Ole Miss Opens with Statement Series, But Rankings Stay the Same

Ole Miss did everything it could to show preseason poll voters the error of their ways.

After being ranked in just one preseason poll, the Rebels secured their first season-opening series sweep since 2023 against a Nevada squad favored to win the Mountain West.

Ole Miss showed it had the pitching and hitting to be considered amongst the nation’s best in wins of 11-3, 5-1 and 13-2 over the weekend.

However, those results didn’t change anything.

Ole Miss remains unranked in the D1Baseball Top 25. Baseball American, the only publication to include the Rebels in its rankings, kept them at No. 16. Here’s what that publication said about Ole Miss:

“Ole Miss breezed past a quality Nevada team with 11-3, 5-1 and 13-2 victories, the last of which was a seven-inning, run-rule performance. It marked the Rebels’ first opening-weekend sweep since 2023.”

Tristan Bissetta was listed as the Rebels’ standout performer as the former Clemson Tiger “made a loud first impression, going 5-for-10 with a home run, a double and seven RBIs. He accounted for nearly a quarter of his team’s run production.”

While still not right, Ole Miss was unlikely to jump into any of the major college baseball polls. (Note: USA Today Coaches’ Poll and the NCBWA Poll have not been released as of 10 a.m. Monday.) Three games is too small of a sample size to make any major deductions about a baseball team.

Perhaps, though, what Ole Miss did this weekend was to validate those who do believe the Rebels should’ve been ranked in more than one preseason poll.

D1Baseball Top 25 Rankings

1. UCLA Bruins
2. LSU Tigers
3. Texas Longhorns
4. Mississippi State Bulldogs
5. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
6. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
7. TCU Horned Frogs
8. Arkansas Razorbacks
9. Auburn Tigers
10. North Carolina Tar Heels
11. Oregon State Beavers
12. Florida Gators
13. Tennessee Volunteers
14. Georgia Bulldogs
15. Louisville Cardinals
16. Florida State Seminoles
17. NC State Wolfpack
18. Kentucky Wildcats
19. Clemson Tigers
20. Southern Miss Golden Eagles
21. Oklahoma Sooners
22. Wake Forest Demon Deacons
23. Miami Hurricanes
24. Texas A&M Aggies
25. West Virginia Mountaineers

Baseball America 2026 Preseason Top 25

1. UCLA Bruins
2. LSU Tigers
3. Mississippi State
4. Georgia Tech
5. Auburn Tigers
6. North Carolina Tar Heels
7. Texas Longhorns
8. TCU Horned Frogs
9. Georgia Bulldogs
10. Arkansas Razorbacks
11. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
12. Florida State Seminoles
13. Tennessee Volunteers
14. Virginia Cavaliers
15. Oklahoma Sooners
16. Ole Miss Rebels
17. Oregon State Beavers
18. Clemson Tigers
19. NC State Wolfpack
20. West Virginia Mountaineers
21. Southern Miss Golden Eagles
22. Texas A&M
23. Miami Hurricanes
24. Florida Gators
25. Kentucky Wildcats