A lot of attention has been paid to how many wins No. 15 Ole Miss needs to host a NCAA Regional, and Thursday’s result didn’t help that cause.
No. 18 Alabama held off a late Ole Miss comeback to take the series opener 5-4. The teams play again at 6 p.m. Friday, and for regional‑hosting purposes, it should be treated like a must‑win.
But Thursday’s loss also affects a tournament that arrives much sooner than the NCAA bracket.
The SEC Tournament begins Tuesday in Hoover, Ala., and if the season ended today, Ole Miss would be playing in the first game of the event.
BISSETTA BOMB 💣 pic.twitter.com/HM7CUV9UmT
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) May 15, 2026
Based on the current standings, the Rebels would be the No. 9 seed and face No. 16 Missouri at 9:30 a.m. To win the tournament, they would need five wins in six days.
There’s still room to move. Ole Miss could climb at least one spot if Arkansas drops two more games to Kentucky or LSU wins twice against Florida or Georgia beats Auburn twice and the Rebels take the final two against Alabama.
Tennessee is also sitting right behind Ole Miss with an identical 14-14 SEC record. The Vols hold the No. 10 seed for now and would play the No. 15 seed at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Ole Miss owns the head‑to‑head tiebreaker after winning the series in Knoxville, but a Tennessee win over Oklahoma paired with a Rebels loss would flip the two in the standings.
The No. 8 seed in the SEC tournament is the ceiling for Ole Miss, though. Mississippi State currently sits at No. 7 in the standings and holds the tiebreaker against the Rebels.
There’s still time for the standings to shuffle, but not much. Ole Miss has work to do and a few breaks to hope for, and by the end of the weekend the Rebels will know exactly how steep their path in Hoover will be.
SEC Standings (as of Friday AM)
- Georgia 22-6
- Texas 17-10
- Alabama 17-11
- Texas A&M 16-11
- Florida 16-12
- Auburn 16-12
- Mississippi State 16-12
- Arkansas 15-13
- Ole Miss 14-14
- Tennessee 14-14
- Kentucky 13-15
- Oklahoma 13-15
- Vanderbilt 12-16
- LSU 9-19
- South Carolina 7-21
- Missouri 6-22
