The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Baseball Announces Three Signees
11/13/2003 | Baseball
Nov. 13, 2003
OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss announced the signings of INF Van Pope and RHP Chris Rayborn, both of Meridian Community College, and Jackson Prep INF Jo Jo Tann to national letters of intent to play baseball for the Rebels. All three will be eligible for the 2004-2005 academic year.
Pope, 6-feet-1, 200 pounds from Jackson, Miss., earned All-Miss-Lou Conference and All-Region 23 honors last season, while helping the Eagles to a 39-19 record. He batted .391 with 14 home runs and knocked in 49 runs in 53 games. He also had 13 doubles and four triples to record a .734 slugging percentage, and was 10-of-11 in stolen bases.
Rayborn, 6-feet-2, 210 pounds from Natchez, Miss., made 13 starts for MCC last spring. He posted a 10-3 mark with a 2.17 ERA in 78 2/3 innings of work. He recorded 69 strikeouts to just 16 walks and limited opponents to a .225 batting-average-against.
"Van and Chris are two players that we've been recruiting since they were in high school, so we're glad they will finally be Rebels," said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. "They come from a great junior college program in Meridian and we're excited about what they can bring to our program."
Tann, 5-feet-11, 170 pounds, helped Jackson Prep to the 2003 MPSA AAA state championship last spring as a junior. A two-time All-Conference and All-MPSA selection, Tann batted .469 with two home runs and stole 33 bases last season. He was also a first team All-Metro and second team All-State selection. Tann posted a .429 average as a sophomore in 2002.
As a member of Jackson Prep's basketball team, Tann is a two-time All-Conference selection and was an All-MPSA pick last winter.
"Jo Jo is tremendous athlete and he is a great leader for his team at Jackson Prep," Bianco said.
Ole Miss finished 35-27 last season and earned its second NCAA Regional berth in three years under Bianco. The Rebels are scheduled to open the 2004 season on Feb. 20 at home against Birmingham Southern.