No. 2 Texas baseball is up and flying to start the 2026 season, sitting with a perfect 16–0 record over the first month of the season. The start to this season is the best for the Longhorns in over 20 years.
The Longhorns were dominant throughout their series against nonconference opponents, sweeping all three series against UC Davis, Michigan State and USC Upstate. Additionally, the Longhorns swept through their competition in the BRUCE BOLT College Classic in late February.
The calendar will flip over as the Longhorns return home after their first true road test in San Marcos, in which they took care of the Texas State Bobcats, 15-4.
Now, Texas will get ready to open Southeastern Conference play.
The Rebels tout a solid record through the early part of the season with a 15–3 overall record, dropping their only away game of the season thus far. Ole Miss’ only losses of the season have come from the Baylor Bears and then-No. 9 Coastal Carolina, both coming in neutral sites, as well as No. 7 Southern Miss, which was on the road.
“They’re also really good, too,” head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “Their pitching staff has been amazing, Ole Miss’ has, and from a lineup standpoint, they do as much damage as anybody in the country.”
Fueling the Rebels’ 15–3 start is one of the top pitching staffs in the SEC, as they head into the weekend series against the Longhorns with the third-lowest team ERA in the conference at a 2.68 ERA. Additionally, Ole Miss has the second most strikeouts in the SEC, is fifth in lowest earned runs with 46 and eighth in lowest opposing teams’ batting average.
Leading the Ole Miss pitching staff is sophomore pitcher Cade Townsend, who posts the lowest ERA at a resounding .48 in 18.2 innings pitched. The sophomore righty has given up just one earned run in his four appearances on the mound while walking just four batters, recording 32 strikeouts and limiting opposing batters to a .152 batting average.
The Rebels are led by long-time head coach Mike Bianco, who heads into his 26th season at the helm for Ole Miss. In his over two-decade stint in Oxford, Bianco has racked up a 949-564-1 overall record — the most wins in Rebel baseball history.
Bianco led the Rebels to the mountain top back in 2022, as Ole Miss crowned itself as national champions for the first time in program history.
The Longhorns get set to face off against the Ole Miss Rebels at UFCU Disch-Falk Field. The first game of the three-game series is slated for Friday at 6:30 p.m.
