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Ole Miss pitcher Mason Morris selected by Cincinnati Reds in 2025 MLB Draft

11by: Jake Thompson07/14/25JakeThompsonOn3
Syndication: The Montgomery Advertiser
Ole Miss Rebels' Mason Morris (21) pitches as Arkansas Razorbacks take on Ole Miss Rebels during the SEC baseball tournament at Hoover Met in Birmingham, Ala., on Friday, May 23, 2025. Ole Miss Rebels defeated Arkansas Razorbacks 5-2. Mandatory credit: © Jake Crandall/ Montgomery Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

There was a sliver of a chance Ole Miss would get Mason Morris back in a uniform come February but that was dashed on Sunday in the first day of the 2025 MLB Draft.

Morris was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the third round as the 83rd overall pick. The slot value is set at $964,800.

This marks the first Ole Miss player taken in the first three rounds of the MLB Draft since 2023 when shortstop Jacob Gonzalez was drafted in the first round by the Chicago White Sox as the 15th overall pick.

As it pertains to Rebel pitchers Morris is the highest drafted in four years, since Doug Nikhazy’s second round selection by the Cleveland Guardians in 2021.

Morris became the primary reliever for Ole Miss this season, serving as the first arm out of the bullpen behind ace Hunter Elliott on Friday nights. He posted a 5-1 record with a 3.29 ERA and 78 strikeouts over 54.2 innings of work.

He finished second on the team in strikeouts and third in wins despite not starting a single game all season. He set new career highs in all categories after pitching in just 40.2 innings combined over his first two seasons.

“I mean, any time you go from 9180 to average of 96 something, you know, with (Morris’) size and his stuff and you know, he doubled his workload from a year ago, which was a big concern of ours, just because, you know, any time you make that type of jump, velocity wise, it gets a little scary,” Ole Miss pitching Joel Mangrum told Rebel Grove last month.

“Then on top of all that, like you only threw 30 innings the year before, and now all of a sudden you’re throwing 55, which is a pretty big jump. So we were really, really pleased. Coach (Bianco) loved to kind of call on the enforcer and you, obviously, we used them in a bunch of different roles. But yeah, it’s it’s hard to envision Mason, not getting drafted in a spot where he’s almost going to have to sign.”

Morris is the first Ole Miss player drafted this year. The Rounds 4-20 are on Monday starting at 10:30 a.m. CT on MLB.com with infielder Luke Hill the next probable Rebel to be taken off the board followed by Elliott and others.

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