WATCH: Tim Elko details emotions overcoming tough season to win CWS title
The road to the College World Series title was filled with bumps for Tim Elko and Ole Miss. The Rebels were not anyone’s favorite to take home the trophy at the start of the NCAA Tournament.
In fact, they entered the field of 64 as one of the last four teams in, playing their entire path to the championship on the road. The Rebels remained undeterred though, going undefeated in both Regionals and Super Regionals to reach Omaha. They continued their dominant play through the College World Series, culminating it Sunday with a 4-2 victory against Oklahoma.
As confetti rained down on Elko and his teammates, he thought about the journey and how much determination it took to reach this point. But even having experienced it for himself, he struggled to find the right words to say just moments after leading Ole Miss to its first CWS title in program history.
“It’s hard to put into words,” he told Hurrdat Sports postgame. “We overcame just about as much as you can overcome this year. We were pretty down in the dumps there halfway through the season and we just kept believing and fighting all the way through and through. I remember after the Mississippi State series, I was praying in my car. I was crying and God just told me one thing he kept putting in my head. He said, ‘Believe.’ I harped on that to our guys and they did it. We did it. We kept believing and we’re national champs.”
Elko ends his senior year at Ole Miss with 24 home runs, the most of any player during a single season in school history. His 46 career home runs also rank second all-time in Rebels history. Five of those home runs came during the NCAA Tournament this year, including a game against Arizona in Regional play during which he hit three long balls.
With those kinds of numbers and the recent title to his name, Tim Elko is sure to be forever remembered in Ole Miss history.