Ole Miss 2025 SEC Baseball Tournament Exit Interview

(Ole Miss Athletics photo)

By Jake Mastroianni

SEC Tournament Results: W, 3-1 vs. Florida; W, 5-2 vs. Arkansas; W, 2-0 vs. LSU; L, 3-2 vs. Vanderbilt

Record: 40-19

Perhaps the best turnaround story in the SEC this year was Ole Miss. After finishing 2024 with a losing overall record and going just 11-19 in the SEC, head coach Mike Bianco went to work and did a great job turning things around. 

They finished the regular season in the middle of the pack, both offensively and on the pitching side, with a .288 team average (8th) and 4.71 ERA (10th). 

A lot was made in the offseason about the transfers coming in needing to be the sparks to turn the lineup around. And while guys like Mitchell Sanford (transfer from New Orleans) and Isaac Humphrey (transfer from Louisville) were huge, it was a lot of the returning players who led the charge. 

Luke Hill took his game to the next level, batting .335 with a .462 on-base percentage, 8 home runs, 60 runs scored, and 18 stolen bases. 

Judd Utermark raised his batting average by 50 points and his slugging percentage by 119 points from 2024 to 2025, finishing with 11 doubles, 16 home runs, and 60 RBI. 

Will Furniss was able to raise his average 36 points from 2024 and hit a few more home runs. 

Suddenly, Bianco had a very deep lineup to work with, having six guys in the lineup finish with double-digit home runs. 

On the pitching side, Hunter Elliott returned after essentially missing two straight seasons due to injury, and he looked just as good as when he left, posting a 3.09 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in 78.2 innings with 94 strikeouts and a .188 batting average against. 

Riley Maddox and Mason Nichols weren’t quite as consistent in the weekend rotation, but they did a good job of posting and keeping the team in games. 

Connor Spencer, Mason Morris, and Will McCausland did a great job out of the bullpen for Ole Miss this year. 

What’s next

With a deep run in Hoover, 19 SEC wins, and an RPI of 11, Ole Miss may have played their way into hosting a regional. That would make the comeback for Bianco and his staff even more impressive. 

After finishing the regular season 4-5 in SEC play and giving up a ton of runs to Auburn at home, it looked like Ole Miss would be on shaky ground entering the postseason. But that’s no longer the case. 

If they can pitch like they did in Hoover, where they allowed a combined 6 runs in four games, they’ll be tough to beat in the NCAA Tournament. 

There has been some streakiness to this club all year long, and getting hot at the right time is the biggest key to reaching Omaha.

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