RHP Riley Maddox Announces His Return to Ole Miss for 2025 Season

The Ole Miss Rebels got a huge win in the player retention category with Riley Maddox returning.

Ole Miss starting pitcher Riley Maddox (2) throws his opening pitch in the SEC game against Southern Miss. baseball at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss. on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. / Sarah Warnock/Special to Clarion Ledger

Late Monday night, right-handed pitcher Riley Maddox let the Ole Miss Rebels know he was locked in for 2025.

Maddox officially announced his decision to remain in Oxford for another season, and you can view his post on social media below.

I’m back #REBS pic.twitter.com/sQYVvlsiAU

— Riley Maddox (@riley_maddox1) July 16, 2024

Maddox turned into the Rebels' de facto ace at the beginning of SEC play and excelled in his new pitching style in 2024. After needing Tommy John surgery and missing all of 2023, Maddox got to work reinventing his strategy of the mound.

In a world of high strikeouts and high velocity, Riley worked on developing a sinker, his most effective pitch in 2024. Maddox also found a swagger that helped him compete and led him to big-time outings, like when he struck out seven in a big-time win over Texas A&M late in the year.

Maddox will most likely return to a weekend role next season as he showed the most consistency in that position in 2024.

This is a huge get for head coach Mike Bianco and pitching coach Joel Mangrum who will need to milk the most out of Maddox to get the best he has to offer in 2025. The Rebels need a leader to bring this program back to where it once was, and perhaps he can fill that slot.

Maddox finished the year with a 6.05 ERA but only gave up four homers all year thanks to that new sinker which produces more weak contact. He also had a quality start in the loss to Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament where he tied his career-high with seven strikeouts while only allowing three hits.