![Ole Miss Head Coach Mike Bianco signals to the bullpen for a relief pitcher as he removes Ole Miss pitcher Drew McDaniel (21) after 6 and 2/3rds innings of shutout ball against Georgia during the SEC Tournament Thursday, May 27, 2021, in the Hoover Met in Hoover, Alabama. [Staff Photo/Gary Cosby Jr.]
Sec Tournament Georgia Vs Ole Miss](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_2973,h_1672/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/214/01jjky1379fgzhz3m1fx.jpg "Ole Miss Head Coach Mike Bianco signals to the bullpen for a relief pitcher as he removes Ole Miss pitcher Drew McDaniel (21) after 6 and 2/3rds innings of shutout ball against Georgia during the SEC Tournament Thursday, May 27, 2021, in the Hoover Met in Hoover, Alabama. [Staff Photo/Gary Cosby Jr.]
Sec Tournament Georgia Vs Ole Miss")
Sam Tookoian
The Californian flashed in his true freshman season back in 2023. He was a big part of the bullpen, making 20 appearances and throwing 30.1 innings. He struck out 44, walked 28 and allowed 16 runs. Tookoian and fellow sophomores JT Quinn and Grayson Saunier were supposed to take a big jump in 24’; however, just like the other two, it didn’t come for Tookoian.
He made just nine appearances, throwing just over nine innings. He had a better BB/9 and K/9 in 2024 but was not utilized. Unlike Quinn and Saunier, Tookian elected to return to Ole Miss for his Junior season. His stuff has a lot to like, and I expect Mangrum to unlock it. He should see a significant increase in usage this season and, hopefully, success.
RHP Sam Tookoian (@OleMissBSB) is 91-93 w/ good DH angle out of the 'pen. Showed SL in 80-84 range w/ solid sweep, flashed CH at 87. Big imposing 6'5"/240. Jr./'25 elig. pic.twitter.com/WxHfOLtZjA
— PG College Baseball (@PGCollegeBall) February 8, 2025
Hudson Calhoun
The second head player out of Tupelo didn’t make an impact as a freshman, only appearing in two games and throwing one inning. However, he put together a very successful summer campaign, throwing 31 innings, striking out 32, and only allowing 1 run. He continued the momentum into the fall and recently put together an excellent outing in one of the intrasquad scrimmages.
Top performances on the mound from today's intrasquad!@H_Calhoun2 led the day with a dominant 6 K outing📈 pic.twitter.com/ce4Q9wO8tq
— Ole Miss BSB Analytics (@OMBSBAnalytics) February 2, 2025
Calhoun may have made the necessary jump to be a significant contributor out of the pen this year.
Cooper Johnson
Once again, another freshman who made significant noise in fall ball is Copper Johnson. The Jefferson, Georgia native led the team in strikeouts this fall with 21 and also had one of the WHIPs at 0.67 while throwing the most innings of 15. That is pretty impressive for a true freshman fall camp. I haven’t heard as much about Johnson as of late, but he seems like he can certainly be a contributor this spring.