Something peculiar is happening with Ole Miss baseball this preseason.
The Rebels are only ranked in one preseason top 25 ranking and that was at No. 16 in Baseball America’s preseason rankings. D1Baseball.com and the National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) didn’t include the Rebels in their preseason rankings.
That stark difference is eyebrow-raising enough, but it grows even more confusing as preseason honors are given to Ole Miss players.
The latest such honor goes to catcher Austin Fawley who was named to the 2026 Buster Posey Preseason Watch List on Wednesday.
Previously known as the Johnny Bench Award, the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award honors the nation’s top division one collegiate catcher as voted on by head coaches and sports information directors.
Fawley is one of 10 backstops to be named to the Watch List and one of four from the SEC after starting 49 games at catcher last season for the Rebels. He’s expected to return to that starting role this season.
He led the team in slugging percentage in 2025 and finished second on the team in home runs and third in RBI. His 21 home runs were the most by any catcher in the Mike Bianco era and were the third most by a Rebel in a single season.
The junior was named to both the 2025 ABCA/Rawlings All-South Region Team and the 2025 Oxford Regional All-Tournament Team. D1Baseball named him as the eighth best catcher in the country in their 2026 Preseason Top 50 Catcher Rankings.
Joining Fawley as a Rebel receiving some preseason love is ace pitcher Hunter Elliott.
Elliot has been named to multiple preseason All-America teams and was projected to be the SEC Pitcher of the Year by D1Baseball co-owner Kendall Rogers.
So, what’s going on with the Rebels not being ranked?
It’s not because the Rebels’ lack talent. Elliot is one of the best pitchers in the nation and Ole Miss is the only team to have multiple 20-plus home run hitters last season with catcher Austin Fawley, Judd Utermark and Illinois State transfer Daniel Pacella.
It might be because of what’s expected to be a difficult schedule, but every SEC team can say that about the upcoming season.
Maybe the rankings are hedging against Ole Miss’ schedule, or maybe they’re simply missing the point.
With one of the nation’s best pitchers and a lineup built around proven power, the Rebels look far more formidable than their preseason absence suggests.
If anything, the gap between the accolades and the polls only sets the stage for a team with plenty of motivation and more than enough talent to rewrite the narrative once the season begins.
