Mississippi is the capital of the college baseball world after National Championship. Again. Get used to it. | Opinion
OMAHA, Neb. — For two weeks every June there are only 49 states in America. During the College World Series, Nebraska becomes an extension of Mississippi.
Ole Miss swept Oklahoma in two games in the College World Series finals to finish off a remarkable turnaround and secure the Rebels their first national championship. One year ago, Mississippi State took two of three games from SEC rival Vanderbilt to win its first national championship.
With all respect to Oklahoma and Vanderbilt, Ole Miss and Mississippi State turned Charles Schwab Field into Swayze Field North and Dudy Noble North. At least 80% of the fans in attendance for every game were rooting for a Mississippi school. One summer it was a maroon tide. The next it was a powder blue flood. The other teams never stood a chance.
The 2022 College World Series set a new attendance record with 366,105 fans over 15 games. It snapped a record of 361,711 fans set in 2021 when the Bulldogs came out on top.
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.
NATIONAL CHAMPS: Ole Miss beats Oklahoma, wins first College World Series title after remarkable turnaround
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The numbers are big. The effect is bigger. Ole Miss came back to beat Oklahoma Sunday thanks to three runs in the eighth inning, two that came off wild pitches from Oklahoma's All-American reliever Trevin Michael. Ole Miss senior designated hitter Ben Van Cleve is convinced the 20,000-plus Rebels fans willed that into existence by getting in the catcher's head, putting the game-winning RBI on the shoulders of the Swayze Crazies.
No one supports their college baseball teams like fans from Mississippi. But it takes more than fan support to win national titles. That's where the teams come in. And that's why Mississippi isn't just on top of the college baseball world today, but is poised to stay there for quite a while.
It takes talent, which Mississippi has in droves. Just ask Mississippi State standouts Kamren James, Logan Tanner and Brad Cumbest or Ole Miss stars Hunter Elliott, Kemp Alderman and Hayden Dunhurst.
It takes facilities. Mississippi has those without a doubt. With the exception of Charles Schwab Field (home of Creighton) and stadiums shared with minor league or independent league teams, Swayze Field and Dudy Noble Field are two of the three biggest ballparks in college baseball by capacity, both of which host great environments in distinctive, memorable ways.
It takes resources and that's not a problem either. Ole Miss and Mississippi State boast among the largest budgets for college baseball. Ole Miss alone put $6.7 million into baseball in 2021 according to its Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act form.
Perfect Game has Ole Miss ranked with the No. 4 recruiting class in the country for 2022 and Mississippi State ranked No. 7. The Bulldogs are in the top 10 in the 2023 and 2024 classes and the Rebels are back in the top 10 in 2024 as well.
This isn't a fluke. The state of Mississippi had never won a College World Series before 2021. Now it's won two in a row. And Ole Miss and Mississippi State are poised to keep making that happen. Just like there's no reason Southern Miss can't join the ranks.
The Golden Eagles have won 40 or more games in six straight seasons and hosted a regional and super regional in 2022. For a team that consistently has one of the best pitching staffs and pitching coaches in the country, all it takes is two hot weeks in June to end up in Omaha like their rivals from up north.
Ole Miss and Mississippi State are the first in-state teams to go back-to-back as College World Series champs since Texas and Rice in 2002 and 2003. Arizona and Arizona State are the only other teams to do it since the Eisenhower years. But Texas is a state of 30 million people and Arizona has almost 8 million.
Mississippi is a state of fewer than 3 million and ranks last in the U.S. in median household income. The Magnolia State doesn't have the advantages of Texas, Florida or California, the states that won 34 of the 73 College World Series before 2020.
But this decade, at least the start of it, belongs to Mississippi. And until someone comes to Omaha and pries the trophy and the attendance records away from Ole Miss and Mississippi State, that's not going to change.