This past year in Ole Miss Rebels news has seen its fair share of ups and downs. With these ups and downs comes the emergence of new stars and the reaffirming of old stars. Keeping this in mind, I will discuss who I see as the faces of Ole Miss athletics.
To qualify as one of the many faces of Ole Miss Rebels news, for this posts sake, you must be active. In this case active means you will definitely be donning the red and blue in your respective sport during the next competitive season.
We are going to count backwards from No’s 15 – 1, with number 1 being who I perceive to be the biggest athlete on campus today.
No.15 The Bagmen
Ole Miss Rebels Football
Ole Miss Football gets the majority of the bagmen accusations. However, other sports have their fair share of bagmen accusations.
You can make a solid bet that any recruit who commits to Ole Miss will have someone mentioning a bagman, or my personal favorite, Ole MI$$.
These pesky, anonymous bagmen Ole Miss is now famous for seem to be very busy. These guys, or gals, could make a case to be the number 1 face of Ole Miss athletics; however, we will leave that honor to an actual athlete.
Nonetheless, these bagmen obviously play a huge role in the success of Ole Miss athletics.
OHT Disclaimer: In no way shape or form can this be used against OHT or myself. We have been granted immunity by the NCAA.
No.14 Houston Roth
Houston Roth is a member of the vaunted 2016 Ole Miss baseball recruiting class. There will be three other members of the class later in this post. This shouldn’t be surprising as it was rated number one in the nation.
Roth quite literally catapulted his way onto this list just a few days ago. Roth set a Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) record for strikeouts in a game. Roth recorded 20 K’s in a complete game shutout gem of a performance. However, it is not as if Roth having a stellar outing will surprise anyone. Roth was a freshman all American for the Rebels.
No.13 Cooper Johnson
Cooper Johnson is the second of four members from the Ole Miss Baseball 2016 recruiting class to make an appearance in this list.
Cooper had a roller coaster of a season in his freshman season. Coop started out hot, as did the rest of his fellow freshman class. Unfortunately, Cooper would begin to struggle mightily.
He would even go on to lose his starting catching job to Nick Fortes. Luckily for Coop, Fortes bat was too good to keep him out of the lineup even though he was a liability behind the plate at times. Coach Bianco would eventually move Fortes to first base, while sliding Cooper Johnson back into the starting lineup.
No.12 Jordan Wilkins
The last time we saw Jordan Wilkins on the gridiron he was helping lead the rebels to an absolutely dominant Sugar Bowl victory.
Jordan was forced to miss the 2016 season due to a clerical error that led to him being deemed academically ineligible. There is no guarantee Jordan will return to his success of the 2015 season, but all signs point to that happening. A productive Jordan Wilkins will make Ole Miss offense virtually unstoppable.
No.12 Raven Saunders
Raven Saunders is bigger and badder than you are. Raven is a 5 time NCAA shot put champion and was an Olympian during the 2016 Rio games. Raven placed fifth in the entire world of women’s shot put at the 2016 games. Raven just barely missed out on another NCAA title several weeks ago, but she was able to redeem herself with a measly U.S. title just a few days ago.
So the point of this is, do not under any circumstance find your way on Raven Saunder’s bad side.
No.10 Ryan Rolison
Ryan is the third freshman baseball player to make this list, and he will not be the last one to grace it. Ryan also happens to be the second rebel pitcher to make an appearance on this list, which goes to show the pitching staff has been left in very capable arms.
Ryan was a Freshman All-American for the rebels during the 2016/17 season. Ryan began the season as a reliever and mid-week starter. Over the course of the season, Ryan worked his way into the weekend rotation. Rolison would go on to be Ole Miss most consistent starter down the stretch, which is pretty damn impressive as a freshman. Already being a weekend starter and All-American made him an absolute lock for this list.
No.9 Elantra Cox
Elantra was absolutely phenomenal for Ole Miss this year. She led the entire country in hits and regularly contributed with absolutely stellar defensive plays. Somehow, Elantra was snubbed of being an All-American.
Elantra was part of the “lethal lefties” at the top of Ole Miss lineup. She was a lock to bat leadoff in every game due to her immense productivity.
No.8 Grae Kessinger
It is pretty much Grae’s birthright to be on this list. Grae’s entire family has played, and starred, at Ole Miss going back generations. Grae is the grandson of the legendary Don Kessinger. Plus, he wears my personal favorite number, 15.
Grae looks to be the next great rebel shortstop. He struggled with his bat during the meat of the season, but managed to heat up down the stretch.
No.7 Kylan Becker
Kylan Becker was a force you did not want to reckon with for Ole Miss softball this past season. Kylan was first team All-Sec for the rebels in the 2016/17 season. She is another member of the ‘lethal lefties’ that tormented opponents from the top of the Ole Miss lineup.
Kylan capped off her tremendous season with a tremendous post-season. In the first regional game Ole Miss had ever hosted, Kylan was phenomenal. She was able to absolutely rocket a ball into the left field corner and sprint out an in-the-park homerun.
6) Marquis Haynes
Who doesn’t love a lightning-fast pass rusher who can absolutely knock someone’s block off, see the hit on Jalen Hurts in the video above.
Marquis will wear the number 38 during the 2017/18 season after being awarded the Chucky Mullins Courage Award.
Marquis is one of the biggest recruiting steals of the Hugh Freeze tenure. He has transformed from a skinny 3-star pass rusher to a beastly, every down defensive end. Make no mistake, Marquis will hands down be the most exciting player to watch on the Rebel’s defense this season.
No.5 D.K. Metcalf
D.K. is an absolute monster on the outside. He stands 6’4 and is 220 lbs, couple his size with him being a former high school track star and you have an absolutely unguardable receiver.
D.K. is a hometown hero from Oxford, Ms and an absolute monster on the field. Placing him high on the list of athletes was an absolute no-brainer. His father, Terrance Metcalf, is a former NFL and collegiate All-American at Ole Miss.
No.4 Braden Thornberry
Braden Thornberry is already on his way to having a very productive golfing career. Braden won the NCAA Golf national championship. Also, he has a top finish at a PGA tournament in recent weeks. It would be safe to say that he has had a very successful couple weeks. Next we will enter the top three and return to the gridiron.
No.3 A.J. Brown
A.J. Brown was a fan favorite long before he ever enrolled at Ole Miss. A.J. was stolen right from under Mississippi State’s noses. Anytime an athlete comes from your rival’s town he is going to be an absolute fan favorite.
He also happens to have a minor league baseball contract with the San Diego Padres.
A.J. gives rebel fans an immense sense of nostalgia anytime he has on the field. He wears the number 1 jersey that was donned by Laquon Treadwell during his three-year terrorizing of SEC defenses. It doesn’t hurt that A.J. has a very similar skillset and build to Laquon. A.J. will be insanely fun to watch this season.
No.2 Shea Patterson
He could be the biggest recruiting win of Hugh Freeze tenure. Yes, bigger than Robert Nkemdiche. Shea Patterson reminds many of a former Heisman Trophy winner, Johnny Manziel.
Shea was the top rated quarterback of the 2016 recruiting class. Hugh Freeze and co beat out LSU and USC for his signature before dodging several late runs at Patterson from Alabama.
Shea has a rocket arm and is extremely quick. He is still a little raw in the pocket, but he could very well be regarded as the best quarterback in the SEC come the season’s end. He could very easily end up being the best quarterback in Ole Miss history, and yes even better than those pesky Mannings.
No.1 Kaitlin Lee
If Ole Miss softball was a Cinderella, then Kaitlin Lee was a freaking unicorn. She blossomed into an absolute superstar during her immaculate postseason run.
Kaitlin threw thirteen consecutive complete games for the rebels. She also would go on to set a school record for wins thanks in part due to a postseason run that will be forever remembered. While her run didn’t quite match that of her pitching coach Taryn Mowatt, it was easily the most dominant stretch in Ole Miss softball history.
There is no denying that Kaitlin Lee was the heart and soul of the Ole Miss softball team. The team would feed off the energy and emotion she portrayed during games. She was fiery on the mound and led the team in their dugout antics. Kaitlin became the darling of College Softball, and in doing so jumped into the top of the active Ole Miss athletics Mt. Rushmore.