After enduring their second-straight losing season — their first stretch of such under head coach Mike Bianco — in 2024 and posting a 27-29 record, Ole Miss baseball received an (almost) entire makeover this offseason.
First the Rebels opted to retain their head coach for a 25th season and then went straight to work, bringing in Ole Miss’ first pitching coach to the staff. The Rebels announced their addition of first-year pitching coach Joel Mangrum on June 13, who came to Oxford following six seasons (four as Minor League pitching coordinator) with the Cleveland Guardians organization.
10 days prior to Mangrum’s hiring a trio of Rebels entered the NCAA transfer portal (Seth Farni, Trenton Lyons, Gabe Smith), and had six more enter before landing their first commitment from BYU catcher Collin Reuter on June 23.
Ole Miss went on to lose five more transfers just ahead of the deadline, which included some of their few bright spots from the 2024 season. The Rebels lost about eight regular starters/contributors through the portal, on top of four-five regulars who were out of eligibility.
However, after what felt like a week straight of departing news, the Rebels started to turn the corner on acquiring more talent for their 2025 roster.