Tim Elko on CWS title win: An honor to be a part of the best team in Ole Miss history

The age-old tale of the veteran college star sticking around campus for one more season with aspirations national championship aspirations has been told on every NCAA Division I campus in the country. For Ole Miss star Tim Elko – that dream became reality Sunday.

“I mean, it’s hard to put into words,” Elko said following the Rebels’ national championship victory over Oklahoma in the College World Series Final. “No, really, me and Kev and people that maybe could have gone, we came back one more year to play with the guys sitting up here with me and that we’re on the field today.

“We came back to play one more time as a team and go for the shot to win a national championship, and obviously we did that. It feels amazing.”

In the Rebels’ 10-3 victory over the Sooners on Saturday, Elko belted a home run, going 4-for-5 at the plate with two RBI’s. He couldn’t find that same magic at the plate in Game 2, going 0-4 and being struck out twice.

Elko couldn’t care less about his poor Game 2 performance. Ole Miss, who have battled adversity all season, 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. Elko couldn’t be more elated with his decision to come back to Oxford for his team’s historic national title run.

“There’s so much to be said about how much we overcame this year, how much we had to fight through, how much we had to pick each other up and never let ourselves get too down,” Elko said. “This story of our season is going to be told for years and years and years to come.

“This is the best Ole Miss baseball team in history, and it feels so good, and it’s an honor to be a part of it.”

The road for Elko wasn’t always sunshine and home runs. He hit .214 with three total home runs across his first two years with the Rebels, and was off to a hot start in 2020 with a .354 average, three home runs and 15 RBI before the pandemic ended the season prematurely.

In 2021, Elko proved his worth, batting .325 with 16 home runs and 55 RBI’s. In the middle of that season, he suffered a torn ACL, but miraculously returned just a month later, and continued mashing at the plate while clearly battling through pain in his knee.

Rested up and healthier as a senior and, Elko hit .300 and totaled 24 home runs and 75 RBIs en route to finishing his collegiate career as a national champion.