COLUMN: Future of Ole Miss Baseball Hangs in the Balance on Selection Monday
As Monday dawns, more than 20 years of a baseball program stand at a crossroads.
A rare occasion in Mike Bianco's two-plus decades in Oxford, Ole Miss finds itself on the bubble of the 2022 NCAA Tournament, and that may be putting it lightly. At the time of this writing, the Rebels' RPI sits at 39, three spots behind where it was before they took the field on the first night of the SEC Tournament last week.
Bianco's squad unceremoniously exited the tournament with a loss that straddled the final hours of Tuesday and the earliest hours of Wednesday morning. The 3-1 loss to Vanderbilt solidified that the Rebels would not be a shoe-in for the postseason after finding itself as the No. 1 ranked team in the country early in the year.
Despite a fiery charge late in the campaign (the Rebels won eight of their last 10 games), Ole Miss put itself in a hole early, losing five of its first six conference series in a league that is often as unforgiving as it is talented. On paper, that didn't look like it would be the case coming into the season. The pitching was going to be a question mark, sure, but the offense that was led by a now-healthy Tim Elko looked prepared to bludgeon teams into submission throughout the campaign.
That didn't happen.
Carleigh Holt-The Grove Report
Mississippi Rebels head coach Mike Bianco looks on from the dugout during the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Baum-Walker Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports
Carleigh Holt-The Grove Report
There were times when the offense looked about as bad as one can, especially after losing power-hitting left fielder Kevin Graham for a few weeks due to a wrist injury. The pitching rotation didn't take shape until late in the year either, and once it did, it may prove to have been too late.
RHP Derek Diamond began the year as the Friday night starter for the Rebels. By the year's end, he was starting on Sundays, and the two arms who were behind him in the rotation (John Gaddis and Drew McDaniel) were relegated to the bullpen. Dylan DeLucia wound up in the Friday role followed by freshman Hunter Elliott whose southpaw delivery is reminiscent of Doug Nikhazy's days in Oxford.
Their performances in those first two weekend slots helped get the Rebels back into the postseason conversation after they appeared to be dead in the water in late April. Again, better late than never, but was it enough for the Rebels to actually squeak into the postseason?
We don't know that answer yet, but Memorial Day 2022 is a big day for the Ole Miss baseball program. Should it find itself in the tournament, it has a chance to make a run and keep the current coaching staff in place. If it doesn't, that future is likely harder to read.
I'm not an advocate for what should happen with the coaching situation at Ole Miss. Mike Bianco has elevated his program to new heights in his tenure, but the lack of Omaha appearances and relative struggles in the postseason ring loudly among the fanbase, and it's become difficult to ignore.
Will his team be able to slide into the postseason mix and make a run? Or is there possibly a regime change coming in Oxford after today unfolds?
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