Omaha Dreaming: 2026 Southern Miss Baseball Roster Breakdown, Season Preview

After returning several familiar faces and adding some firepower, Southern Miss hopes this is the year the program reaches its ultimate goal.

Southern Miss Golden Eagles players react during the game against the Columbia Lions during a 2025 NCAA Hattiesburg Regional game at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on May 30, 2025. / Matt Bush/Special to USA TODAY / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Despite a devastating ending to the 2025 college baseball season, in which Southern Miss lost a Hattiesburg-hosted regional to Miami, fans remain optimistic about 2026. In Christian Ostrander’s second season as head coach, the Golden Eagles finished with a 47-16 record, including Sun Belt Championship and regional host appearances.

However, if Southern Miss wants to meet both its personal goals and the fan base’s expectations, continuing its historic nine-year 40-win season streak, there are holes that need to be filled.

Golden Eagles Lose Pitching Stud, But Add Depth

Tennessee's Thomas Crabtree (17) pitches during a NCAA baseball game between Tennessee and Hofstra at Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Saturday, February 15, 2025. / Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It goes without saying that losing star RHP JB Middleton to the MLB Draft was, as not many players around the country could come close to hitting him last season. That’s where senior RHP Colby Allen and sophomore LHP Grayden Harris come into the picture.

In 2025, Allen was the main piece out of the Southern Miss bullpen. With a 3.63 ERA, he finished the year with an incredible 77:17 strikeout-to-walk ratio. This year, though, after adding two more pitches to his arsenal, Allen will be the Friday-night starter.

Meanwhile, Harris, who had a stellar freshman campaign, is expected to win the Saturday-night starter position. After a fantastic offseason, Harris is slated for a breakout year.

One of the biggest battles throughout the fall was the coveted Golden Eagles’ Sunday starting role. Redshirt-sophomore RHP McCarty English and junior RHP Thomas Crabtree, a transfer from Tennessee, impressed the most with their starter-worthy potential.

If you look at Ostrander’s first two years at the helm, his team’s biggest weakness down the stretch has been pitching depth. If health permits, that will not be a problem in 2026. In addition to improving pitching depth, Ostrander also hired assistant coach Gunner Leger, formerly at UL-Lafayette, to help manage the pitching staff this year.

Assuming he doesn’t become the midweek starter, expect sophomore RHP Camden Sunstrom to fill the long reliever role. Down the stretch of last season, Sunstrom showcased his potential, most notably when he allowed only one earned run in 4.2 innings pitched against Miami in the Hattiesburg regional.

Since arriving on campus, it was evident that sophomore RHP Camden Clark, a transfer from Pearl River Community College, would be at the back end of the bullpen. His effortless ability to throw off the mound was intimidating all throughout the fall. Keep a close eye out for freshman RHPs Sam Mitchell, KL Farr, and Dylan Causey, too, as they could very well have similar seasons that Sunstrom and Harris experienced in 2025.

Familiar Faces, But Also New Pieces For Infield, Batting Lineup

Southern Miss Golden Eagles infielder Matthew Russo (19) makes a play during a 2025 NCAA Hattiesburg Regional game against the Columbia Lions at Pete Taylor Park in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on May 30, 2025. / Matt Bush/Special to USA TODAY / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As far as the infield goes, senior first baseman Matthew Russo will continue to do what he’s done since he got to campus: be a leader and punish baseballs. Russo’s breakout 2025 campaign caught the nation by surprise. He ended the year with 18 home runs and 57 RBIs, prompting him to be listed on D1Baseball’s top 50 first basemen list (ranked No. 15). On the opposite corner, sophomore third baseman Drey Barrett will look to carry over the momentum from his stellar freshman season, hitting .254 with nine home runs and 30 RBIs.

Naturally, when you lose star players such as second baseman Nick Monistere and shortstop Ozzie Pratt to the pros, it’s bound to create intriguing fall competitions. Luckily, at shortstop, Southern Miss retained both junior Seth Smith and sophomore Ty Long. Throughout the fall, Long seemed to have the edge in the shortstop competition, but Coach Ostrander could choose to play the righty-lefty matchups with both throughout the season.

As far as second base, Southern Miss went into the transfer portal and signed senior Kyle Morrison, a transfer from South Alabama, who hit .294 with nine home runs and 44 RBIs in 2025. Morrison is expected to start at second base, but freshman Braden Maranto, who is not known for his size, showed some promise for the future at the position.

In 2025, we all witnessed the breakout season of speedster OF Jake Cook. Leading off for the Golden Eagles, Cook batted .350 with an incredible on-base percentage of .436, prompting his selection in the third round of the MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. Alongside him, OF Carson Paetow played his last season as a Golden Eagle. Both were tremendous losses to the top of the lineup, leaving a need for more firepower to replace those lost bats.

Senior OF Caleb Stelly transferred into the program after spending multiple seasons with UL-Lafayette. Though he was hurt for the majority of the fall, he impressed when he was in action. Between him and senior utilityman Joey Urban, the projected leadoff hitter who batted .333 with nine home runs in 2025, they will most likely alternate between centerfield and designated hitter.

Additionally, we expect redshirt senior OF Ben Higdon to shift over from left field to right field due to his arm talent. Higdon finished his first year in the program with a .323 batting average with some mammoth home runs down the stretch. Also, while he had a sophomore slump in his 2025 campaign, redshirt-junior OF Davis Gillespie might be due for a breakout in the middle to bottom of the lineup this season if his recent scrimmage performances are any indication. Expect him to be the everyday left fielder. 

Behind the plate, Southern Miss is returning both redshirt-junior Tucker Stockman and junior Lawson Odom. Widely regarded as one of the strengths of this 2026 roster, Stockman is looking to continue his momentum that he created last season, where he batted .332 with a .414 on-base percentage. On top of that, he improved tremendously behind the plate throughout the fall. It was evident throughout scrimmages that he’s going to be a vocal leader on this team, especially when it comes to communicating with the pitchers.

The best programs in the country maintain playable backup catchers. Odom had the opportunity to transfer out to play more, but he chose to stay and pursue the chance to be part of a championship-winning program.

Strong Schedule With Big Goals

Southern Miss head coach Christian Ostrander pulls out JB Middleton (18) during the NCAA Baseball Tournament Knoxville Regional against Tennessee on Sunday, June 2, 2024 in Knoxville, Tenn. / Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

RPI should not be a problem for the Golden Eagles in 2026. Their out-of-conference schedule will consist of big weekend matchups against UC Santa Barbara (at home), Purdue/Oregon State/Baylor (Round Rock, Texas), and Louisiana Tech (away). Additionally, playing Alabama (at home), Mississippi State (at home and away), and Ole Miss (at home and Pearl, Mississippi) during the midweeks will present a tough challenge. It won’t be easy, but playing a challenging schedule like this will only make the players more experienced as the calendar progresses.

Coach Ostrander has already brought postseason baseball back to Hattiesburg, and he’ll aim to do it once again. However, the ultimate goal, or the “pennacle of what we do,” as Coach Ostrander told Southern Miss Golden Eagles On SI in a recent interview, is getting back to Omaha for the College World Series, something Southern Miss has only done once in program history (2009).

The pieces to make that happen appear to be in place. Now, the Golden Eagles just have to go out there and earn it. Southern Miss will open the highly anticipated 2026 season against UC Santa Barbara at 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 13, at Pete Taylor Park.

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