Rebel Roundabout: Ole Miss baseball goes for third in a row against rival Mississippi State
Ole Miss baseball has had little to celebrate this season.
One of the few silver linings — and it’s certainly minuscule — was the first series win for the Rebels over their in-state rival, Mississippi State, in nearly a decade.
Three’s a streak, boys.
Ole Miss will go for as many in a row straight against Mississippi State when the teams meet for their annual Governor’s Cup game in Pearl on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
The Rebels (23-20, 7-14 SEC) won one of three over No. 18 Alabama last weekend. Mississippi State (29-15, 12-9) is ranked No. 16 nationally and fresh off taking two of three from Vanderbilt.
“One of the things we always said about (the 2022, title-winning) team was they showed up every day,” Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco said. “They were very consistent in the way they approached practice, the game, everything. This team is too inconsistent. We’re too much Jekyll and Hyde.
“The good news is that we have it in us to play well.”
Ole Miss was also 7-14 in the SEC when the Rebels rallied off enough win to punch their ticket to the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Ole Miss, in legendary fashion, won 10 of 11 postseason games as the last team named to the field for its first-ever national championship. Mississippi State captured its first title in 2021.
SLAVIC SELECTED FOR 2024 NCAA INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
Ole Miss men’s tennis senior Nikola Slavic has been invited to participate in the 2024 NCAA Individual Championships singles draw.
Slavic this season was a first-team All-SEC selection. He’s earned all-league honors four years in a row. Individuals runs from May 20-25 in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Slavic had a 19-8 overall singles in 2023-24, including a 14-6 mark in dual matches. He was 21-14 in doubles, appearing only in No. 1 matchups in both singles and doubles.
Slavic is a native of Stockholm, Sweden. He currently leads Ole Miss in ranked singles wins (4) and ranked doubles wins (3).
OLE MISS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SIGNS UCLA’S CHRISTEEN IWUALA
Former Top 50 recruit Christeen Iwuala on Tuesday became the fifth newcomer for Ole Miss women’s basketball next season.
She’s the third transfer, joining DeeDee Hagemann (Michigan State) and Starr Jacobs (UT-Arlington) from the portal.
“Christeen exemplifies everything I want in a student-athlete on my team,” Ole Miss head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said in a statement. “Tough, physical, smart, charismatic and respectful. We’re grateful to have her with us, and we’re committed to helping her blossom on and off the court.”
Iwuala spent the previous two seasons at UCLA. She averaged 3.3 points per game in 68 appearances and shot 47.5 percent from the floor. She scored double-digit points four times.
AROUND THE SQUARE
Ole Miss track and field All-American senior McKenzie Long is the co-SEC Women’s Runner of the Week. Long won the 200-meter dash at the LSU Invitational last weekend, clocking a 22.21 (+2.2) time that’s now good for a three-way tie for the NCAA lead this season. … The USTFCCCA Rating Index released its Week 6 rankings this week. Ole Miss women’s track and field came in at No. 12. … Ole Miss men’s tennis senior Lukas Engelhardt this week became just the sixth Rebel ever recognized as an SEC H. Boyd McWhorter Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He’s the first Rebel since 2016. He receives a $20,000 post-graduate scholarship.
