No. 5 Ole Miss baseball set to kick off 2022 season against Charleston Southern

The college baseball season begins today and No. 5 Ole Miss gets their 2022 campaign started with a weekend series against Charleston Southern and a familiar face to the program in head coach Marc MacMillan.

With the returning offense that led the SEC a season ago and depth within a pitching staff that still has question marks entering this year, the Rebels have the pieces needed to make a run to the College World Series that has eluded them since getting back to Omaha in 2014.

Confidence is not lacking within the Rebels clubhouse. Shortstop Jacob Gonzalez was blunt and point blank about what the team’s goals are this spring.

“I think the main goal for us is to win a national championship,” Gonzalez said. “That’s everyone’s goal but I think specifically for us, that’s our goal this year because we were one game away from making it to the World Series and that hurt. We’re going to try and make it big this year.”

Having the experience that is returning, especially at the plate, is cause for cautious optimism and lofty expectations. A team of the caliber of the Rebels who is does not have Omaha as a goal would seem to have their priorities out of order.

Still, Omaha is that elephant in the corner of the room that grows larger every season that the Rebels fail to make it. It only compounded the issue when Mississippi State made their national championship run last June.

Getting a magical postseason run of their own starts on Friday with the Buccaneers coming to Oxford with one of the Rebels former assistant coaches at the helm.

MacMillan worked alongside Mike Bianco for seven seasons, spending the final four as the volunteer assistant coach. He was hired in May 2020 to become the Buccaneers next head coach, MacMillan’s first head coaching gig.

The opening-weekend series between Bianco and MacMillan’s clubs came together after the latter ended up in Charleston, S.C. to years ago.

“I’ve texted him a couple times (and) he congratulated me on the USA (head coach assignment),” Bianco said last week regarding any recent communication with MacMillan. “I try to let them do their deal. We’re going to have a time where we’ll sit down for breakfast when he gets here.

“So, I’m going to see him. It’s friendly. But beyond that, you know, what is there to talk about? We’re both getting ready for the season and I know he’s like me trying to figure out the rotation, trying to figure out lineups. We got jobs to do.”

There is a heavy Mississippi flavor within the Buccaneers team with seven players from the Magnolia State, including Friday starter Bryce Brock. The left-hander from Hernando, Miss. is entering his first season with the Buccaneers after transferring from Hinds Community College.

In fact, all three pitchers for the weekend are new to the Buccaneers with Saturday starter Jerry Couch coming in from LSU Eunice and Sunday starter Evan Truitt is a true freshman from Berlin, Md.

First pitch for Friday’s season opener is set for 4 p.m. CT. Saturday and Sunday’s game will begin at 1:30 p.m. CT and all three games will air on SEC Network+.