The University of Mississippi Athletics
Six Rebels Selected on Final Day of 2024 MLB Draft
7/16/2024 | Baseball
ARLINGTON, Texas – The 2024 Major League Baseball Draft wrapped up Tuesday and six more Rebels heard their names called and saw their dreams come true in the final rounds.
Ethan Lege was drafted in the 15th round as the 444th overall pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Connor Spencer and Xavier Rivas were both drafted in the 16th round with Spencer going as the 466th overall pick to the Oakland Athletics and Rivas as the 481st overall pick by the New York Yankees.
Cole Tolbert was drafted in the 18th round as the 537th overall pick by the Boston Red Sox. Hunter Elliott and Kyler Carmack were both drafted in the 20th round with Elliott going as the 610th overall pick to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Carmack as the 612th overall pick by the Philadelphia Phillies.
Tuesday’s portion of the draft brought Ole Miss’ total number of 2024 draft picks to seven after Jackson Ross was taken in the ninth round by the Washington Nationals. They were one of just nine SEC programs and one of just 12 programs in the entire country to have seven or more picks in this year’s draft.
In two seasons at Ole Miss, Lege played in 94 games, starting in all but two of them. He hit .280 with 16 home runs, 21 doubles and 70 runs scored over those two seasons as a Rebel. He was one of the most efficient hitters during his time, striking out just 32 times over 336 at bats for a strikeout rate of just 9.5%.
During the 2024 season, the senior led the team in batting average (.323), slugging percentage (.645), doubles (11), and hit by pitches (9). He finished second on the team in home runs (13) and total bases (100) and third in on base percentage (.424) and RBI (38). The 2024 season also saw a position change for Lege as he started all but two of his games in left field after holding down third base during his junior season. He was named a finalist for the 2024 Ferriss Trophy Award, an award presented to the best college baseball in the state of Mississippi.
Lege played two seasons at Delgado Community College and one season at Nicholls State before coming to Ole Miss.
In his first season as a Rebel, Spencer led the team in saves and games finished, finding his role as the team’s closer. He made the third-most appearances on the pitching staff and struck out 28 batters over just 19 innings of work. His .194 opponent batting average was the second lowest on the team.
Spencer spent a season each at Southeastern Louisiana, Northwest Mississippi Community College, and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College before coming to Ole Miss.
Rivas was primed to be a member of the starting rotation during the 2024 season before an elbow injury sidelined him for the entire year. During the 2023 season, the junior made 14 starts and posted a 5-5 record while leading the team in strikeouts (89), wins (5), opponent batting average (.248), and innings pitched (68). He struck out a career-high 12 batters over a career-high seven innings in his final start of the season on the road against Alabama.
Prior to coming to Ole Miss, Rivas played two seasons at Indianapolis.
In two seasons as a Rebel, Tolbert made 16 appearances, all in relief. He struck out 23 batters over 18 innings of work. Prior to coming to Ole Miss, Tolbert played one season at Pearl River Community College.
Since winning a national championship and being named a Freshman All-American in 2022, Elliott made just two starts due to suffering an elbow injury during the 2023 season. In 2022, Elliott finished second on the team in ERA and strikeouts, posting a 5-3 record with a 2.70 ERA in his first-collegiate season.
Elliott was a key piece of Ole Miss’ national championship run, putting together some of his best performances when it mattered the most. He went 2-0 and allowed just four earned runs while striking out 28 during the postseason. Elliott put together his best performance of his career against Southern Mississippi in the Hattiesburg Super Regional title clinching game, working a career-high 7.1 scoreless innings and striking out a career-high 10 batters. The freshman drew the start in the National Championship title clinching game of the 2022 CWS Finals, allowing two earned runs and striking out six batters against Oklahoma.
Carmack appeared in nine games in his one season at Ole Miss, making one start for the Rebels. Before coming to Ole Miss, Carmack spent two seasons at Arkansas State where he was named a Freshman All-American for the Red Wolves.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Rebels by following Ole Miss baseball on X at @OleMissBSB, on Facebook at Facebook.com/OleMissBaseball, on Instagram at Instagram.com/officialolemissbsb and on TikTok at @olemissbsb. Also, follow head coach Mike Bianco on X at @CoachMikeBianco.