Ole Miss baseball Head Coach Mike Bianco pulled off a really nice roster management move this week, and one that just shows the changing landscaping of college athletics. The Rebels baseball program had been riding high following a fairly successful season and singing eight solid transfer portal players to rebuild the roster for next season. However, they were dealt a major blow on the last day the portal was open.
Rising sophomore, Ethan Surowiec, announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal and eventually signed with Florida.. Surowiec was one of the prized recruits in last years recruiting class and attending Gulfport HS. Surowiec played sparingly as a true freshman, but flashed some promise at the plate and from all reporting had developed significantly throughout the course of the season. His lone season at Ole Miss saw a slash line of .375/.524/.750 and an OPS of 1.274 and 2 HRs in 11 games and 16 At-bats.
This summer Surowiec has absolutely blown up in the Northwoods league. In 119 plate appearances Surowiec was slashing .429/.521/.837 with 7 homeruns. The plan from the Rebels was for Surowiec to compete for a spot in the field, either at 3B or 1B and worst case he would be the DH. He was also a key part of the plan for 2027. However, as is becoming common in modern college baseball, Ethans performance in summer ball allowed his value to skyrocket.
What went wrong with Ole Miss and Ethan Surowiec?
The reporting is still murky, but it seems that his agent began to shop him around in an effort to drive up his price. Ole Miss engaged in negotiations to retain him, but at a certain point the staff no longer thought the money for him was worth it. Especially in light of the Rebels attempting to save some resources to retain Uttermark, Furniss, Fawley and be able to have a shot to retain Hunter Elliott.
Since entering the portal, Surowiec moved quickly to announce his next school, announcing he would be transferring to the Florida Gators within days of entering the portal. Because of this Bianco and staff had to look towards and contigency plan, and they were able to do that very quickly.
The staff immediately turned their attention to one of the best JUCO players in the nation, Topher Jones, from Pearl River Community College. Jones came in for a visit this weekend and announced his commitment to the Rebels.
Jones was previously committed to Mississippi State before backing off that pledge. In his freshman season at Pearl River, Jones hit .358 with 11 home runs and 72 RBIs. He was a JUCO All-American and helped to lead his school to the JUCO world series. On his summer ball team, Jones is slashing .382/.447/.603 with 4 home runs in 68 at-bats.
Jones is primarily a third baseman, but can also play second. Defense is certaintly the worst part of his game, so while he will compete for a spot at third, I expect he will be the DH for the Rebels next season. Overall, losing Surowiec is a massive blow, but the roster move to pick up Jones at a cheaper price is smart business. Jones can provide a great DH bat and if saving some money here allows to the staff to retain Uttermark, Furniss and Fawley, then it is a no brainer.