Return of Offense, Deep Pitching Staff Highlight Ole Miss Baseball Entering 2022 Season

OXFORD, Miss. -- Some new faces joined with an overwhelming sense of familiarity are the primary storylines for Ole Miss baseball as it opened spring practice on Friday.

Numerous Rebels were made available to the media on Friday prior to their first intrasquad scrimmage, and with their starting nine returning from 2021, the biggest question marks entering the season have surrounded the weekend rotation following the departure of Doug Nikhazy and Gunnar Hoglund in the MLB Draft.

It's expected that Derek Diamond will be one part of the rotation, but he will likely be joined by some newcomers like transfers Jack Washburn (Oregon State) and John Gaddis (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi).

"I thought we had a good fall," Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco said. "Derek Diamond was terrific, but a lot of guys threw well. John Gaddis, Jack Dougherty, Jack Washburn. I think the biggest concern now is: in what order?"

Although Ole Miss lost Nikhazy and Hoglund to the draft last season, Bianco and many of his players believe that the 2022 pitching staff may be deeper than it was a year ago thanks to some of the new additions and the maturation of pieces from 2021.

"I think we have more options than we did last year," Bianco said. "We were so top-heavy, and when [Nikhazy and Hoglund] were out there, we were really good. Trying to be more consistent, but we feel good about it."

Along with Gaddis and Washburn, there was also mention of freshman Hunter Elliott out of Tupelo, Mississippi, among the newcomers on the mound who are expected to make an impact.

"One of the things we saw in the fall is that we're so good offensively that their results can be a little misleading," Bianco said. "When we faced outside competition, we pitched great. In the intrasquad games, we really struggled. We just need them to give us a chance to win."

"This year, I think we have a lot more depth," utility player Justin Bench said. "Our pitchers are all great arms. I think that's going to bring us a long way."

Bench has been moved around a lot in his Ole Miss career, and 2022 will likely be no exception. He has been seeing reps in both the infield and outfield along with TJ McCants.

"Third base or centerfield is my guess," Bench said. "We'll see where all the pieces fit in, but I'm good playing anywhere. Everybody can play, and you know you're going to get the best out of them."

The sense of familiarity, and what will likely anchor this Ole Miss team early in the season, comes from its versatile offense. The Rebels hit .288 as a team last year and swatted 85 home runs, and they return their entire lineup from a season ago.

"You feel good when you return an offense that's really good," Bianco said. "They've got to go do it again. There are ebbs and flows. The goal for them is to be really consistent, and I think they can."

"Everyone knows we have a good offense," Bench said. "The power and consistency are there. One through nine, you know we're going to have a good at-bat."

Like the presumed depth of the pitching staff, the offense is known to be deep heading into 2022 along with being multi-faceted.

"We're going to have a starting nine out there and four or five guys on the bench who are just as capable of doing what the starting nine is doing," infielder Ben Van Cleve said. "Plenty of guys."

Chief among that "plenty of guys" is returning captain Tim Elko who, despite tearing his ACL in 2021, returned with a flurry last season and became one of the biggest stories in college baseball.

"That guy's amazing," second baseman Peyton Chatagnier said. "It's crazy what he can do. He's going to be Elko. He'll be just fine."

Van Cleve also admitted that, despite the preseason hype that has launched the Rebels into the top 10 of three major polls, that is not his focus in his final year of eligibility.

"There's a lot of excitement around here," Van Cleve said. "I'm sure everybody has seen the preseason polls, but we don't really look much into that. We're just happy with what we have, and we're excited to work this spring. There's nothing more I want to do than make it to Omaha."

Ole Miss will begin its season on Feb. 18-20 when it plays host to Charleston Southern at Swayze Field.

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