Mike Bianco Describes 'Razor-Thin' Margin Between Success and Failure For Ole Miss Baseball

The Ole Miss Rebels went from defending national champions to not qualifying for the postseason in the span of a year, and they look to improve in 2024.

As the old adage says, "That's baseball," and the Ole Miss Rebels have lived that saying over the last two years.

It may sound cliché, but this sport comes with its highs and lows in a given season, and that is especially the case from one campaign to the next. Just ask Mike Bianco.

His Rebels went from winning the College World Series in 2022 to not qualifying for the postseason last year. How is such a drop-off possible? Simple: that's baseball, and the margin for error is very, very thin in the Southeastern Conference.

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"What a difference a year makes," Bianco said on Friday. "A year ago, I stood in front of you as the leader of the defending national champions, and a little different this year, but a lot of reflecting after last year. We sat as a staff and went over so many different aspects of the program and where we need to improve to get back to being the program that we've always been here for 22 years.

"I don't think it's a surprise to us how razor-thin being good or not being so good in our league is, and that's what makes the SEC the No. 1 baseball conference in the country."

The hope for Ole Miss is that this season looks a little more like 2022 and a little less like 2023. The Rebels' first game is still a week away (in Honolulu, Hawaii, of all places), but if fall ball and spring intrasquads are any indication, Bianco believes he has reason to be optimistic about the new campaign on the horizon, one that will mark his 24th at the helm in Oxford.

"What doesn't kill you, usually makes you better," Bianco said, "and I have certainly seen that in my team the last five months or so."

Mike Bianco Reveals Rebels' 2024 Opening Day Lineup

One thing is for certain: this Rebels team will look different than last year's in a literal sense. Ole Miss welcomed a host of new faces onto its roster this offseason, and multiple of those newcomers are projected to be in Bianco's starting lineup next Friday.

"The other thing that I think was on my mind is how different this team looks with 23 new faces," Bianco said. "That's a lot on a 40-man roster. When you look at this class and this team overall, as new as we just mentioned, almost even in each class. Even though there are a lot of new faces, we don't feel particularly young."

Bianco and the Rebels will now prepare to head to Hawaii to take on the Rainbow Warriors next weekend, opening a four-game series on Friday. First pitch is set for 10:35 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised on Spectrum Sports.