Mississippi State, Ole Miss wrap up disappointing college baseball seasons

Since winning College World Series national championships in back-to-back seasons, Mississippi’s two SEC programs fail to make postseason appearances.

Mississippi State and Ole Miss, the last two national championship programs, will not be competing in the Southeastern Conference Baseball Tournament which starts Tuesday, May 23rd in Hoover, Alabama.

Both Mississippi teams missed the cut after a disappointing regular season that saw the Bulldogs and the Rebels finish at the bottom of the SEC standings, 13th and 14th respectively.

Mississippi State finished the regular season with a 27-26 (9-21 SEC) record while the Rebels wrapped up their season with a 25-29 (6-24 SEC) record, their first losing season since 1997.

For the Bulldogs, it is the second season in a row that the team has missed the postseason after hoisting the national championship trophy at the 2021 College World Series in just the second year under Head Coach Chris Lemonis.

Lemonis led his team to College World Series appearances in each of his first two seasons as the top Bulldog. However, the last two seasons have failed to live up to expectations in Starkville. He has pointed to pitching as a key reason for the slide.

Just up the road in Oxford, the Rebels have consistently been in the mix under Head Coach Mike Bianco for over a decade. Ole Miss won the College World Series national championship last year in 2022.

The Rebels started the 2023 campaign ranked 4th nationally by D1 Baseball after finishing 2022 with a 42-23 record. Yet, this season will be the first time the team has not made it into the postseason since 2011 and just the third time they have sat home in Bianco’s 23-year career at the helm of the program.

Bianco, who is now second all-time for wins by a SEC head coach and the winningest top Rebel in program history, has said he is already out on the recruiting trail looking to get Ole Miss Baseball back on track in the years to come.