The Ole Miss softball team started its season last weekend by winning three of five games at the Easton Classic in Fullerton, Calif. The Rebels, coming off the program’s first-ever Women’s College World Series appearance and final national ranking of No. 8 last season (the program’s highest final ranking ever), enter 2026 with great expectations. And maybe one of those losses can be forgiven…the one to host Cal State Fullerton…but the defeat given by Boise State…on the surface…makes one wonder how quickly this squad can bring it all together.
Powerhouse SEC programs don’t lose to teams such as Boise State. At least not very often. And it never sits well with the program’s well-wishers.
Granted, it is softball, where an inch can make a difference against any opponent. And head coach Jamie Trachsel has fielded a mostly new team, but one that was quite successful in the transfer portal.
And I must say how proud I am of Jamie. She came to Oxford and did it her way. And her way worked. And in no way am I saying it won’t work this season. We’re just kind of doing an autopsy on what we learned the first weekend of the season.
It’s very early, but expectations are very high…and they should be.
THE BIGGEST BAT
First baseman Persy Llamas started the season where she left off with a vapor stream trailing her stick. After five games, Llamas is hitting a team-high .556 with a home run and seven RBIs. Her .833 slugging percentage ranks second on the team.
Llamas told me before the season began that she was reading and studying a book by the late Kobe Bryant. She absolutely started her sophomore campaign in Mamba fashion.
WELCOME TO OXFORD CASSIE REASNER
Reasner, an already-proven SEC transfer from the Kentucky Wildcats, is a hard-hitting middle infielder who simply ripped the cover off the ball in Cali. Reasner finished the tourney with a team-leading 10 runs-batted-in, two homers and a .429 batting average. Her slugging percentage was a team best .929.
TWO COMING INTO THEIR OWN
Outfielders Taylor Malvin and Tenley Grisham deserve medals for their efforts over the opening weekend, Malvin hit .500, scored six runs and drove in four. Her performance was no real surprise after the year she put together in 2025. Grisham, who has previously been a pinch running specialist for the Rebels, was dynamite. Not only was she 3-for-3 in the stolen base department, she hit .33 and drove in a run.
THE NEW (TRANSFER) PITCHING
Yes, Division II Emilee Boyer left the California tournament with a disappointing 0-2 record. But a look at her numbers show she is going to be just fine at this level. Boyer finished with a 2.33 earned run average and striking out 13 over 12 innings. Kyra Aycock, the veteran transfer from Oklahoma State, assembled a 2-0 start to her Rebel career, throwing a team-best 13 innings, striking out nine and finishing with a 3.23 ERA. Missouri transfer Lilly Whitten only pitched four innings but looked great, finishing with a 1.75 earned run average, We didn’t see enough of UConn transfer Hope Jenkins who worked just one inning.
NEXT UP
The Rebels travel to Lafayette, La., for the Ragin’ Cajun Invitational starting Thursday, Ole Miss will face McNeese State in a doubleheader on day one with start times for 3 p.m. CT and 5 p.m. CT. On Friday, the Rebs battle Texas A&M-Corpus Christie and host Louisiana-Lafayette at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively. In Saturday’s finale, Ole Miss will play a single game with the Ragin’ Cajuns at 1:30 p.m. CT.