There’s something funny about the way college baseball works right now.
Ole Miss is in Omaha, playing on the biggest stage the sport has to offer, the place every team spends 11 months trying to reach.
It should be the singular focus of everyone in the program. And yet, because the calendar is what it is, the Rebels spent part of their Friday landing two transfer portal commitments before taking the field for a College World Series game.
It shouldn’t be this way, but here we are. You can be preparing for North Carolina in front of 24,000 people and also refreshing your phone to see if a first baseman from Louisiana Tech has made it official.
Maybe that’s why the last two CWS fields haven’t had a repeat participant. Maybe being in Omaha is a disadvantage when half the country is hosting portal visits and stacking Zoom calls.
Or maybe it’s the opposite. Maybe being in Omaha is the best recruiting pitch you can make. “Look where we are. Look where you could be.”
Either way, Ole Miss added two pieces for 2027 on the same day it was trying to extend its 2026 season.
Trey Hawsey fills a massive need
The headliner is Louisiana Tech first baseman Trey Hawsey, an All-Conference USA hitter who checks every box Ole Miss needs to replace Will Furniss.
Hawsey hit .335 with 15 home runs this season and reached base at a .400 clip or better in both of his years in Ruston. He started all 58 games, led the Bulldogs in multi-hit games, and put together a 26-game on-base streak.
2 homers tonight, 15 for the year, 24 for his career.
Trey Hawsey had himself a night.#HBTD pic.twitter.com/Vxn0xOSDfG
— Kyle Schass (@KyleSchass) May 16, 2026
He’s physical at 6-foot-4, he hits for power, he hits for average, and he walks. That’s a profile that fits anywhere, but it especially fits a lineup that could lose Furniss, Judd Utermark, and Tristan Bissetta in the same offseason.
Hawsey isn’t a luxury. He’s a necessity.
Brent Stukes gives Ole Miss a rotation option it badly needs
The other addition, USC Upstate right-hander Brent Stukes, is the kind of arm you take every time. He started 16 games, logged 78 innings, and struck out 56. The strikeout rate isn’t eye-popping, but the workload is. Ole Miss could lose its entire weekend rotation, and even if it doesn’t, the Rebels need innings.
I will be entering the transfer portal with 1 year of eligibility remaining.
Fastball 90-93 (top 94)
Cutter 87-89
Slider 81-85
Change up 84-8778 innings at USC Upstate in 16 starts
Phone number 803-622-8173 pic.twitter.com/nLqijutvzV
— Brent Stukes (@BrentStukes3) June 5, 2026
Stukes chose Ole Miss over Alabama, Coastal Carolina, UCF, Missouri, Pittsburgh, and Virginia Tech. That’s a competitive recruiting win, especially for a pitcher who profiles as someone who can stabilize the middle of a rotation or give you a dependable Sunday.
The bigger picture: Ole Miss has a lot of decisions coming
This is only the start. The Rebels will have to navigate the MLB Draft with Hunter Elliott, Austin Fawley, Dom Decker, and others. They’ll have to rebuild the middle of the order and possibly the entire rotation.
That’s why Friday mattered. Not just the game, but the commitments.
Ole Miss isn’t waiting to see how the season ends. It can’t. No one in college baseball can.
The strange truth of the sport right now
This is the weird reality of the modern calendar. You can be in Omaha, soaking in the pinnacle of the sport, and still be building next year’s roster between batting practice and first pitch. It’s not ideal. It’s not romantic. But in 2026, that’s just part of the deal.
