If you’re looking for reasons Ole Miss has a real shot to make noise in Omaha, start with the obvious one.
The Rebels might have the best 1-2 punch in the College World Series, and they’re bringing it with them at exactly the right time.
Taylor Rabe and Cade Townsend have been good all year, but the version of them that’s heading into the CWS looks a lot like the kind of duo that can carry a team through a bracket. And if you want a sense of how the scouting world sees them, Jacob Rudner of Baseball America summed it up pretty well in appearance on the Rebel Yell Hotline this week.
“There are some evaluators who believe that he has positioned himself as the best pitcher, from a draft standpoint, on that entire roster,” Rudner said of Rabe.
That’s saying something when the other guy is a projected top 10 pick.
The one that got us to Olemaha pic.twitter.com/MEmtVJ3rmY
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) June 8, 2026
Rabe has earned the extra attention. His outing against Auburn in the Super Regional wasn’t just good, it was the kind of performance that changes the way people talk about a pitcher. He pitched Ole Miss into the College World Series with the confidence of someone who has been doing this for years, not a draft-eligible sophomore who only recently moved into the weekend rotation.
He’s been phenomenal since joining the starting group, and the numbers back it up. A fastball that’s touched 99. A cutter with a 40 percent miss rate. A 30.6 percent miss rate on the heater.
Strike throwing. Composure. Competitiveness. All the things you want from a frontline arm in June.
“If I were a pro team, I would be very eager to draft Taylor Rabe if it was in the right spot toward the back, maybe even a little bit closer toward the middle of the first round,” Rudner said. “Certainly in the second round if he was still there.”
That’s not hype. That’s evaluation.
And yet, Rabe isn’t doing this alone. Townsend has been the steady, expected star all season. He entered the year with first round buzz and never really left that space. He’s No. 11 on D1Baseball’s 2026 draft board for a reason. Big stuff. Big projection. Big moments. He’s been the guy Ole Miss could pencil in every weekend and feel good about it.
“Cade Townsend has, for the entire year, kind of been in this first- or second-round conversation,” Rudner said. “He has big stuff. The projection for him going into the season was that he was going to be a major contributor.”
What makes this duo so dangerous is that they complement each other. Townsend gives you the profile of a future pro who has looked the part since February. Rabe gives you the profile of a future pro who has surged into that same space by June. One expected. One earned. Both equally terrifying for opposing lineups.
And that’s before you even get to Hunter Elliott, who is likely to start Game 1 against North Carolina and is the last remaining piece of the 2022 national title team.
When Elliott is your tone setter and Rabe and Townsend are waiting behind him, that’s not just depth. That’s a problem for everyone else.
“It really has been one of the most pro-looking units in the country for the entire season,” Rudner said.
When you have two arms like Rabe and Townsend lined up for Games 2 and 3, you walk into the College World Series with a real chance to stay a while.
And Ole Miss has that chance because its 1-2 punch might be as good as any team in the field.
Rebel fans, come out to Swayze for the Omaha Send Off on Wednesday!
Fans can park in Lot H and Lot C across from the baseball stadium! pic.twitter.com/kJoYmjE6ur
— Ole Miss Baseball (@OleMissBSB) June 9, 2026
