Southern Miss Baseball predictions for 2023

Dima Mixon, SM2 Sportswriter:

For the past two seasons, Southern Miss has watched as the Ole Miss Rebels dog piled in front of them, ending their season both times. This season, while maybe they don’t have the pitching that they have had over the past few seasons, they have the bats. In the past seasons, it’s been about what team is the hottest at the beginning of June. I think this season Southern Miss has the tools necessary to taste that heat at the end of May. I predict they will win the regular season crown in the Sun Belt, and they will win the Sun Belt Championship and host another Regional. I think they’ll win another Regional, but I think their run ends again in a Super Regional this season, as once again they fall just short of Omaha.

Nathan Lee, SM2 Sportswriter:

Southern Miss baseball finished the 2022 season with a 47-19 record and a 23-7 conference record. The Golden Eagles would go on to play into June when they hosted a Super Regional against the soon-to-be National Champion Ole Miss Rebels. The Golden Eagles are preparing for a new competition this season as they will now compete in the Sun Belt Conference. The Golden Eagles will be a formidable team for all the teams in the Sun Belt. This leads me to believe that Southern Miss will have a better conference record than last year. My final prediction for the Golden Eagles is that they will finish with a 49-17 regular season record. I see this team making another deep postseason run with a possible Omaha appearance if this team can hit closer to a .300 batting average.

Jackson Howell, SM2 Sportswriter: After hosting a Super Regional in 2022, expectations could not be higher surrounding the 2023

Golden Eagles. Despite losing key pitchers, the team retooled and is prime for another stellar season. With this being “the hardest schedule we’ve ever put together” according to Berry, the Golden Eagles will be challenged early and often, including early contests against Dallas Baptist, Ole Miss and Mississippi State. With this, Southern Miss may struggle out of the gate before getting hot down the stretch. Southern Miss will be a formidable team this season, but it will be hard to advance past the Super Regionals once again this year. If Southern Miss hosts a regional, then I believe they will advance to the Super Regionals – but not far after that. As soon as the Golden Eagles have to travel – whether it be against a team like Ole Miss and LSU – then I do not see USM overcoming that again.