Ole Miss Lands Official Visit With Brother of SEC Quarterback

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The Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball team is getting ready to start another season under head coach Chris Beard.
But even amid preparations for the upcoming 2026-27 campaign, Beard and the coaching staff are staying diligent on the recruiting trail.
Like many programs, Ole Miss has yet to land its first commitment in the 2028 cycle but the Rebels are looking to change that in a major way.
Ole Miss Schedules Visit with 5-Star Guard Tai Bell

Ole Miss is set to host 2028 five-star guard Tai Bell for an official visit during the weekend of Oct. 30, per reports from college basketball reporter Sam Kayser.
This could mean that Bell will join the coaching staff when the Rebels football team hosts the Auburn Tigers at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium for a Halloween matchup that Saturday.
Bell's older brother, Dia Bell, is currently a true freshman with the Texas Longhorns, who the Rebels play in Austin on Oct 24, a week prior to Tai Bell's visit with Ole Miss in Oxford. As if this connection didn't already make Texas a team to watch in the recruitment, Sean Miller and the Longhorns made that interest official by officially offering Tai Bell this past May.
But more importantly, Bell is also the son of former NBA All-Defensive player Raja Bell, who spent 12 years in the league. It's clear where Tai Bell gets his ability from and why he's coveted by some many different elite programs.
Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard might have put it best while speaking about the magic of Oxford with the SEC Network during SEC Media Days on Tuesday in Birmingham, AL. These are the kind of comments that should be one of the things the coaching staff tells recruits who could be leaning toward the Rebels.
"Every place we've ever coached, we've really enjoyed living," Beard said. "It's not coaching speak when I say this. Oxford's different, unlike anywhere I've ever lived. True college town. The university is the pulse of the city. Great people. Not a lot of distractions. So guys like Roman (Siulepa), like Pat (Pinkins), and like Bud (Clark) can work on their craft. But on the other side of the coin, never a dull moment in Oxford. Did you guys know? So it's just a great place to play basketball, coach basketball. It's a place where the people kind of define it."
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Zach Dimmitt is the Deputy Editor Ole Miss Rebels On SI. He also contributes as a writer for multiple other On SI channels. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Dimmitt received his Bachelor’s Degree in journalism. He originally started with SI’s Fan Nation network in 2021, providing extensive coverage of the NFL and NBA along with college football and basketball. In that time, Dimmitt has published thousands of stories and has reached millions of people across multiple fan bases. You can follow him on X at @ZachDimmitt7