WATCH: Ole Miss captain Tim Elko describes his emotions following historic CWS title victory
The Ole Miss Rebels’ baseball team officially won their first national crown in school history on Sunday evening after defeating the Oklahoma Sooners 4-2 in Game 2 of their best-of-three matchup in the CWS Final. There were a number of players that were crucial to their historic run, one of those being their team captain, Tim Elko. The Rebels’ slugger made some history of his own, becoming the first player in Ole Miss history with two home runs in the College World Series. Following the win on Sunday, Elko spoke with Michella Chester to describe his emotions.
“Uhh, it’s really hard to put into words. I prayed. I prayed after the season last year and asked God what I should do and he told me that my job wasn’t done here yet and it’s because of him all this happened. Umm, I can’t thank him enough and he gives me the strength every day to push forward. But, yeah, it sure does feel good to be a national champion,” Elko said in his emotional interview.
He spoke about what it meant for the team to bring Ole Miss their first college baseball national championship. “Means the world. All the past Rebels. All the Rebels across the country that cheer us on all year round. This is for them and this is for this team. We worked so hard. We overcame so much this year. An unbelievable story. And we just never stopped fighting. We never stopped fighting and now we’re national champs,” Elko said.
The Rebels’ captain spoke a little bit about what made this team so special. “We have so much belief. We knew we could get to this point. We have so much belief in ourselves and each other. It really showed. It really showed,” the Ole Miss slugger said.
Chester asked Elko if he’d want the school to build a Tim Elko statue in Oxford. He declined a statue of just himself and instead wanted one of the entire team.
“I want a statue of us holding up that national championship trophy. That’s what I want,” he said.
In the Rebels’ 10-3 victory over the Sooners on Saturday, Elko swatted a home run, going 4-for-5 at the plate with one RBI.
Ole Miss was the final team to get the call for the 2022 NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday. Now, they’re the final team standing at the College World Series, claiming college baseball’s most coveted prize.
On3’s Griffin McVeigh also contributed to this article.