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MLB Draft week approaching with big Ole Miss implications across the board

Ben Garrettby:Ben Garrett•07/05/25•

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The makeup of the Ole Miss baseball roster will be determined in no small part by the 2025 MLB Draft in eight days. 

Ole Miss is likely to retain Will Furniss, Judd Utermark and others. The Rebels want Hunter Elliott back, too, and the left-handed Rebel ace is open to one final run as a Rebel. However, the likeliest outcome is he’ll be drafted high enough to sign. 

Star shortstop Luke Hill is an early-round projection, as is Mason Morris, the Rebels’ top reliever last season. Illinois State transfer Daniel Pacella carries some draft risk, too.

Most every member of next year’s team is in Oxford and going through summer workouts, including Utermark and Furniss. Pacella is rooming with Furniss.

“The fact they still want to come back says a lot to me,” Pacella told the Ole Miss Spirit this week. “These guys produced [and] have draft risk but they’re like, ‘No, I want to be here. This is where my home is.’ That was really impressive to me, and it kind of really convinced me this is the place for me.”

RELATED: Pacella, Furniss heavily leaning Ole Miss: ‘It’d take a lot’ and ‘would be shocking’ to turn pro

Pacella is one of eight transfers signed by Ole Miss so far this off-season. 

The Rebels aren’t necessarily done, either. They can now simply be selective for the portal’s best available players after addressing their primary needs. 

Pacella is one of the biggest pieces. He’s slotted for the middle of the order after an impressive three-year stint at Illinois State.

“[Ole Miss] said they loved my consistency at Illinois State for all three years — that it built on itself each and every year,” Pacella said. “They said middle of the order is what they want me to slide into and be a big asset for the group. 

“I absolutely love it. I love being a part of a lineup that is really strong, and that’s what Ole Miss baseball has. It’s really exciting to be able to hit with some of the big boys.” 

Pacella committed to Kentucky as as sophomore in high school. He went to Illinois State so he could play every day and develop.

Pacella really came on the last two seasons as a back-to-back All-MVC selection.

He started all 56 games in left field for the Redbirds in 2025. Pacella totaled 59 RBI, the seventh-most in a single season in program history, and led the team with a .355 batting average.

Pacella had 41 extra-base hits, including 20 home runs, the second-most in a single season for a Redbird. He finished second all-time at Illinois State in career home runs (45) and RBI (169).

“I always had the power and the strength and that was something I wanted to get to more often,” Pacella said of the adjustments he made at Illinois State. “We’d talk about, especially at Illinois State, ‘Hey, you can hit the ball as hard as anyone, but how can we see that on a daily basis?’ That meant cutting down some of the swing and miss, cutting down some of that chase percentage. 

“Really what that came from was making it a lot simpler for me in the box. I had a little bit more moving parts, I was a bigger leg-kick guy. Coming in as a freshman I was like, ‘Why do I have all this going on if I’m not making contact with the baseball?’ That was the big thing for me — making things simpler, making some adjustments. Once I found it, it’s stuck since. Putting the foot down, seeing the baseball and delivering a good bat to the baseball.”

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