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Hunter Elliott undergoes Tommy John surgery

OXFORD | Hunter Elliott had Tommy John surgery on Wednesday, RebelGrove.com first reported on Thursday

“After further examination, it was decided that Hunter would need Tommy John surgery,” Ole Miss said in a statement later on Thursday. “He had the surgery done yesterday, everything went well and he is recovering.”

Texas Rangers team physician Dr Keith Meister performed the operation.

The Rebels are at Missouri starting tonight at 6:30 on SEC Network. The Friday and Saturday games begin at 6 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively.

Ole Miss is 24-21 overall and 5-16 in the SEC — tied with Missouri for 13th place and one game behind 12th-place Mississippi State. Twelve teams qualify for the SEC Tournament.

Ulnar collateral ligament reconstructions traditionally require a year for recovery, though hybrid procedures (repairing and reconstructing) are becoming more common and can have a player back as early as eight to 10 months. Elliott, a sophomore, is eligible for the 2024 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft.

Elliott suffered a UCL sprain following his five-inning start on opening day and shut down for eight weeks before returning against LSU on April 22. He threw 49 pitches and gave up five runs in one-plus innings.

The Tupelo, Mississippi, native typically sits around 90 MPH with his fastball, but against the Tigers, he started at 86 and 87 MPH and maxed at 90, struggling with consistency and command.

Twenty-three of Elliott's 49 pitches were strikes, and he walked five of the 10 batters he faced.

“Hunter still felt discomfort after his start on Saturday to the point where we feel it is in his best interest for him to revisit with a physician early next week," Mike Bianco said to RebelGrove.com in a statement the week following LSU.

Elliott felt forearm tightness in the days after the start against Delaware in February and saw multiple doctors who were in consensus that the injury was non-surgical at the time. He didn’t suffer any setbacks in his throwing program during the eight-week break.

The left-hander was a Freshman All-American for the Rebels in 2022. He threw 80 innings with a 2.70 ERA and allowed only four earned runs in 25.1 NCAAA Tournament innings.

Elliott started and gave up two runs in 6.2 innings against Oklahoma in the final game of the national championship series. Ole Miss won, 4-2, to clinch the title.

The Rebels are starting Xavier Rivas and JT Quinn on Thursday and Friday against Missouri. Ole Miss is TBA on Saturday, though Grayson Saunier is the expected stater. He’s the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week.

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