The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss Softball Announces 2016 Schedule
11/9/2015 | Softball
2016 Schedule
OXFORD, Miss. - A season-opening visit to the Aloha state, two tournaments at the Ole Miss Softball Complex, a 29-game home slate and 24 Southeastern Conference matchups highlight the 2016 Ole Miss softball schedule, head coach Mike Smith announced Monday.
The 56-game schedule will feature 23 contests against teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament a year ago, including 13 home matchups and seven of eight SEC weekend series versus 2015 postseason participants.
"We've got a pretty decent non-conference schedule," head coach Mike Smith said. "We open up in Hawaii and it's a trip for our team to gain some of that chemistry, but it's also business and our girls are going to understand that. We've got a tough trip to the Troy tournament then we come back and host two tournaments which are still some good competition."
The Rebels' 20th season of softball and second under head coach Mike Smith opens Feb. 11-13 at the Oceanic Time Warner Cable Paradise Classic hosted by the University of Hawaii.
Ole Miss will face off against UMKC Thursday to open the tournament, before playing Saint Mary's (Calif.) and Hawaii in day two. The final two opponents are to be determined in bracket play of the event.
From the vacation destination of Honolulu, the Rebels make the transition to Troy, Ala. the next weekend for the Troy Classic. Teams at that tournament include McNeese State, the host Trojans, Eastern Illinois and 2015 NCAA Tournament participant Tennessee Tech.
Following 11-straight on the road to open the campaign, Ole Miss opens the home slate Feb. 26-28 in the Ole Miss Classic. The Rebels will open versus UTSA and Stephen F. Austin, and also face Northern Iowa in the first of two home tournaments. The final two games of the weekend are to be determined in bracket play.
The Rebs remain home the next two weekends for the Red & Blue Classic March 4-6, which includes Penn State, Belmont and UMASS. After a midweek contest against Youngstown State March 9, the SEC slate begins March 11-13 versus Missouri. The Rebels will then play back-to-back midweek contests against Central Arkansas and ULM March 15-16 to close the 16-game home stand.
"With our SEC schedule, the teams we didn't play last year, we get this year," Smith said. "They were tough ones and teams that went to regionals last year and had high RPIs and that's good. We've got some decent non-conference midweek games that are going to give us a test. We've got a pretty good schedule ahead of us, some high RPI teams and teams that we should play well against and I think it's going to be fun. With our depth it's going to give us an opportunity to see where we're at and try to play some young kids early and see if they're going to be able to step up in SEC play."
The very next week includes six games in three different states, with a road series at Kentucky March 18-20, a rivalry matchup at Memphis March 22, and a trip to Stillwater, Okla. for a doubleheader at Oklahoma State March 25.
The next weekend, the Rebels make the trek south for a Saturday through Monday series (April 2-4) versus in-state rival Mississippi State. Monday's series finale will be featured as the SEC Game of the Week.
Other SEC home series include defending national champion Florida (April 8-10), Arkansas (April 22-24) and Tennessee (May 6-8). The remaining road conference schedule includes trips to South Carolina (April 15-17) and Georgia (April 29 - May 1).
The Rebels' final four non-conference contests feature matchups versus UT Martin (April 13), Memphis (April 19), UAB (April 27) and at Louisiana Tech (May 4).
"I think our schedule gives us an opportunity to win some games and play some tough teams and hopefully in the end we've got the record we need to get into the SEC tournament as well as into regionals."
For all Ole Miss softball news and information, go to OleMissSports.com and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissSoftball, on Facebook at Ole Miss Softball and on Instagram at Instagram.com/olemisssoftball. Fans can also follow head coach Mike Smith on Twitter at@msmithsb16.
