Ole Miss Baseball Ranked in Top 10 of USA Today Poll
OXFORD, Miss. — The Ole Miss Rebels are drawing closer to Opening Day in college baseball, and they will almost be a consensus top-10 team when that day comes.
Mike Bianco’s Rebels earned another high preseason ranking on Thursday, coming in at No. 7 nationally according to USA Today.
The Rebels secured their first baseball national championship in school history last season, and head coach Mike Bianco discussed the challenges of turning the page in media availability on Friday.
"Probably the most-asked question since June is, 'How do you put the championship behind you?'" Bianco said. "The truth is, it hasn't been that difficult. It's pretty easy when you walk into the first team meeting. We have 40 players, and 20 of them weren't here last year."
After winning the big prize, Bianco and his staff made an intentional effort to give the national championship run its proper recognition while also not losing sight of the upcoming season. This came in the form of "juggling" championship celebration and putting in a large amount of work in the offseason to make a strong run in 2023.
"When I look back at this past fall, it was a goal of ours," Bianco said. "How do we use this championship to better the program now that it's happened, and how do we guard against it making things difficult? It's a juggle.
"Probably the difference was outside. It was a big juggle in the fall to give the championship its right due. Our season ends when school is out. Usually it's a loss. When you win a championship, we wanted to make sure this fall that we were able to juggle."
Now, the weight of preseason hype rests on the shoulders of this team that hopes to repeat this feat in 2023.
You can follow John Macon on Twitter at @JMakeGillespie.
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