The University of Mississippi Athletics
Practice Report: Rebels Piecing Together New Puzzle
10/10/2019 | Baseball
Bianco Gives Early Look at 2020 Rebel Squad
OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss baseball is less than a week into its fall practice schedule, and on Saturday, the Rebels will get their first taste of outside competition when they host Arkansas State at noon CT at Swayze Field.
The script has been flipped from the fall of 2018. Last year, Ole Miss knew pretty well what its lineup and defensive alignment would look like going into the 2019 season. The big question mark was the pitching staff, where the Rebels had to replace three weekend starters. Now, they return two weekend starters in Doug Nikhazy and Gunnar Hoglund, but they must replace six of the nine spots in their regular lineup from a year ago.
"We knew we'd lose a lot in last year's class," said head coach Mike Bianco. "Part of our recruiting is a little different than some of the other sports. It's not just graduation and eligibility, it's through the draft and you have to forecast. We knew more than likely we'll lose Dillard, Kessinger, Z-Bo, Cooper, Olenek and others. Some people are going to have to fill those holes."
Bianco and his staff won't be devoid of options as they look to fill out the 2020 lineup. The Rebels boast the nation's No. 2 recruiting class, complete with four freshmen ranked in the top 50 nationally, as well as several key junior college additions. While everyone is at an even playing field at this point in the process, Ole Miss hopes that those JUCO transfers will be able to step in and contribute early.
"One of the reasons you bring JUCO kids in is to make a more immediate impact," Bianco said. "It's not to say that you don't expect freshmen to play, but you're hopeful that with a couple of years of college experience under their belt, even though it's junior college, that they can come in and contribute earlier in their careers. You can tell they're older and they can handle a little more than the younger guys that just stepped on campus."
Three junior college bats will be vying to make that early impact. Cael Baker comes to Ole Miss as the reigning NJCAA Player of the Year, while Hayden Leatherwood brings NJCAA All-Region accolades to Oxford. The third, NJCAA All-American Ben Van Cleve, fared the best on the opening weekend of fall ball, going 3-for-6 at the plate to tie for the second-best batting average on the team, trailing only 2019's three-hole hitter Tyler Keenan (.571), on that first weekend.
The Rebels aren't getting too caught up in the numbers this early in the game. Right now, these newcomers are still learning what it means to play baseball at Ole Miss.
"To me, the biggest challenge in the fall, it sounds like coach speak, is putting your system in and getting them to play the way they're capable of playing," Bianco said. "I think that's the toughest thing for the new guys, JUCO included. Can you come out and play like you played before, what got you here? So far, they've all looked pretty good and pretty loose. But it's tough to walk out on the field for the first time. If we can get them to compete and play like they've played before, obviously it's a really talented class."
While the offense might take some time to form over the fall months, Ole Miss can take solace in the outstanding crop of returning pitchers. The 2020 Rebel staff will feature seven arms that combined to throw 304.2 innings a year ago.
"On the mound, when you look up, it's almost the opposite of last year when we returned no SEC starters," Bianco said. "You're tying to figure out, is Ethridge going to be that guy? Nikhazy at this time last year, I don't think anyone was considering him as a candidate. So when you look and see that you have Nikhazy back and Hoglund back, Greer is throwing the ball really well, Miller, Cioffi, Broadway and Myers look terrific. When you start to look at the staff, it's a little different than the way we looked at the staff this time last year."
And while Ole Miss must replace the likes of Grae Kessinger, Thomas Dillard, Ryan Olenek, Cole Zabowski and Cooper Johnson offensively, the cupboard is fare from bare. Tyler Keenan is back after leading the Rebels with 15 home runs and 66 RBI last season, as is Anthony Servideo, who hit .287, stole 24 bases and scored 62 runs in 2019. Freshman All-American Kevin Graham returns as well after clubbing 10 home runs in his rookie campaign.
Those players will also be filling new roles as veteran leaders on the 2020 squad, but their presence makes things a bit easier on the offensive side of the equation.
"It's hard, especially when you have so many new faces out there. You're putting the puzzle back together. You're trying to just mesh them all together and figure out what's going to be the best nine out there. You don't know at this point," Bianco said. "The good news is, you've got Keenan and Servideo, Bench, Graham, Loposer. Those guys have all played and been a part of it. That's not to say that anything is sealed up, but the truth of the matter is, it gives you a good feeling."
Bianco will learn a little bit more about his squad each and every day as the fall rolls along. The first big learning opportunity comes this Saturday when Arkansas State comes to Swayze.
The script has been flipped from the fall of 2018. Last year, Ole Miss knew pretty well what its lineup and defensive alignment would look like going into the 2019 season. The big question mark was the pitching staff, where the Rebels had to replace three weekend starters. Now, they return two weekend starters in Doug Nikhazy and Gunnar Hoglund, but they must replace six of the nine spots in their regular lineup from a year ago.
"We knew we'd lose a lot in last year's class," said head coach Mike Bianco. "Part of our recruiting is a little different than some of the other sports. It's not just graduation and eligibility, it's through the draft and you have to forecast. We knew more than likely we'll lose Dillard, Kessinger, Z-Bo, Cooper, Olenek and others. Some people are going to have to fill those holes."
Bianco and his staff won't be devoid of options as they look to fill out the 2020 lineup. The Rebels boast the nation's No. 2 recruiting class, complete with four freshmen ranked in the top 50 nationally, as well as several key junior college additions. While everyone is at an even playing field at this point in the process, Ole Miss hopes that those JUCO transfers will be able to step in and contribute early.
"One of the reasons you bring JUCO kids in is to make a more immediate impact," Bianco said. "It's not to say that you don't expect freshmen to play, but you're hopeful that with a couple of years of college experience under their belt, even though it's junior college, that they can come in and contribute earlier in their careers. You can tell they're older and they can handle a little more than the younger guys that just stepped on campus."
Three junior college bats will be vying to make that early impact. Cael Baker comes to Ole Miss as the reigning NJCAA Player of the Year, while Hayden Leatherwood brings NJCAA All-Region accolades to Oxford. The third, NJCAA All-American Ben Van Cleve, fared the best on the opening weekend of fall ball, going 3-for-6 at the plate to tie for the second-best batting average on the team, trailing only 2019's three-hole hitter Tyler Keenan (.571), on that first weekend.
The Rebels aren't getting too caught up in the numbers this early in the game. Right now, these newcomers are still learning what it means to play baseball at Ole Miss.
"To me, the biggest challenge in the fall, it sounds like coach speak, is putting your system in and getting them to play the way they're capable of playing," Bianco said. "I think that's the toughest thing for the new guys, JUCO included. Can you come out and play like you played before, what got you here? So far, they've all looked pretty good and pretty loose. But it's tough to walk out on the field for the first time. If we can get them to compete and play like they've played before, obviously it's a really talented class."
While the offense might take some time to form over the fall months, Ole Miss can take solace in the outstanding crop of returning pitchers. The 2020 Rebel staff will feature seven arms that combined to throw 304.2 innings a year ago.
"On the mound, when you look up, it's almost the opposite of last year when we returned no SEC starters," Bianco said. "You're tying to figure out, is Ethridge going to be that guy? Nikhazy at this time last year, I don't think anyone was considering him as a candidate. So when you look and see that you have Nikhazy back and Hoglund back, Greer is throwing the ball really well, Miller, Cioffi, Broadway and Myers look terrific. When you start to look at the staff, it's a little different than the way we looked at the staff this time last year."
And while Ole Miss must replace the likes of Grae Kessinger, Thomas Dillard, Ryan Olenek, Cole Zabowski and Cooper Johnson offensively, the cupboard is fare from bare. Tyler Keenan is back after leading the Rebels with 15 home runs and 66 RBI last season, as is Anthony Servideo, who hit .287, stole 24 bases and scored 62 runs in 2019. Freshman All-American Kevin Graham returns as well after clubbing 10 home runs in his rookie campaign.
Those players will also be filling new roles as veteran leaders on the 2020 squad, but their presence makes things a bit easier on the offensive side of the equation.
"It's hard, especially when you have so many new faces out there. You're putting the puzzle back together. You're trying to just mesh them all together and figure out what's going to be the best nine out there. You don't know at this point," Bianco said. "The good news is, you've got Keenan and Servideo, Bench, Graham, Loposer. Those guys have all played and been a part of it. That's not to say that anything is sealed up, but the truth of the matter is, it gives you a good feeling."
Bianco will learn a little bit more about his squad each and every day as the fall rolls along. The first big learning opportunity comes this Saturday when Arkansas State comes to Swayze.
Players Mentioned
IF/C
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IF
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LHP/OF
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