The first round of rivalry action between the Mississippi State and Ole Miss baseball teams is on tap this weekend with the Bulldogs traveling to Oxford.
No. 6 Mississippi State (21-4, 4-2) is coming off a sweep of Vanderbilt and a midweek mauling of No. 11 Southern Miss. No. 18 Ole Miss (19-7, 3-3) took two of three from Kentucky last weekend but was upset by Memphis during midweek action.
Brian O’Connor, the longtime Virginia coach who Mississippi State poached during the offseason, previously coached at Swayze Field during a super regional on the way to the 2009 College World Series. That being said, he’s never coached against the Rebels while wearing maroon and white.
“I’ve heard about [the rivalry] for about nine months now,” O’Connor said with a laugh. “I know the quality of baseball program Ole Miss has. I’ve coached in that stadium in a super regional to go to Omaha, so I understand it. But I have learned over the last nine months how competitive the rivalry is. I know it means a lot to our players. I know it means a ton to the fans. So, I just look forward to the opportunity to for us to square off with them.”
Below, you can find start times for each game, TV and radio information, and key stats.
Mississippi State-Ole Miss start times
Friday: 6:30 p.m. CT
Saturday: 1:30 p.m. CT
Sunday: 3 p.m. CT
Mississippi State-Ole Miss TV and radio info
The first two game of the series will be available via streaming on SEC Network+. The third game will be carried by the SEC Network.
For those tuning in via radio, all three games will be broadcast on participating SuperTalk Mississippi stations and through the SuperTalk app.
Key stats
— It may be Brian O’Connor’s first series against Ole Miss as Mississippi State’s skipper, but the former Virginia coach holds a 5-1 record against the Rebels.
— Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco has historically struggled against Mississippi State. He has an overall record of 43-55 when facing the in-state rival, including a series loss in Starkville a season ago.
— Set to start on the mound for Mississippi State is Charlie Foster (0-0) on Friday, Tomas Valincius (5-0) on Saturday, and Duke Stone (4-0) on Sunday. Foster is taking over ace duties after Ryan McPherson was injured. Notably, Valincius has the third-best earned run average in the SEC at 1.04.
— Set to start on the mound for Ole Miss is Hunter Elliott (3-0) on Friday. Saturday and Sunday’s starters were listed as TBA as of Friday morning due to a Cade Townsend injury. Elliott carries a 3.48 ERA with 44 strikeouts.
— Mississippi State has the best team batting average (.347) in the SEC with Bryce Chance leading the league with a .452 average. Noah Sullivan is ninth at .386. Ace Reese leads the league in doubles with 12.
— Ole Miss is No. 14 in the SEC in team batting average (.270), though Tristan Bissetta is No. 10 in the league with a .384 average. Bissetta is also second in home runs (14).
— Pitching-wise, both teams carry similar stats. Mississippi State is No. 5 in the SEC with a 3.39 team ERA, while Ole Miss is right behind at No. 6 with a 3.67 ERA. The Bulldogs have allowed 21 home runs while the Rebels have allowed 20.
When’s the next time Mississippi State and Ole Miss play?
This weekend’s series is just the first taste of the 2026 edition of the rivalry. On April 28, Mississippi State and Ole Miss will play a neutral-site game at Trustmark Park in Pearl. The annual contest is dubbed the Governor’s Cup. You can never rule out the two teams facing off in the SEC Tournament, either.