Ole Miss Infielder Luke Hill Ready to 'Show Out,' Win Ballgames in 2025

Ole Miss Rebels infielder Luke Hill is expecting a big year from his team in 2025.

Ole Miss infielder Luke Hill (7) fields, steps on second for an out, and throws to first for a double play in the 2nd inning at Swayze Field in Oxford, Miss., on Friday, Apr. 12, 2024. | Bruce Newman/Special to the Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Ole Miss Rebels are set to open their 2025 baseball season at the Shriners Children's College Showdown in Arlington this weekend, and infielder Luke Hill is hoping his team can prove itself in the early portions of the campaign.

Hill, a former transfer from Arizona State, spent his first season in Oxford getting adjusted to his new surroundings, and he had to work through a slow start to the year before he was able to finish second on the team in batting average (.291) in 2024.

"I think that was just confidence and getting comfortable in the situation," Hill said at Ole Miss baseball's media day this week. "Last year at the beginning of the year wasn't the way I wanted to start it, and I believe I got in my head about certain things and let those affect me.

"With maturity, you kind of learn to say, 'You know what? You've got to move past it,' and that's life. Things happen, and you've got to move on. Taking that confidence into this year is going to be really big, and hoping for a great year."

Hill and the Rebels are set to face some stiff competition in Arlington, opening action on Friday against the Arizona Wildcats before concluding things with matchups against the Texas Longhorns and Clemson Tigers. Still, the junior infielder is not intimidated by the level of competition his team will face this year.

"We get to open up against three top 25 teams," Hill said. "Those are really three solid baseball teams, and we get to go out and compete with the best. I can't wait to show out with this team. We're expecting to win ballgames, and when we win ballgames, it's going to be really fun for the fans."

Unlike its competition this weekend, Ole Miss has not started the season in the top 25, but Hill doesn't spend a lot of time thinking about whether or not the Rebels are underreated by the media. Instead, he thinks that if they take care of business, the rankings and accolades will take care of themselves.

"I don't really pay too much attention to it because, at the end of the day, if you go out and win two out of three or three out of three in Arlington or do what you're supposed to do, people are going to be talking about you, and the whole narrative is flipped," Hill said.

"Let's say we go out in Arlington and have a great weekend, people are going to completely forget about the preseason talk and whatnot. We've just got to put our head down and work and go win some ballgames."

Ole Miss opens its season on Friday against Arizona with a 3 p.m. CT first pitch at Globe Life Field. The games in Arlington will be streamed on FloCollege.