Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco has been at this for a long time, spending over a quarter-century now as the leader of the baseball program in Oxford.
There have been many highs, none more than leading Ole Miss to its first and only national championship in 2022. And there have been other highs, too, like leading the Rebels to the 2014 College World Series and also this year’s CWS. Unfortunately for Bianco, the 2026 experience in Omaha was short and not very sweet, with Ole Miss being eliminated after a wild 12-8 loss to Troy on Sunday afternoon.
Together with Friday night’s 6-2 loss to North Carolina, Bianco’s Rebels went 2 games and out in Omaha. There would be no extended run in Nebraska with a trophy at the end, like there was 4 years ago, but Bianco had a profound message for his disappointed players after Sunday’s bitter defeat.
“My hope is as the days and weeks pass, I hope they realize what a tremendous season they had … so proud of those guys (seniors),” Bianco told reporters in Omaha. “Just told them on the field how indebted I am, the coaches are, Ole Miss and all the fans are indebted to them for righting the ship and gettin’ us back here.”
While Bianco was appreciative of his entire team, he did spotlight a few longtime players who have hung around the program for a while now. Left-hander Hunter Elliott, who started Sunday’s game, infielder Judd Utermark and fellow infielder Will Furniss have all spent their entire college careers at Ole Miss, and Bianco wanted to acknowledge that after Sunday’s game.
“We are forever indebted to those guys for making us better,” Bianco said. “They became leaders … guys who do it the right way … that’s what you hope your kids are going to grow up to be like. So proud of them.”
Elliott also had some words about his crucial balk with the bases loaded in the fifth inning, which forced in Troy’s first run of that 3-run frame that began the Trojans’ comeback from a 6-2 deficit. Sean Darnell followed the balk with a 2-run single that got Troy within 1 run, and the stage was set for the Trojans’ late-game rally.
“The balk doesn’t kill you if you don’t give up the base hit right after,” Elliott said.
Ole Miss will be leaving Omaha way earlier than it wanted to, but there are still 7 elite teams remaining who have a shot at college baseball’s championship prize. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the odds for those teams to be the last one standing when the dust settles in Omaha:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
