redshirt junior Hunter Elliot. His time at Ole Miss has been plundered by injuries, but the Tupelo, Mississippi native became a fan favorite in 2022. Helping Ole Miss reach the baseball pinnacle in 2022, Elliot was a vital piece in the team winning the programs first ever national championship. Elliot missed nearly the entire season in 2023 due to an elbow injury, and did not appear at all in 2024 due to injury. As expected, Elliot will be the Friday night starter for Ole Miss, but he’s remaining humble:
“There are so many thing i’m constantly trying to get better at. I tell a lot of people all the time, people act like i’m such this experienced pitcher, but really this is my third season pitching so i’m constantly improving.”
Ole Miss pitcher Hunter Elliot speaking about his Ole Miss career so far.
To round out the older group of guys Brayden Randle, Judd Uttermark, and Will Furniss will all be vital pieces for the success of Ole Miss this season. All around, each guy feels that they can improve from the 2025 season, from a hitting and fielding perspective, and having a deep season in 2025 provided a lot of insight to help Ole Miss reach Omaha in 2026. Randle produced starts at both shortstop and second last season, a player you can expect to be utilized in a variety of roles in 2026. Judd Uttermark along with Austin Fawley produced more than 20 home runs last season, continuing this success will be vital for Ole Miss in the long run, and remaining a constant impact in fielding will also be beneficial for the Rebels. Standing tall at 6-4 is Senior Will Furniss slating a .305 batting average last season, and 47 RBI’s, Furniss’s energy and dynamic field play will be one of the most important pieces for the success of this team.
One Player mentioned by Mike Bianco, is a name all fans should get accustomed to, and that’s Dom Decker. Decker is a junior transfer from Murray State, Decker slated a .351 batting average for the Racers last year, and will also look to bring improvement to the infield fielding for Ole Miss. Decker produced 14 multi-hit games last season, and can provide much fire and momentum for the Ole Miss fanbase.
Unlocking a strong 3-4-5 batting lineup could be the key for Ole Miss in 2026, and with expectations high, and talent visible, just how far can Ole Miss go?