Fresh off another trip to the College World Series, the Ole Miss Rebels have opened their fall slate of the 2026-2027 season with momentum and excitement as they look to take the next step and bring another national championship trophy back to Swayze Field. Sunday was only the second time the Rebels have played a full scrimmage against each other, so nothing was polished, but overall the Rebels looked decent, and there’s plenty to be excited about in Ole Miss baseball in 2027.
Keep in mind, before reading further, Sunday was only the second scrimmage for Coach Bianco and the 2027 version of Ole Miss baseball, so everything is fluid, and the Rebels will keep getting better as the fall goes on. That said, Sunday was a pleasant surprise for the Rebels: the guys made good contact, the pitchers did well, and the dugout had a clear vibe that they were excited to finally be back inside the familiar confines of Swayze Field.
For starters, as with any scrimmage, there was a red-and-blue team, with the focus on getting reps and situational baseball. A lot of moving parts were on the field on Sunday, but there were also plenty of excellent starting points. Keep in mind, with early fall scrimmages, the focus tends to be less on the stat lines, but more on the developmental component of the game itself.
With that said, starting with the pitchers for the red team on Sunday. I got there an inning late, so I might have missed someone, but the Rebels pitched RHP Andrew Rogovic, LHP Lucas Lawrence, RHP Owen Hancock, and RHP Charlie Willcox. Each guy pitched two to three innings and often faced ghost runners on base with an out or two, or even no outs, for different ways to get out of the innings. Pitching for the Navy team on Sunday were LHP Sean Carey, RHP Leo Odom, RHP Brent Stukes, and RHP Devin Long, who pitched in a bases-loaded situation and only gave up one run despite working with zero outs; then LHP Cooper Johnson closed out the day for the Navy team. As a unit, I was impressed with everyone on Sunday; they all worked ABS pretty well, but one guy in particular, Devin Long, stands out to me the most. He faced a bases-loaded situation in the 9th and only allowed one run. Despite working a zero-out situation, he showed a lot of poise and maturity for a true freshman. As for the ABS aspect, we’ll touch on that at the end.
One defensive highlight was an insane diving catch by Cannon Goldin, who played center field for the Navy team. Goldin earned the play of the day on Sunday when he went after a ball that looked like it might drop; instead, he made a diving grab at the wall, avoided a potential extra-base situation, and ended the inning.
As for the top performers at the plate on Sunday, Judd Utermark led the way with a perfect four-for-four day, including two doubles, a walk, three runs, two RBIs, and two stolen bases. Still early in the process, but it appeared Judd improved this offseason by focusing on quality at-bats instead of trying to hit a home run every pitch, and the difference is drastic. Then you had Blake Fields and Brady Dallimore hit home runs; Topher Jones went one-for-two at the plate, with two stolen bases, two hit-by-pitches, and his lone hit came as a beautiful double. Blake Fields finished his day with two home runs, a walk, and three RBIs. Still early, but transferring in from Houston, Fields adds another big bat to the Ole Miss lineup. Luke Romine and Christian Doty also saw action in the lineup on Sunday, earning quality at-bats that produced solid contact and hits. Kelven Perera also impressed with his two hits on Sunday.
As for ABS, it wasn’t in full swing, but every pitch was on the jumbotron at Swayze Field, and it was interesting to watch the technology deliver real-time pitch results. Ole Miss had an umpire behind home plate, but every pitch was charted, and you could see the strike zone develop in real time. As the fall progresses and turns to 2027, it’ll be interesting to see how each program approaches modernizing college baseball. Early thoughts: it’s going to be a cool feature and will likely also add accountability for umpires. We’re all human and make mistakes, but those mistakes in baseball can cost a team, and the new tech will likely help mitigate some of them.
Overall, it’s early, but there’s reason to be excited about this upcoming 2027 season if you’re an Ole Miss fan. This team has depth and talent. If they stay healthy and overcome adversity, this could be a special season in Oxford.
Ole Miss will welcome Samford to Swayze Field on Saturday at noon for the first of two fall ball games.
Photo Credits: Ole Miss baseball on X and Mitch Davis
