Judd Utermark, Will Furniss Announce Return to Ole Miss Baseball

Coming off of a run to the College World Series in Omaha last season, Ole Miss baseball is set to be getting significant boosts for the 2027 season.

First baseman Will Furniss and third baseman Judd Utermark formally announced their return to Mike Bianco’s program, Wednesday through social media.

Both of the 2022 high school graduates had been expected to benefit from the recent court ruling from U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney in Denver, which undercut the NCAA's plan to have the so-called "five-for-five" rule go into play beginning with athletes who enroll in college in fall 2027. Now, it’s official — barring a successful appeal — after going undrafted in July’s MLB Draft and not signing professional contracts.

Their return to Ole Miss can’t be overstated with Judd Utermark being the Rebels’ all-time home run leader, and with Furniss having 196 starts over his four-year collegiate career in Oxford. Both were instrumental in Ole Miss’ run to Omaha as seniors in 2026, helping guide the Rebels to a 41-23 (15-15 SEC) overall record.

However, the two were among the few core pieces that were willingly to stick it out with Ole Miss during what was one of the worst stretches for the Diamond Rebels between letdown 2023 and 2024 seasons. When Ole Miss was able to get back to college baseball’s pinnacle for the first time since the program was crowned national champions a year prior to the start of their collegiate careers, Bianco was quick to recognize the two players that could’ve elected to hit the portal after initially being part of teams that didn’t enjoy much success.

After all, previous teammates took that route to try to find greener pastures. Utermark and Furniss ‘stuck it out’ for a reward bigger than themselves.

“You have to think about guys like Will (Furniss) and Judd (Utermark), they weren’t stars (early) at that time. Will had a really good freshman year. Judd didn’t play much his freshman year. For those guys who look back at it, four years later or three years later, how cool that is for those guys to be in that dogpile (to go to Omaha),” Bianco said in June following Ole Miss’ Super Regional wins at Auburn. “Guys that stuck it out. Guys that love Ole Miss. Their parents are here every weekend. The way it’s supposed to be. I think that part of it makes you feel good.”

In 181 games played (163 starts) Utermark recorded 177 hits, 51 home runs (program record), 142 RBI, 81 walks, 21 stolen bases and a .280 batting average.

Furniss on the other hand totaled 207 hits, 33 home runs, 150 RBI, 123 walks, one stolen base and a .290 batting average in 221 games played.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news surrounding the Ole Miss Rebels.

Add us as a preferred source on Google