The Grove Report

Ole Miss Softball Earns 7th-Straight NCAA Tournament Bid

The Ole Miss Rebels' strength of schedule helped propel them into the NCAA Softball Tournament for the seventh-consecutive season.

Casey Smith

The Ole Miss Rebels softball team received its first-ever NCAA Tournament bid in 2016 and hasn't missed it since.

The Rebels earned a bid to the Salt Lake City Regional, which is hosted by the No. 15-seeded Utah Utes, Sunday. Ole Miss is the No. 3 seed in the four-team regional and will open play Friday against No. 2 Baylor at noon Central Standard Time on ESPNU.

Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, the Missouri Valley Conference tournament champions, are the fourth seed in the Salt Lake City Regional.

Ole Miss (30-26, 8-16 Southeastern Conference) is 35th in the NCAA's Ranking Power Index and have the sixth-best strength of schedule in the SEC and the 16th-toughest in the country, according to the Massey Ratings, likely an aid to their cause sitting just above .500.

The Rebels made some noise in the SEC Tournament, beating No. 6 seed and tournament regional host LSU 5-3 in 11 innings then losing 8-7 to No. 3 seed Auburn.

Ole Miss is led in batting by All-SEC Defensive Team left fielder Tate Whitley, whose .326 average is the only one in the Rebels' lineup north of .300.

However, they have a pair of thumpers in the middle of the order in Mya Stevenson and Paige Smith, who have mashed 12 and 10 home runs on the season, respectively.

Ole Miss is looking to advance to its first Super Regional since 2019. In six NCAA Tournament appearances, the Rebels are 15-9 in regional play.

They are 1-4 all time against Baylor, losing the first four matchups against the Bears. Last season, Ole Miss snapped its four-game skid to Baylor with a 10-4 victory. 

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Casey Smith
CASEY SMITH

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