Ole Miss Rebels baseball

History

The University of Mississippi has games recorded as early as 1893. What is commonly referred to as the "modern era" is considered to have started in 1947.

Twenty different coaches have led the Ole Miss baseball team, but only six of those have done so during the modern era. Mike Bianco became the latest Ole Miss Rebels baseball head coach in June 2000.

In 1977 the Rebels won the inaugural Southeastern Conference tournament championship. They won the tournament again in 2006. They have captured three Southeastern Conference Western Division titles, the last in 2014.

The Rebels club have won seven Southeastern Conference championships and have made the NCAA Tournament nineteen times. They have also advanced to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska five times, most recently in 2014.

Early years

The first Ole Miss baseball game on record is a 6–3 loss to Mississippi A&M (now known as Mississippi State University) in Starkville, Mississippi during 1893.

On the eve of World War I the Rebel baseball team was helmed by future New York Yankee and Hall of Fame member Casey Stengel. He compiled a record of 13–9 as skipper of the Rebels and earned the nickname "The Old Perfessor."

2009

For the first time since 1977, the Rebels won a share of the Southeastern Conference regular season title in 2009, sharing the championship with LSU despite losing to LSU in two of its three games against the Tigers. The Rebels went 0–2 in the SEC tournament. The Rebels were selected to host a regional in Oxford where they defeated Missouri and Western Kentucky, advancing them to the super regional, which they were also selected to host. The Rebels fell to Virginia in the super regional to end their season.

2014

The Rebels surprised critics in 2014 by capturing the SEC West title (their 3rd under Mike Bianco) and topping 40 wins for the 4th time. Nine players from the 2014 roster were drafted by Major League teams, the most of any team in the nation. Ole Miss went 3–0 in regional play with a win over Jacksonville St. and two over Washington (including an extra-inning second win) to advance to their 5th Super Regional.

The team traveled to Lafayette, Louisiana to face the #1 ranked Ragin' Cajuns in Super Regional action. Despite losing the first game, the Rebels rallied to win games 2 and 3 and advance to the College World Series.

After opening the CWS with a loss to the Virginia Cavaliers, the Rebels reeled off 2 straight wins against Texas Tech and TCU in the losers bracket, advancing to the Semi-Finals and a re-match with the Cavaliers.

National awards

Johnny Bench Award

Stuart Turner – 2013

Collegiate Baseball Freshman of the Year Award

Stephen Head – 2003

SEC awards

Pitcher of the Year

Drew Pomeranz – 2010

Player of the Year Award

Stephen Head – 2004

Freshman of the Year Award

Seth Smith – 2002Stephen Head – 2003Jordan Henry – 2007

Oxford-University Stadium/ Swayze Field

Ole Miss baseball plays their home games at Oxford-University Stadium/ Swayze Field, a $3.75 million facility that was completed in October, 1988. The first game held there was against Cumberland University on February 19, 1989 in which the Rebels took a doubleheader sweep.

Stadium attendance

NCAA Baseball Attendance

Mayor's Trophy

Started in 1980 by then Jackson, Mississippi Mayor Dale Danks, Jr., the Mayor’s Trophy game had been one of the most anticipated match-ups of the Mississippi college baseball season as it featured Ole Miss versus Mississippi State. In the first 25 editions, the game has drawn an average of 4,887 fans per game. The Mayor's Trophy series ended after the 2006 match-up and was replaced by The Governor's Cup.

With a 1–0 win in 2006 over the #9-ranked Bulldogs, the first shutout ever in the 27-year history of the Mayor's Trophy series, the Rebels took the lead 14–13 in the non-conference series between the teams. That win gave Ole Miss the lead for the first and final time in the Mayor’s Trophy all-time series.

Governor's Cup

With the 2007 season, the non-conference meeting between the two teams moved to Trustmark Park in Pearl, Mississippi – which is the home to the Mississippi Braves – and was begun anew as the two teams competed for the Governor’s Cup for the first time.

2007 – In the inaugural game on April 17, 2007, No. 15 MSU beat No. 19 Ole Miss 14–9.

2008 – MSU beat No. 16 Ole Miss 6–5 before a Governor's Cup-record 7,862 fans.

2009 – No. 17 Ole Miss took their first Governor's Cup on April 14, 2009 with an 8–1 before a crowd of 7,458. Rebel ace Brett Bukvich recorded a career-high 11 strike-outs in six innings to earn MVP.

2010 – Behind strong pitching and steady hitting, No. 11 Ole Miss edged MSU 5–3. The MVP was Ole Miss pitcher David Goforth.

2011 – Behind the strong pitching performances of Kendall Graveman, Chad Girodo, and Taylor Stark, MSU won 6–1 before a crowd of 7,334.

2012 – No. 22 Ole Miss struck out 16 MSU batters en route to a 6–3 victory in front of a rain-soaked crowd of 5,533.

2013– – No. 16 MSU defeated No. 18 Ole Miss 5–1 before a then stadium-record crowd of 8,240.

2014 – No. 22 MSU beat No. 12 Ole Miss 8–3. For the second year in a row, and the third time overall, both teams entered the game ranked in the top 25. The game once again set a Trustmark Park record with a crowd of 8,496.