Predicting Ole Miss Baseball's Starting 9 Entering 2024 Season
The Ole Miss Rebels are coming off a disappointing 2023 campaign that saw them miss the NCAA Tournament after winning the national championship a year prior.
After not having his contract rolled over following last season, how can head coach Mike Bianco right the ship this spring? His first step will come with roster management, so let’s take our best stab at Ole Miss’ opening day lineup when the time comes in February.
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Starting Pitcher: Xavier Rivas (Friday), Grayson Saunier (Saturday), TBD (Sunday)
Pitching will be a “show-me” for the Rebs in 2024. In 2023, inconsistent and young pitching was the downfall of the Rebels’ SEC campaign. Xavier Rivas was stellar in his last outing of the 2023 season pitching, going a season-high 7 innings with 12 strikeouts, also a season-high.
Grayson Saunier flashed in the non-conference slate, earning the win in the final game of the opening series, but the rest of the season was up and down for the freshman. He will need to be a key contributor on this pitching staff if the Rebels want any chance of returning to Hoover, let alone Omaha.
Sunday is a question mark in my book. Tinkering with the Sunday starter role could be an in-season project. Righty JT Quinn could be an option, and, like Saunier, his freshman campaign wasn’t without its aches and pains. Another option could be Sam Tookoian who was a contributor out of the bullpen in the 2023 season.
Again, he is going into his sophomore season, and the Rebels are young but have experience in the SEC play octagon. Other potential options for Sunday include some newcomers, such as Kyler Carmack (Arkansas State) and Liam Doyle (Coastal Carolina).
Catcher: Campbell Smithwick (Freshman, Oxford (Miss.) High School)
Himself a catcher, Bianco has always built his teams up the middle, starting with the backstop. Ole Miss has churned out catchers who have been highly productive behind and at the plate.
Campbell Smithwick is a freshman out of Oxford High School and was rated the highest overall catcher in Mississippi and the fourth overall high school catcher in the country by Perfect Game. With Calvin Harris off to the White Sox organization and Will Plattner transferring to Alabama, it seems Smithwick will get his opportunity to catch for the Rebels in his freshman season.
First Base: Will Furniss / Jackson Ross (FAU transfer) / Andrew Fischer (Duke transfer)
Furniss was somewhat productive at the plate during his freshman season, slashing .298/.367/.397 with 15 RBIs and three bombs. Another option at first would be FAU transfer Jackson Ross. Ross, who is 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds and could be a more athletic option at first base after he hit .315/.403/.540 and had 90 RBIs and 21 homers in two seasons at FAU.
Andrew Fischer might also be seeing time at first base. Fischer stands 6-foot-1, 200 pounds and hit .289/.404/.598 at Duke last season. Whoever Bianco decides will man first base will need to be a major contributor in the lineup for the Rebs to make some noise in SEC play.
Second Base: Ethan Lege
Lege was a great defender for the Rebels last season, manning the hot corner while Peyton Chatagnier played second. With the addition of a couple of transfer third basemen, I believe second in the spot for Lege.
Lege hit .243/.332/.359 in his first season at Ole Miss, and he is primed for a big second season in this lineup and will need to be a key contributor.
Third Base: Jackson Ross / Andrew Fischer
Ross and Fischer both played third base at previous schools before transferring. Either way, I would imagine both get opportunities in the field and at the plate.
Bianco will ride with the hot bat, so as long as they perform, both will get ample opportunities in the early portion of the season.
Shortstop: Luke Hill (Arizona State transfer)
Hill is the most anticipated transfer portal addition for Ole Miss as he is tasked with filling the shoes of MLB first-round pick Jacob Gonzalez at shortstop.
Hill is from Baton Rouge and played his first season of college baseball at Arizona State. He started every single game for the Sun Devils at short last season and hit .314/.389/.456 with 42 RBIs.
With Hill at shortstop, you add a solidified D1 talent in the six hole with a solid bat. This was a great pick-up for Bianco and Co., and Hill should be a major contributor from the jump.
Left Field: Judd Utermark / John Kramer / Treyson Hughes (Mercer transfer)
Left fielder will be an interesting decision as the past two were huge contributors in Ole Miss’ College World Series run in 2022, Kemp Alderman and Kevin Graham.
Judd Utermark saw limited action last season as he started in nine games, with four of them being in left field. In that span, he hit .135/.179/.297 in 17 games.
While his numbers aren’t there, Utermark is a dirtbag and will compete for at-bats. This team is going to need a sparkplug, and maybe Utermark can play that role.
Additionally, John Kramer has experience in the outfield for the Rebs as he started 12 games in left field last season. Kramer hit .265/.419/.429 in 24 games, and Kramer, who is going into his junior year, could be a viable option in left this upcoming season.
Another option is Mercer transfer Treyson Hughes. Hughes was a first-team All-Conference player in the So-Con, hitting .389/.506/.583. SEC pitching is more formidable than that of the Southern Conference, so if he can translate to this level, the Mercer transfer could be a starter at either corner outfield position.
Center Field: Ethan Groff
Groff started every single game in center field for the Rebels last season. I don’t expect that to change at all in 2024.
Groff’s speed is a huge asset defensively and offensively, and I expect him to have a breakout season and lock down center field.
Right Field: John Kramer / Judd Utermark / Treyson Hughes
All of these guys will get opportunities to get in the early part of the season, but as SEC play starts, continuity within the lineup will be important for this team to be competitive. Whoever performs with consistency will get the spot.
Designated Hitter: The Hot Bat
Will Furniss cemented his role as the designated hitter in the latter half of last season and also hit a bomb off of Paul Skenes in a loss to LSU. This season could see Furniss getting more time at first base.
In my opinion, Bianco should ride the hot bat and find a combination that could be changed depending on the right or left-handed pitching matchup.