The Ole Miss Rebels' 2025 baseball season has gotten off to a great start, and after beating Jackson State on Tuesday night, the Rebels have now won seven out of their last eight games. The Rebels find themselves safely in the top half of the league through three weeks of SEC play and have a massive opportunity to cement that status fully this weekend in Kentucky.
The Wildcats have certainly taken a step back this season after a really impressive 2024 season. They come into this one 17-6 overall on the year and 4-5 in the SEC. They are coming off a tough series loss to Auburn, losing both of the first two games of the series by a score of 8-7, but they were able to salvage a win in the series, taking game three by a score of 6-0. Kentucky is still a solid team, but the Rebels have a real chance to place themselves in the top portion of the SEC with a road series victory this weekend.
It will be a Thursday through Saturday series. Thursday's game will be on national TV on the SEC Network. The first pitch will be at 7 PM CT. Friday and Saturday games will be streamed on SEC Network Plus. The first pitch on Friday will be at 6:30 PM; on Saturday, it will start at 2:00 PM.
The Wildcats are yet to announce their starting rotation for the weekend. Their best starter this season has easily been Ben Cleaver, but they had him pitch the series' last game last weekend rather than the first. He has a 2.50 ERA and sub-one WHIP in his seven starts with 42 strikeouts. The other starter who has been consistent every weekend is Nic McCay, who has a 3.58 ERA and held opponents to a .168 batting average. The final starter spot has been in flux for Kentucky, but the two leading contenders are Nate Harris, who has a 3.68 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in his five starts, and Scout Rouse, who got the Friday night start last week.
Mike Bianco let the news slip before it was officially announced via Twitter that the starting rotation for the Rebels will remain the same as it has been all year. Elliott on Thursday, Maddox on Friday, and Nichols on Saturday. There has been much consternation amongst Rebel fans that it is time to move on from Riley Maddox, who has been bad in his 3 SEC starts. They have also gotten worse every outing, lasting just 1.1 innings against Florida and allowing four runs in that time. It does seem like his leash has to be getting short; the problem is that the Rebels don't have a lot of options to fill his role. The most likely would be Mason Morris, but Morris has been critical as one of the most reliable bullpen arms. If Maddox struggles again this weekend, I expect a change to be made.
At first glance, the Wildcats appear to be the weakest lineup the Rebels have faced so far in SEC play. This could come at a great time, as the pitching staff needs more confidence.
Kentucky is led offensively by Cole Gage and Tyler Bell. Hage is a transfer from Columbia, where he was an All-Ivy League player. He has settled nicely into the SEC, hitting .363, and has a team-leading 1.201 OPS and 8 home runs. Tyler Bell is a true freshman putting up an incredible season, hitting .347 and leading the Wildcats in RBIs with 31.
Outside of those top two hitters, you also have Patrick Herrera, Luke Lawrence, Devin Burkes, and Shaun Montoya as regulars in the lineup. All of them have been solid, hitting in the .280s with about .800 OPSs. However, behind those 6, the last three spots have been a rotation and not very significant.
Compared to the Rebels and the other SEC opponents, the Wildcats don't stack up offensively. This is a big opportunity for Ole Miss this weekend; a series victory puts them at 8-4 in the league and puts them in a great spot to fight for a hosting slot, where D1 Baseball just pegged them as a host site in their midseason predictions.