Ole Miss has turned pickoffs into an art form, especially with its lefties.
Five different Rebel left‑handers have recorded at least one over the past two seasons, and those five combined for 35.
The numbers are ridiculous. Twenty‑five total pickoffs in 2025. Eighteen more in 2026. Hunter Elliott led the entire country with 13 in 2025.
It has become one of the program’s defining traits, and it’s something opponents have to think about every time a Rebel lefty toes the rubber.
So it makes sense that one of the first things Eli Pillsbury started working on this fall was his pickoff move.
“Absolutely,” Pillsbury said. “I threw one away, actually, in our first intrasquad, so we’re still working on that. But I work on it all the time, and hopefully it’ll be pretty good by the spring.”
Pillsbury arrives in Oxford with a background that’s anything but straightforward.
He’s from Newburgh, Indiana, where Perfect Game rated him the No. 2 left‑handed pitcher in the state coming out of Castle High School.
He started his college career at John A. Logan, striking out 69 batters across two seasons as a reliever.
He spent 2025 at NC State without appearing in a game, then landed at Jacksonville State, where everything changed.
Jacksonville State turned him into a Friday‑night starter, and he responded with a 6‑3 record, a 4.07 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 77⅓ innings.
He made 16 starts, logged five quality outings and reached double‑digit strikeouts three times. By the end of the season, he was a First Team All‑Conference USA pitcher.
That’s the résumé Ole Miss targeted, and it’s why Pillsbury said the decision to transfer wasn’t complicated.
“I came down here and loved Oxford,” he said. “I love the place. Obviously, it’s great baseball and the best conference in America. Getting to play in front of 10,000 at Swayze, it’s hard to pass that up.”
Fall ball for him is about blending in, earning trust and sharpening the edges of his game.
“Just getting to know my teammates, earning respect from the guys, working hard every single day and trying to work as hard as I can to get better myself,” Pillsbury said. “All the guys are working really hard to get better, and I think that’s everybody’s goal in the fall.”
He isn’t making any public declarations about his role, but the reality is obvious.
Pillsbury is one of the most experienced arms on the roster, and Ole Miss didn’t bring him in to be a developmental project.
“I’m not really looking into all that right now,” he said. “I’m just trying to work hard and get better every day, just like my teammates are. However that shakes out in the spring is how it’ll shake out.”
Still, he knows what needs to improve for him to thrive in the SEC. The fastball needs a tick more velocity. The changeup needs more consistency. Another pitch might help him navigate deeper lineups.
“I’m trying to throw a little bit harder than I did last year, improve the quality of my changeup and maybe add another pitch,” he said.
One thing already working in his favor is his relationship with pitching coach Joel Mangrum.
“Joel and I have a really good relationship,” Pillsbury said. “He was a big part of why I decided to come here, and it has been great, especially the stuff he brings from the pro ball side. Just knowing how to work with a bunch of different guys has helped me out a lot.”
Ole Miss isn’t guessing with this one.
Pillsbury spent an entire Division I season taking the ball on Fridays and proved he could handle six or seven innings while missing bats.
The question now is how his stuff plays against SEC lineups. An 89‑90 mph fastball leaves less room for mistakes, but his strikeout rate, command profile and ability to produce elite individual starts suggest he wasn’t simply beating weaker competition.
He’s a prime weekend‑rotation candidate. And if the pickoff move comes along the way Ole Miss hopes, he’ll fit right in.
