Most midweek games don’t have a dramatic impact on a team’s postseason resume in college baseball.
Unless, of course, it happens to be a top 25 matchup at a neutral site. Then the result can impact a team’s resume, mostly in a positive way.
No. 25 Ole Miss beating No. 22 Southern Miss 10-3 on Tuesday night did give the Rebels a small boost. They moved up to No. 10 in the all-important RPI rankings after the win and were included as a regional host in the latest Baseball America NCAA Tournament bracket projection.
Whether or not that holds up through the final month of the regular season remains to been seen, but Ole Miss figures to be a dangerous team wherever it goes in the NCAA Tournament.
However, that was the opinion before the Rebels’ beat Southern Miss and it’s shared with Baseball America’s Jacob Rudner.
In Tuesday’s College Baseball Podcast, Rudner talked about Ole Miss and gave his view of the Rebels at this point in the season. (Note: The podcast was released before Tuesday’s game.)
“We’ve talked about this team multiple times now over the course of the season. I don’t know if this is going to shake out or not. They’re only 8-7 in SEC play. They are coming off another strong weekend. 26-11 overall. They have some quality wins as well.
“They are 13th in RPI. They have 8 Quad one wins. But 10 quad one losses. That’s where most of their losses have come from. They haven’t lost to poor teams at all this season. Obviously, play a very tough schedule. It’s the sixth hardest schedule based on strength of schedule in the country.
“It is an older, experienced team that can slug. Hunter Elliott has been sort of the steadying presence at the front of that rotation.
“Cade Townsend is back. I think he’s one of the more exciting pitchers outside that top clump of names in the 2026 draft class. Depending upon which team you talk to, Cade Townsend might be in that mix.
“I like this team. I think they could be really, really dangerous if they get into the tournament. I don’t think they’re going to be a regional host. I guess it’s a possibility depending upon how they end the season now.
“I think this is a really dangerous team if things come together. It wouldn’t shock me if over the next couple of weeks, with good performances and winning their weekend series, they could be a team that creeps back up into that top 15 area and maybe does kind of become a sleeper regional host.
“I like this Ole Miss team maybe more than consensus. I think maybe there’s not many or any prospect names really in that lineup, but they can slug, they can produce runs, and they have a lot of experience. We know that can win down the stretch as we get deep into the season and head into the tournament in college baseball.”
So take the RPI bump, take the host projection, take the national praise. None of it guarantees anything, but all of it points in the same direction.
Ole Miss is playing like a team that’s going to have a say in how this season ends.
And if the Rebels keep winning, the rest of the country is going to have to start listening.
