A AZING! PHOTOS BY BRUCE NEWMAN
2022 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
COMMEMORATIVE EDITION I OXFORD EAGLE I JULY 2-3, 2022
CONGRATULATIONS!! TO THE ENTIRE REBEL BASEBALL TEAM, COACHES, & STAFF
PROUD TO BE YOUR CREDIT UNION!
OLE
AHA
COMMEMORATIVE SECTION
THE CHAMPS!
WEEKEND EDITION, JULY 2-3, 2022
Ole Miss players greet fans from the top of a double decker bus during the Rebels’ championship parade in Oxford on Wednesday, June 29, 2022.
3
JOEY BRENT | THE OXFORD EAGLE
COMMEMORATIVE SECTION
4
WEEKEND EDITION, JULY 2-3, 2022
Ole Miss ends roller-coaster season with a championship parade
T
By JAKE DAVIS Jake.Davis@oxfordeagle.com
he people of Oxford might be getting used to championship parades. The city hosted a parade for the NCAA-champion Ole Miss baseball team on Wednesday—a year after hosting a similar parade for the school’s women’s golf team. The festivities began around 4 p.m. when fans lined the streets holding signs of support and congratulations, and concluded with a ceremony inside Oxford-University stadium in front of a crowd of 12,000 ecstatic fans. The parade started on North Lamar Boulevard and passed through the square before turning onto University Avenue where it concluded in the Gertrude C. Ford parking lot. The motorcade was led by a fire
truck and mounted police officers, and featured two buses full of players and coaches along with a jeep full of Ole Miss twitter personalities including Ben Mintz. The entire procession was lined by cheerleaders from Oxford and Lafayette high schools as well as Oxford police and firefighters. As the parade reached the square it was blasted with confetti from two cannons mounted on the second floor of the buildings across from the courthouse, which poured confetti down on the procession for a full thirty seconds. Players threw foam baseballs from the top of a double decker bus as they made their way around the square before heading down South Lamar towards University Avenue. The parade concluded in front of the Ford Center, where players and
coaches exited the bus before walking into Oxford-University stadium where they were greeted by a raucous crowd of fans. After the players walked onto the field one by one, fans listened to remarks from Ole Miss Radio Network play-by-play announcer David Kellum, Governor Tate Reeves, Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill, Vice Chancellor for Intercollegiate Athletics Keith Carter, head coach Mike Bianco and several key players. The event concluded with the players taking one final victory lap around the stadium, high-fiving fans and signing autographs in the stands. “This was so special being back in Oxford after what felt like three months on the road,” said left fielder Kevin Graham. “To come back and celebrate with the Swayze faithful— it’s incredible.”
“This was so special being back in Oxford after what felt like three months on the road. To come back and celebrate with the Swayze faithful— it’s incredible.” — Left fielder Kevin Graham
COMMEMORATIVE SECTION
WEEKEND EDITION, JULY 2-3, 2022
5
‘DON’T LET THE REBS GET HOT’ Ole Miss overcomes midseason slump to win first-ever national program
O
By JAKE DAVIS Jake.Davis@oxfordeagle.com
le Miss is a national baseball champion. The Rebels’ baseball team defeated Oklahoma in back-to-back games in the College World Series final to clinch the first NCAA-recognized national championship in a major men’s sport in school history. They went 10-1 in the NCAA tournament, outscoring opponents 82-25 over those 11 games as they caught fire at the perfect time. It wasn’t always smooth sailing for head coach Mike Bianco and company however. Ole Miss started the season as a consensus top-five team in the country, and worked their way up to the No. 1 spot in the polls after jumping out to a 13-1 start. Then, everything fell apart. The Rebels lost 18 out of 29 games from March 13 to May 1, including midweek losses to Southern Miss, Southeast Missouri and Southeastern Louisiana. They saw their postseason hopes start to fade as they fell out of the top 25 and tumbled to the bottom of the conference standings. On May 2 they sat at 7-14 in SEC play—tied with Missouri and Kentucky for the worst record in the conference. That’s when Bianco brought in former Rebel and 2016 World Series champion Chris Coghlan to speak with the team. Coghlan told the players to stick to the goals they set for themselves at the beginning of the season and not let any of the outside noise affect the way they view themselves, their teammates or their coaches. “He challenged the guys,” Bianco said. “He said your job is to win a national championship. That was your goal a month ago.
Why would you let somebody on the internet talk you out of your goals—somebody that you wouldn’t listen to for advice to hit or pitch… he said as long as you’re still playing and as long as there’s games and you can reach there I don’t know why you would want to.” That midseason meeting seemed to energize the team as they won eight out of 10 games to close the regular season and put themselves back in the NCAA tournament conversation. They sat on the “Last Four In” line heading into the SEC tournament, but a loss to Vanderbilt in the opening round allowed other bubble teams to surge past them with résumé-boosting wins late in the season. By the time ESPN’s Selection Show rolled
around on Memorial Day, most major publications predicted the Rebels were on the outside looking in. The selection committee shocked the college baseball world however, picking Ole Miss as the final team in the field of 64 and sending them to the Coral Gables (Florida) regional hosted by No. 6 Miami. The Rebels took their chance and ran with it—sweeping their regional before securing their first two shutouts of the season in back-to-back wins over No. 11 Southern Miss in the Hattiesburg Super Regional to reach the College World Series for the first time since 2014.
They continued to dominate in Omaha as they knocked off SEC West rivals Auburn and Arkansas to start 2-0 in the College World Series for the first time in program history. That edge they gained in the first two games proved crucial as a slip-up against Arkansas in the first semifinal game put them on the brink of elimination for the first time in the postseason. With their season on the line the Rebels turned to junior ace Dylan DeLucia, who responded with the best pitching performance in program history to send Ole Miss to their first-ever College World Series final. The Northwest Florida State transfer tossed a complete game shutout against the Razorbacks— becoming the first Rebel to ever accomplish the feat in a postseason game. He used a lethal two-seam fastball-slider combination to keep Arkansas’s hitters off-balance, allowing just four hits and zero walks while recording seven strikeouts. The Rebels then dominated in the finals against Oklahoma, winning game one 10-3 before coming from behind in the late innings to knock off the Sooners with a 4-2 victory in game two that secured the first national championship in the 121-year history of Ole Miss Baseball. “These guys worked really hard, and I think they showed a lot of people that you can fall down, you can stumble and you can fall, but that doesn’t mean you’re a failure.” Bianco said. “If you continue to work hard, you continue to believe you can accomplish anything.”
COMMEMORATIVE SECTION
6
WEEKEND EDITION, JULY 2-3, 2022
COACH OF
THE YEAR
Bianco earns national honor after championship season
G
VIA OLE MISS ATHLETICS
REENSBORO, N.C. – Ole Miss head baseball coach Mike Bianco was named the National Coach of the Year this week by Collegiate Baseball and the American Baseball Coaches Association. The long-time head coach of the Rebel program captured the first national championship in program history with a 4-2 win over No. 4 Oklahoma on Sunday. At one point sitting near the bottom of the SEC standings, the Rebels completed a magical run through the postseason, finishing on top after being the last team included in the field of 64 for the NCAA Tournament. Ole Miss went 10-1 during
the postseason, registering wins over No. 6 Miami, No. 10 Southern Miss, No. 7 Auburn, No. 3 Arkansas and No. 4 Oklahoma. Having just completed his 22nd year at the helm of the Rebel program, Bianco has coached the Rebels to four-straight 40-win seasons, one of four programs in the nation to do so. During his run in Oxford, Bianco has coached the Rebels to 18 NCAA Tournament appearances, including eight Super Regional appearances and a pair of trips to the College World Series. With 854 career wins, Bianco ranks third all-time in the SEC in wins behind only Ron Polk and Skip Bertman.
BRUCE NEWMAN | THE OXFORD EAGLE
AT RIGHT: Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco (5) tips his cap to the crowd following the Rebels win over Arkansas in the College World Series at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb., on Monday, June 20, 2022. ABOVE LEFT: Bianco poses with the national championship trophy after the Rebels 4-2 win over Oklahoma in Game 2 of the College World Series final at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb., on Sunday, June 26, 2022. OLE MISS ATHLETICS
ABOVE RIGHT: Bianco salutes the fans from the team bus prior to the Rebels’ game against Oklahoma in game one of the College World Series final on Saturday, June 25, 2022.
POW
, , M O O B M BOO
WEEKEND EDITION, JULY 2-3, 2022
Ole Miss hits back-to-back-to-back homers
O
By JAKE DAVIS Jake.Davis@oxfordeagle.com
MAHA, Neb. — The inning looked like it was over. Ole Miss had two on with no outs in the eighth after designated hitter Kemp Alderman and second baseman Peyton Chatagnier hit back-to-back singles to lead off the inning before catcher Hayden Dunhurst botched a sacrifice bunt attempt and Chatagnier was caught stealing at third for the second out of the inning. Now with just a runner on
second and two outs it appeared the Rebels had squandered a golden scoring opportunity. Then the bats came alive. First, center fielder T.J. McCants roped a line drive down the line in right that landed in the visitor's bullpen for a two-run home run that extended the Rebels' lead to 6-2. Then, right fielder Calvin Harris absolutely blasted a belthigh fastball 430 feet into the stands in right center before third baseman Justin Bench followed that up with another laser that just cleared the wall in left for the third
home run in as many at-bats. The dugout exploded, streaming out onto the field to swarm Bench as he crossed home plate. "It was really, really cool to watch," said first baseman Tim Elko, who also left the yard in the game with a solo home run in the third inning. "I think I was in the hole for the last one. Just taking in all the fans going crazy in the outfield, and it was a really cool experience." Ole Miss hit back-to-back-toback home runs for the third time this season as they became the first team to hit three straight home runs in a college
COMMEMORATIVE SECTION
world series game since LSU accomplished the feat in 1998. The Rebels also hit three straight long balls in an 8-7 win over UCF on March 4 and a 10-7 loss to Mississippi State on April 22. "Somehow that's not the first time that's happened. I don't know what it is with this team and doing that, but when they get hot they get hot," said sophomore pitcher Jack Dougherty. The offensive explosion came at the perfect time as Oklahoma crept back into the game in the middle innings before the historic feat provided a gut-punch that proved too much to overcome.
"I thought that kind of knocked the wind out of their sails. It would for anybody, but I thought the big one was T.J. just because of the way the inning looked like it was going to end," said head coach Mike Bianco. Ole Miss carried the offensive explosion to a 10-3 win in a critical game one of their College World Series championship series against Oklahoma. The Rebels defeated the Sooners 4-2 on Sunday to secure the first national championship in program history and the first NCAA-recognized title for Ole Miss in any major sport.
7
8
COMMEMORATIVE SECTION
, ELLIOTT ELKO EARN ALL-AMERICAN HONORS O
VIA OLE MISS ATHLETICS
XFORD – Ole Miss senior Tim Elko and freshman pitcher Hunter Elliott each earned All-American honors after leading the Rebels to their first national championship. Earning the first All-American nod of his illustrious career, Elko was selected to the NCBWA All-American Third Team. Meanwhile, Elliott earned a Freshman All-American nod from Perfect Game. The left-hander was also named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper earlier in the year. The award is another feather in the cap of one of the greatest power hitters
in the history of Ole Miss baseball. Elko clobbered 24 home runs this season, setting a new single-season record at Ole Miss. The senior finished his career with 46 long balls, the second most ever by a Rebel. Elko batted .30 with a team-high .642 slugging percentage. The Lutz, Florida, native ranked third in the SEC with 75 runs driven in on the season, crossing the plate 63 times himself to rank second on the team. One of the most feared bats in the nation, Elko has also walked 40 times. When it mattered most, Elk brought his performances up to even greater heights to help lead the Rebels to their first national championship in program history. The senior hit .372 in the NCAA Tournament, taking 10 of
his 18 hits for extra bases, including the first three-home run game of his vaunted career. An SEC All-Freshman team honoree, Elliott ranked fourth in the SEC with a 2.82 ERA, fourth lowest in the nation among freshmen. The Tupelo, Mississippi, native lso ranked fourth in the SEC in opponent batting average at .202. Elliott also struck out 102 batters on the year. In league play, the rookie excelled as well, ranking ninth in the SEC in the SEC in strikeouts (53) and 10th in ERA (3.43).
WEEKEND EDITION, JULY 2-3, 2022
TIM ELKO
HUNTER ELLIOTT
REBS ON THE MCWS ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM 1B TIM ELKO I .280/.520/.357 2 HR, 4 RBI, 6 R, 3 BB
OF CALVIN HARRIS I .400/.800/.429 2 2B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 5 R, 1 BB
DH KEMP ALDERMAN I .318/.500/.400 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 4 R, 3 BB
3B JUSTIN BENCH I .357/.500/.379 1 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 7 R, 1 BB
OF KEVIN GRAHAM I .360/.560/.407 2 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 4 R, 1 BB, 1 HBP
P DYLAN DELUCIA I 2-0, 0.54 ERA, .133 BAA, 16.2 IP, 8 H, 1 R, 17 K
CELEBRATE CELEBRATE CELEBRATE with
Serving Northeast Mississippi since 1958.
2647 West Oxford Loop • Oxford, MS 38655 662-638-3270 • WeathersAuto.com Locations also in Tupelo and Corinth
10
COMMEMORATIVE SECTION
WEEKEND EDITION, JULY 2-3, 2022
THE CAPTAIN Elko cements legacy as all-time great By JAKE DAVIS
T BRUCE NEWMAN | THE OXFORD EAGLE
AT RIGHT: Tim Elko gestures to the dugout after hitting a leadoff single in the ninth inning of the Rebels’ 10-3 win over Oklahoma in game one of the College World Series final at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb., on Saturday, June 25, 2022. ABOVE: Tim Elko takes a selfie with fans following the Rebels’ 10-3 win over Oklahoma in game one of the College World Series final at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb., on Saturday, June 25, 2022.
Jake.Davis@oxfordeagle.com
im Elko could not have imagined a better ending to his college career. The Rebels' senior captain was not sure if he would return to Oxford after last year, when he fought through a torn ACL suffered in early April to lead Ole Miss to a Super Regional appearance. He chose to pursue his MLB dreams following the season, but was not selected in the COVID-shortened 2021 draft. That left him searching for answers.
“I remember following the draft I was praying and trying to figure out what I was going to do, and God told me that I'm not done here at Ole Miss,” Elko said. “I listened to that, and I was like, all right, well, let's do this thing then.” His decision paid off in the most improbable way as the Rebels fought back from a 7-14 start in SEC play to secure the first national championship in program history, and the first NCAA-recognized title for the school in a major sport. The Rebels took the hardest road possible to the title, starting the season as a consen-
COMMEMORATIVE SECTION
WEEKEND EDITION, JULY 2-3, 2022
sus top-five team in the country before losing 18 out of 29 games from March 13 to May 1 to fall to the bottom of the SEC standings. It was during that losing streak that Elko began to lose faith. The Lutz, Florida native said he called his sister from his car after losing two out of three games at home to Mississippi State in late April, and she told him to trust God’s plan and everything would work itself out. He said he hung up the phone and began praying out loud, asking God why he returned to Ole Miss only to suffer more disappointment. “I was praying out loud, talking to God, and just asking Him, what's going on here? Why did I come back here? This isn't going how I thought it was going to go,” Elko said. “I remember just hearing one word that He was telling me in the back of my head, and it was ‘believe.’ That's all He was telling me, was believe, believe, believe. I was like, all right. I'm going to believe. I'm going to believe. I'm going to do it.” Elko told his teammates about that experience, urging them to keep believing in themselves and each other. They began to reap the rewards of that belief late in the year as they won eight of their final 10 games in the regular season to sneak into the NCAA tournament as the final team in the field of 64.
They took their opportunity and ran with it, winning 10 out of 11 games in the tournament to secure the first national championship in the 121-year history of Ole Miss baseball. “Boy, was God right. We just had to keep believing, man, and we kept believing and fighting,” he said. For Elko and his fellow seniors, the championship was the culmination of years of hard work and perseverance. It also cemented his legacy as the greatest player to ever don the red and blue on the diamond. The fifth-year slugger’s name now appears throughout the Ole Miss record books. He holds the program’s single-season home runs record, and also finished second all-time in career big flies. He finished eighth on the program’s career RBIs list with 159, including 75 this season (good for second all-time for a single season). He captured the hearts of Ole Miss fans everywhere with his grit, toughness and late-game heroics, but his greatest accomplishment was bringing a championship to a program with a long history of near-misses and perennial heartbreak. “We won a national championship for Ole Miss, and all the past players, and all the fans across the country, and for the state of Mississippi and the University of Mississippi. We did it. We're national champs.”
11
COMMEMORATIVE SECTION
WEEKEND EDITION, JULY 2-3, 2022
13
FROM RELATIVE UNKNOWN TO MVP The story of Dylan DeLucia
Carolina—and helped lead the Rebels’ midseason pitching turnaround as he solidified his role as the Friday night starter. The junior was instrumental in By JAKE DAVIS the postseason—surrendering just Jake.Davis@oxfordeagle.com one run in his final three starts, including a complete-game shutout ylan DeLucia wasn’t even in on short rest against Arkansas the starting rotation at the in game two of the College World beginning of the season. Series semifinal that will likely go The Northwest Florida State down as the greatest pitching pertransfer started the season in the formance in Ole Miss history. Rebels’ bullpen, making six relief “I just stayed with it,” DeLucia appearances early in the year before said after the victory. “I just looked getting his first start on the mound up and saw all those zeros going in a loss to Tennessee on March 25. into the eighth, and I was just like He earned a permanent role in it’s my time to finally finish this the weekend rotation with quality game.” starts against Kentucky and South His dominant performance
D
in Omaha earned him Most Outstanding Player honors and a spot on the All-Tournament team. He finished the College World Series with a 0.54 ERA, surrendering just one run on eight hits while recording 13 strikeouts in 16 ⅔ innings. DeLucia gave all the credit to his teammates and coaches, saying his choice to transfer to Ole Miss changed his life forever. “It's kind of hard to put them into words,” he said after the Rebels secured the first national championship in program history on Sunday. “I'm just truly -- I just feel blessed to be a part of this team, to be a part of these coaches. They've taught me so much this year.”
COMMEMORATIVE SECTION
WEEKEND EDITION, JULY 2-3, 2022
FINDING HIS
STRIDE Harris helps Ole Miss win the first national championship
O
BRUCE NEWMAN | THE OXFORD EAGLE
Calvin Harris hit an RBI single in the 2-0 win over Arkansas in Game 13 of the CWS.
By JAKE DAVIS Jake.Davis@oxfordeagle.com
MAHA, Neb. — Ole Miss goes as Calvin Harris does. Okay, maybe that’s not entirely the case, but the Rebels’ inconsistencies this season have closely mirrored those of the second-year utility man from Peosta, Iowa. Both Harris and the team as a whole jumped out to incredibly hot starts at the beginning of the year, and fell into brutal slumps midway through the season before turning it around in the postseason—where they now stand on the precipice of history with a chance to win the national title for the first time in the 139-year history of Ole Miss baseball. Harris racked up base knock after base knock at the bottom of the lineup while filling in for injured catcher Hayden Dunhurst early in the season, and his production out of the nine-hole helped Ole Miss jump out to a 9-0 start and a top-five ranking in the country. His success in Dunhurst’s absence also earned him a spot as the go-to left-handed
bat in the designated hitter spot after the Rebels’ primary backstop returned to action against UCF in early March, but an injury to his oblique muscle in the second game of that same series left him sitting on the sidelines for nearly a month. Harris returned to action against Tennessee on March 25, coming off the bench as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning and drawing a walk against Volunteers reliever Mark McLaughlin (one of just eight walks McLaughlin issued in SEC play). He followed that up with a three-hit performance against North Alabama in which he logged a career-high five RBIs, including two on a home run in the second inning that gave Ole Miss an early lead. Then, in a blink of an eye, his production came to a screeching halt. He recorded just six hits in his next 17 games as he struggled to find a rhythm against a grueling slate of SEC opponents. Without the production at the bottom of the lineup, Ole Miss tumbled out of the top 25 and fell all the way to the bottom of the SEC standings. Harris knew something was
wrong with his approach, so he began tweaking his load on his swing during batting practice sessions in order to generate more balance in his stance. The load is a crucial part of a batter’s swing in baseball that involves shifting weight to the back foot in preparation for an explosive shift swing. It often involves a leg kick, a toe tap or some other subtle movement that helps regulate rhythm and timing to create consistent, compact swings. In Harris’s case he shortened his stride from a shin-high leg kick to a more subdued horizontal step, providing more balance throughout his swing and preventing his right foot from rolling over on the follow-through. "I kinda changed up my load a little bit and feel a little bit more comfortable,” he said. “I get a little more movement at the plate... I feel good with it.” Harris debuted the new stride in a midweek matchup against Southern Miss on May 11, where he recorded his first hit in nearly a month in a 4-1 win over the Golden Eagles. He saw inconsistent playing time over the final two weeks of
17
“I [was] just trying to do whatever I can to help the team win. Wherever they [told] me to go that day — I [went] out there, put that glove on and [did] the best I [could].” — Calvin Harris the regular season as he adjusted to the new approach, but finally got a chance to prove himself in the Coral Gables (Florida) regional final against Arizona after center fielder T.J. McCants went down with a thumb injury. He took advantage of the opportunity, recording a pair of hits including a two-RBI double in the middle of an eight-run sixth inning as the Rebels beat the breaks off the Wildcats to secure a third straight trip to the Super Regionals. Harris continued to excel in the Supers, going 3-for-7 with two walks and two runs scored to help Ole Miss reach the College World Series for the first time since 2014. The talented sophomore has performed even better in Omaha, recording two hits in a win over No. 14 Auburn before breaking out with a career performance against Arkansas on Monday night that propelled the Rebels to their third College World Series semifinal in program history. He went 3-for-4 with a walk, a stolen base, two runs scored and four RBIs in the first semifinal game against the Razorbacks.
Two of those RBIs came on a 363-foot, tworun home run in the fifth inning that earned him a shout-out on Sportscenter and extended the Rebels' lead to 8-3 in the middle innings. And as Harris kept on hitting, the Rebels kept on winning. The Rebels’ outfielder continued to get timely hits in the College World Series final, going 2-for-7 with an RBI and two runs scored to earn himself a spot on the All-Tournament team. Ole Miss finished 10-1 in the NCAA tournament to secure the first national championship in program history. They never got down on themselves when the going got tough, and their determination paid off on the biggest stage in college baseball. For Harris, it was all about staying ready and waiting for his opportunity to prove he could contribute to winning. "I [was] just trying to do whatever I can to help the team win. Wherever they [told] me to go that day — I [went] out there, put that glove on and [did] the best I [could]."
COMMEMORATIVE SECTION
WEEKEND EDITION, JULY 2-3, 2022
19
OLE MISS BASEBALL TEAM ROSTER Peyton Chatagnier
#1
IF
R/R
Class: Junior
Derek Diamond
#2
RHP
R/R
Class: Junior
Reagan Burford
#6
IF
R/R
Class: Sophomore
Jacob Gonzalez
#7
IF
L/R
Class: Sophomore
Justin Bench
#8
IF/OF
R/R
Class: Senior
Hayden Leatherwood #9
OF
L/R
Class: Senior
Kemp Alderman
#12
DH
R/R
Class: Sophomore
Hayden Dunhurst
#13 Catcher L/R
Class: Junior
TJ McCants
#16
OF
L/R
Class: Sophomore
John Kramer
#17
OF
L/L
Class: Freshman
Mitch Murrell
#18
RHP
R/R
Class: Junior
Calvin Harris
#20
C/OF
L/R
Class: Sophomore
Drew McDaniel
#21
RHP
R/R
Class: Junior
Max Cioffi
#22
RHP
R/R
Class: Senior
Josh Mallitz
#23
RHP
R/R
Class: Sophomore
Jackson Kimbrell
#24
LHP
R/L
Class: Junior
Tim Elko
#25
IF
R/R
Class: Senior
Hunter Elliot
#26
LHP
L/L
Class: Freshman
John Gaddis
#27
LHP
L/L
Class: Senior
Ben Van Cleve
#33
IF
R/R
Class: Senior
Kevin Graham
#35
OF
L/R
Class: Senior
Brandon Johnson
#37
RHP
R/R
Class: Senior
Jack Dougherty
#39
RHP
R/R
Class: Sophomore
Garrett Wood
#40
IF
B/R
Class: Senior
Dylan DeLucia
#44
RHP
R/R
Class: Freshman
Mason Nichols
#45
RHP
R/R
Class: Freshman
Jack Washburn
#56
RHP
R/R
Class: Junior
SUBMITTED | THE OXFORD EAGLE
John Ott (right) poses with his son Jake (left) in front of the Road to Omaha statue outside Charles Schwab Field in downtown Omaha, Nebraska.
THIS RUN MEANT
EVERYTHING Fans faithful through good times and bad
O
By JAKE DAVIS Jake.Davis@oxfordeagle.com
MAHA, Neb. — John Ott and his son Jake have been waiting for this moment for a long time. The two Ole Miss alumni have been coming to games at Swayze Field since it opened in 1989, and have experienced both the highs and lows of Ole Miss baseball over the past 30 years. They witnessed the Rebels snap an 18-year postseason drought in 1995 when the team went 40-22 to reach the Atlantic I regional final.
They saw the team slump back to 22-31 in the first season under head coach Pat Harrison before bouncing back two years later to secure a tournament spot in the College Station regional in 1999, only to finish 12-17 in SEC play the following year as they missed the tournament for the 22nd time in 24 years. Then came Mike Bianco. The current Ole Miss skipper led the Rebels to the New Orleans regional in his first year at the helm, becoming the first Rebel head coach to lead the team to the postseason in their first year at the
reins since Jake Gibbs in 1972. He proceeded to land Ole Miss teams in the postseason in 18 out of the next 21 years, culminating in this year's run to Omaha that ended with the first NCAA-recognized championship for the Rebels in a major men’s sport. For fans like the Otts who have been here for the long haul, this run meant everything. "After so many years of heartache and heartbreak it feels so good to have something to really be proud about," Jake said. "What
See EVERYTHING, Page 23
COMMEMORATIVE SECTION
20
WEEKEND EDITION, JULY 2-3, 2022
FACES OF THE
FANS 2
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.
ALL PHOTOS ©JOEY BRENT
Cherish Cummings and Sophie Smith Lisa and Hailey Lott Heather, Emily and Keith Head Kat Staples, Bridgette Mullikin, Lacy Juedemann and Bella Schell Emerson, Cooper and Bryson Holcomb Beverly Brent and Amy Barry Ally Davis and Sparky Reardon Brook Bradley, Emeri Nosal, Jacks Mitchell, Harrison Stewart, Jakota White and Carissa Strum 9. RubyLaine, Charles and Kristin Walker 10. Sarah Brassfield, McKenzie Loomis and Merritt Wolfe
1
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS Congratulations to the Ole Miss Baseball Team on their National Championship Win!
Proud to support communities where we live and work
COMMEMORATIVE SECTION
WEEKEND EDITION, JULY 2-3, 2022
EVERYTHING Continued from 19
Mike's done for the program— the regionals, the Super Regionals, it's not just good for the team, for the university, it's good for Oxford." The younger Ott graduated from Ole Miss in 2002, when Bianco was just beginning to lead a fledgling program back to its former glory. He wasn't alive for the College World Series runs in the 1950s, '60s and '70s, so the 2014 appearance marked the
pinnacle of success for him. His father, John, remembers the glory days of Ole Miss baseball, but the McComb native wasn't a fan of Ole Miss at the time. He didn't become a fan until attending law school at Ole Miss in the late 1970s, where he developed an attachment to the school that he passed on to each of his children. The patriarchal Ott sent four children to school in Oxford, including Jake who started at the university in 1999. "You've been writing tuition checks to Ole Miss for 25
years," the younger Ott joked with his father. Their decades-long fandom has culminated with a trip to Omaha this year, where they cheered on their Rebels as they secured the first national championship in school history. For the Otts, the best part of the trip was celebrating the passion they've shared as a father and son for over 30 years. "The coolest part of the whole deal is hanging with my dad through Father's Day doing what we've done for 30-plus years," the younger Ott said.
23