How many College World Series titles have Ole Miss won?

The appearance of the Ole Miss Rebels in the NCAA tournament was marginal, their run through the tournament was unlikely and the result was unprecedented: a first national title for the University of Mississippi.

In their fifth ever appearance in the big show, and only their second in the last 50 years, Ole Miss has won the College World Series.

In a pitching duel that saw both teams go scoreless into the sixth, Oklahoma clawed out a 2-1 lead. The almost unhittable Cade Horton, who had given up only two runs in 7.1 innings, was replaced with the excellent Trevin Michael. Getting the second out before surrendering a run on a Jacob Gonzalez RBI, Michael then had an uncharacteristic wobble, serving up a brace of wild pitches that allowed two more runs to cross the plate.

With the Rebels going into the ninth inning up 4-2, Brandon Johnson came out to close the book on the Sooners, and boy did he ever. He slammed it shut, with gusto. On 14 pitches, he struck out the side, and just like that, the little team that could were national champions.

Rebels ace Dylan DeLucia, who threw a four-hit shutout against Arkansas on Thursday to earn Ole Miss a spot in the finals, was named the Men’s College World Series Most Outstanding Player for 2022.

This is the second year in a row that the national championship will have a Mississippi address. With the Mississippi State Bulldogs bringing it home last year, the Ole Miss Rebels have just shifted it down the road from Starkville to Oxford.

With this amazing post season run capping off a season that saw the Rebels hold the number one spot in the NCAA polls for two weeks in April, this is perhaps a sign that the Delta is indeed the spiritual home of college baseball.

While Mississippi State had an abysmal season in 2022, Southern Miss made a strong run into the super regionals, taking down strong favorites LSU, before eventually succumbing to the Rebels themselves.

Prior to 2021, no school in Mississippi had ever won the College World Series. Now the state has two national titles in a row. This could be a harbinger of good things to come for the Magnolia State. Ole Miss has reportedly spent $6.7 million into its baseball program in the last year, and is ranked number four in the recruiting stakes. Mississippi State is just behind them at seventh.

With Ole Miss and Mississippi State going back-to-back to bring the national championship back home, the hopes are bright for this sparsely populated, poor state. With less than 3 million people and ranking dead last in average household income, it is hoped that some of the magic that has touched Mississippi baseball in the last couple of years will rub off to other areas in the University systems and beyond.

The 2022 College World Series set a new attendance record with 366,105 fans over 15 games. Sunday’s crowd of 25,972 was 1,467 over stadium capacity and the biggest crowd in a College World Series finals game since 2017.

There is money to be made for these programs and Mississippi is likely to get a big share of it over the coming years.