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| Cody Prewitt is pumped up. |
The season ended just last night and the conversation about the 2013 has already begun. This year, Ole Miss is actually in it, the conversation that is, as at least one sports writer has the Rebels mentioned as worthy of consideration candidate for his preseason Top 25. That's what an unexpected winning season by a team filled with mostly freshmen and sophomores can do for a program. Because of that expect Ole Miss to get lots more mentions as a school to keep an eye on during this off-season. LINK.
Ole Miss Opens SEC Play with Critical Road Test
In hoops, the Rebels (11-2) are in route to Knoxville for their SEC opener against the Tennessee Vols (8-4). It's the 12th conference opener on the road in 15 years for Ole Miss and an important one. Thanks to a weak non-conference schedule Ole Miss' 11-2 record is just barely enough to have it in the NCAA Tournament discussion. In fact, Joe Lunardi, ESPN's bracketologist, has the Rebels listed as a 12 seed in today's projection, but Ole Miss will need a solid SEC run to get in and stay in, and these upcoming first three SEC games against UT, Missouri and Vanderbit will be a key barometer for how this thing is going to turn out. The Rebels would do well to win two of those, but they could easily lose all three. The swing game is probably the first one tomorrow night at Tennessee. A win there would be significant for a couple reasons. First, Ole Miss hasn't won an SEC opener in all of Andy Kennedy's previous six years as coach. Second, the Rebels haven't won at Knoxville since 1991. If the Rebels can bring a win home from Knoxville it could serve as a very good sign that this Kennedy team really is special. We'll find out tomorrow night.
Tanner Mathis Rated No. 67 College Baseball Player in Country
It's hard to believe, but baseball season is just around the corner, with Ole Miss hosting a three-game series against TCU beginning February 15. The Rebels, preseason ranked No. 25 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, return another promising group this season, including senior outfielder Tanner Mathis, who decided to pass up a chance to play pro ball for one more season as Swayze. It's hard to blame him. I've been to Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park and Turner Field (not that is deserves mention in this sentence), and none of them have an atmosphere comparable to the beautiful fan-filled confines of Oxford-University Stadium. For me, there's not a more enjoyable place to watch a game. One or two baseball zealots may scoff, but it's how I really feel. But I digress. Mathis is a valuable lead-off hitter who has batted over .300 in all three of his seasons and improved each year. For those reasons College Baseball Daily ranks Mathis as the No. 67 player in the country. LINK. I'm looking forward to seeing him take that first pitch.