Three games isn’t enough to crown a contender in February, and anyone who’s watched this sport long enough knows better than to overreact to a single weekend.
But Ole Miss is doing its best to make the overreactions feel justified.
If nothing else, the Rebels are already poking holes in the preseason logic that left them outside most top‑25 polls. Baseball America was the lone outlet to include Ole Miss, and through two games against Nevada, it looks like they might’ve been the only ones paying attention.
Because this lineup? It’s loud. It’s long. And it’s already showing signs of being the kind of group that can change a game with one swing from anywhere in the order. Four home runs in two games (the same number of runs they’ve allowed) is the kind of ratio that turns heads fast. And it’s not just empty power. Ole Miss is stringing together competitive at‑bats, forcing mistakes, and punishing anything left over the plate (see Judd Utermark crushing a fastball over the middle of the plate Saturday).
30 career homers for Judd pic.twitter.com/ZSjrtmNkyl
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) February 14, 2026
The pitching staff has matched that energy. Through the first two games against the Wolfpack, Ole Miss has looked like a team with real depth on the mound. Not just one or two arms you trust, but a rotation and bullpen that can go toe‑to‑toe with most of the country. The stuff plays, the command has been steady (with an exception or two), and the Rebels haven’t blinked when the Wolfpack have tried to push back.
Koenig with the last K of the day pic.twitter.com/uaYfsxDJLP
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) February 14, 2026
And that’s the part that should make voters a little uneasy. This doesn’t look like a team sneaking up on anyone. It looks like a team that expected to be ranked, expected to hit, expected to pitch, and is playing like it has something to prove to the people who didn’t bother to include them.
Sweep Sunday’s finale, and Ole Miss won’t just be 3‑0. They’ll be a team with a résumé strong enough to demand attention and one that should fully expect to see its name show up a lot more often when the new rankings drop this week.
Weather Report
The storms have passed through the Oxford area and should be clear for Sunday’s series finale between Ole Miss and Nevada.
“Showers, mainly before 1pm. High near 61. Northeast wind 10 to 15 mph becoming north northwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible,” according to the National Weather Service.
The bigger concern for Ole Miss and Nevada’s players are the field conditions. The parts of the field with grass be slippery, which can change how the ball moves on the grass and, more obviously, players falling.
How to Watch: Nevada at Ole Miss
- Who: Nevada Wolfpack at Ole Miss Rebels
- When: 1:30 p.m., Sunday
- Where: Swayze Field, Oxford, Miss.
- TV: SECN+ (Play by play: Jake Hromada; Analyst: Keith Kessinger)
- Radio: Live Radio
- Stats: Live Stats
- Series History: Ole Miss leads 1-0
- Last Meeting: Ole Miss 5, Nevada 1
- 2025 Record, Rebels: 43-21, 16-14 SEC
- 2025 Record, Wolfpack: 34-23, 19-11 Mountain West
Projected Pitching Matchup
- LHP Wil Libbert vs. RHP Jordan Giacomini
Sunday Starting Lineups
Nevada
- C Jake Harvey
- 1B Jayce Dobie
- 3B Sean Yamaguchi
- 2B Junhyuk Kwon
- DH Billy Ham
- RF Sam Kane
- SS Jackson Waller
- CF Jacob Doyle
- LF Rominic Quiban
Ole Miss
- CF Hayden Frederico
- 3B Judd Utermark
- 1B Will Furniss
- DH Collin Reuter
- C Austin Fawley
- 2B Dom Decker
- RF Tristan Bissetta
- LF Tate Sirmans
- SS Brayden Randle
