While the college football season is in full force, it’s never too early to start gearing up for baseball — especially in Mississippi, where two of the past five national champions reside.
That being Mississippi State (2021) and Ole Miss (2022), both teams announced parts of their 2026 schedules this week as fans begin to schedule out their springs in hopes of one or both teams making it back to Omaha.
Mississippi State
The Bulldogs, coming off an eleventh-hour NCAA Tournament bid but now under new leadership in Brian O’Connor, have a lot of momentum going into 2026. O’Connor comes to Starkville after a storied run at Virginia, where he became the program’s winningest coach across 22 seasons and took the team on seven Omaha trips, including a national title in 2015. It took a $2.9 million base salary to bring O’Connor aboard a ship that was subsequently crewed by plenty of high-profile transfers.
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First pitch for Mississippi State will happen on Feb. 13 against an opponent yet to be announced. The first road test for the team will occur at the 2026 Amegy Bank College Baseball Series at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, from Feb. 27-March 1. Arizona State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UCLA, and Virginia Tech will also compete in the event with specific matchups and game times to be determined.
While the rest of the Diamond Dawgs’ nonconference schedule has not yet been released, their Southeastern Conference slate has. The team will travel to Arkansas on March 13-15 before returning for the first SEC weekend at home under O’Connor — against Vanderbilt on March 20-22. They will then go to Oxford to play rival Ole Miss on March 27-29.
Mississippi State will host a Thursday-Saturday series against Georgia on Easter weekend, April 2-4, and will be at home against Tennessee on April 10-12.
Road trips pick back up for three of the final five SEC series to close out the regular season, starting with a trek to South Carolina on April 17-19. The team will play at Texas on May 1-3 and at Texas A&M on May 14-16 for its final two away series of the campaign. Sandwiched between will be home series against LSU (April 24-26) and Auburn (May 8-10).
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The Georgia and Texas A&M series have already been confirmed as Thursday-Saturday series, with others potentially shifted when the TV schedule is announced.
The SEC Tournament is scheduled for May 19-24 in Hoover, Ala.
Tickets for Mississippi State baseball can be purchased here.
Ole Miss
Mike Bianco’s Rebels experienced a resurgence in 2025 after their first two post-national championship seasons ended without the team in the NCAA Tournament. In the most recent campaign, Ole Miss not only made the tournament but cemented itself as a host team before ultimately falling to a Cinderella in Murray State, which later appeared in its first College World Series. Entering his 26th season in Oxford, Bianco will have ace pitcher Hunter Elliott and a litany of transfers in a pursuit of another postseason run.
RELATED: Ole Miss pitcher Hunter Elliott returning for 2026 season
Ole Miss will begin the upcoming season at Swayze Field in a Feb. 13-15 series against Nevada. The club will also host Arkansas State, Jackson State, Missouri State, and Southeast Missouri State before leaving Oxford for the first time.
The Rebels’ first road test will occur in the 2026 Astros Foundation College Classic. Bianco’s club will join Texas, Baylor, Ohio State, UTSA, and national title runner-up Coastal Carolina at Daikin Park, formerly Minute Maid Park, in the tournament from Feb. 27-March 1.
The Rebels will return home for midweek matchups against Memphis and North Alabama before hosting Evansville for their final non-conference weekend (March 6-8) before beginning SEC play. Ole Miss will open conference play at Texas March 13-15 for the first time as conference foes.
Ole Miss will return home the following weekend on March 20-22 to square off against Kentucky before hosting bitter rival Mississippi State March 27-29. Continuing SEC action, the red and blue will travel to Florida to open the month of April and then return home to welcome in the reigning national champions, LSU, on April 10-12. Ole Miss will play Tennessee in Knoxville on April 17-19 and host Georgia on April 24-26 to close out the month.
The penultimate road weekend series for the Rebels will take place at Arkansas on May 1-3, before returning home to face Texas A&M on May 8-10, then concluding regular season action at Alabama on May 14-16.
The SEC Tournament is scheduled for May 19-24 in Hoover, Ala.
Tickets for Ole Miss baseball can be purchased here.
