No. 15 Ole Miss will play its final midweek game of the 2026 season Tuesday against UT Martin.
At a time when midweek games across the country are getting cancelled, the Rebels putting their postseason resume on the line against a team ranked No. 237 in NCAA RPI is noteworthy.
Especially after the memo issued by NCAA Division I Baseball Oversight Committee chairperson Michael Alford. The full text is below, but the short version is simple: canceling midweek games to protect your RPI could hurt your tournament seeding.
Alford wrote:
“On behalf of the NCAA Division I Baseball Oversight Committee, Championship Subcommittee, I wanted to let you know that we are concerned with the practice of cancelling regular season games for reasons other than inclement weather. It is not the intent or spirit of the game to adjust scheduled games in an attempt to strategically impact selection data or metrics.
“As you are aware, when selecting teams for the championship, the championship subcommittee weighs all the available data and the complete body of work. The subcommittee has kept, and will continue to keep, a watchful eye on team schedules and any known reasons for any cancellation. During the subcommittee’s subjective evaluation of teams, games cancelled to avoid the impact on mathematical metrics will be discussed and could have a negative impact on the subcommittee’s evaluation of a team.
“Best of luck to you and your institution for the rest of the college baseball season!”
— Jordon Banfield (@JCBanfield) May 11, 2026
Ole Miss never gave any indication it was considering canceling Tuesday’s game. There weren’t message‑board rumors or social‑media whispers. There wasn’t much speculation at all. If there was even a hint of internal discussion, Alford’s memo likely shut it down.
But it didn’t stop everyone.
Kentucky announced after the memo went public that it was canceling its midweek game against Northern Kentucky. Boston College and Virginia Tech also canceled theirs, but let’s focus on the SEC example.
Kentucky’s statement read:
“Our team faced multiple extended delays over the weekend, extensive travel days and challenging rest and recovery periods. We play a critically important conference series beginning Thursday that demands putting our student-athletes in the best position possible.”
Statement: Our team faced multiple extended delays over the weekend, extensive travel days and challenging rest and recovery periods. We play a critically important conference series beginning Thursday that demands putting our student-athletes in the best position possible. https://t.co/sRdNTswv9m
— Kentucky Baseball (@UKBaseball) May 11, 2026
That’s probably the cleanest way to admit you’re canceling because of RPI risk without actually saying it. Every team deals with travel. Every team deals with rest and recovery. And Kentucky plays in the SEC, where every weekend is a top‑25 matchup. The only difference between previous instances and now is the timing.
The Wildcats host No. 12 Arkansas this weekend in the regular‑season finale and sit squarely on the at‑large bubble. A loss to Northern Kentucky, ranked No. 276 in RPI, would pop that bubble instantly.
Which brings us back to Ole Miss.
The Rebels don’t have that problem. They’re not fighting for their postseason lives. They’re not trying to protect a fragile resume. They’re not looking for a way out of a game against a low‑RPI opponent. They’re simply playing the schedule they agreed to play, memo or no memo.
Not every team can say that right now. Some are scrambling. Some are calculating. Some are cancelling.
The Rebels are playing.
