No. 15 Ole Miss still hopes it has several weeks of baseball left, but with the College World Series wrapping a little more than a month from now, it’s hard not to look ahead.
In today’s version of college baseball, that work starts early, long before the final out of the season.
A big part of that offseason picture is figuring out which players will be drafted high enough to choose pro ball over returning to Oxford.
Ole Miss has a handful of names who should hear their names called during the three‑day MLB Draft starting July 11, and one of them continues to show up near the top of national projections.
Right‑hander Cade Townsend appeared in multiple first‑round mock drafts released Thursday morning.
RHP Cade Townsend (@OleMissBSB) sat 95-96 T97 w/ riding FB from fast arm. Nasty cutter at 88-91 is the go-to, showed biting 2 pln SL. Low-80s top to bottom CB & CH ~ 1300 RPM to round out mix. Has had a great spring & risen up boards. Soph./'26 elig. @PG_Draft pic.twitter.com/TAFbM37f5j
— PG College Baseball (@PGCollegeBall) April 27, 2026
ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel tabbed Townsend as the No. 27 overall pick to the New York Mets.
“A strong finish could help Townsend move up a lot, but he should have a floor around here,” McDaniel wrote about Townsend. “The Mets should be able to get a few college arms or higher-upside college position players to this pick.”
Sports Illustrated’s Ryan Phillips has Townsend being drafted much higher, at No. 9 overall to the Atlanta Braves.
“Townsend is in the mix to be the first college pitcher taken,” Phillips wrote. “At 6’1″ and 185 pounds, the righty doesn’t have Flora’s projection, but does possess a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and can hit 98 mph. He balances that with two high-spin offerings in a slider in the mid-to-high 80s and a low-80s curveball. His changeup is a work in progress, but he’s been good this year for the Rebels, as he’s going 5–2 with a 3.25 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 77 strikeouts against 14 walks in 55 1/3 innings.”
Last week, MLB Pipeline’s Jim Callis also had Townsend going to Atlanta in his latest mock draft.
“Clubs believe that college pitchers will rise up boards by the time the Draft arrives, and Townsend could move up more than most,” he wrote. “He can hit 98 mph with his fastball and spin a pair of plus breaking balls as well as a plus cutter.”
Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter also had Townsend high in his mock draft last week, going No. 11 to the Washington Nationals.
“Townsend flashed intriguing raw stuff in a swingman role last season at Ole Miss, but a 13.1 percent walk rate led to an ugly 6.35 ERA in 34 innings. He has slashed that to a 6.2 percent walk rate this spring and broken through as one of the top pitchers in the nation, posting a 2.42 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 73-to-13 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 52 innings.”
Cade Townsend (@cadetownsendmlb) has been a revelation for @OleMissBSB 🔴🔵
18.2 IP
0.48 ERA
32 K (44.4 K%)
4 BB (5.6 BB%)
.152 BAA🔗 https://t.co/1bA4YZog3H pic.twitter.com/ahAfdOuJLF
— D1Baseball (@d1baseball) March 12, 2026
Mock drafts will keep shifting as the postseason unfolds, but Townsend’s rise has already been one of the steadier trends of this cycle.
If he keeps throwing the way he has, the only real question left is how high he climbs before draft night.
