OXFORD | Mike Bianco was open to anything.

It was late April 2023, and his Rebels were floundering less than one year removed from the national championship, at the time sitting 21-20 overall and 3-15 in the Southeastern Conference.

Father Mark Shoffner, pastor at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Oxford, approached Bianco and suggested blessing Swayze Field. The Rebels faced Georgia at home that weekend, and Bianco, who is Catholic, took his religious leader up on the offer.

“I mean it couldn’t hurt, and we won that series,” Bianco said. “It was the only SEC series we won at home all season.”

Shoffner said: “The season wasn’t going well, and I figured out what the issue was, and it might not hurt to bless the field. Mike is not a big, showy person, but he agreed. We prayed to Saint Sebastian the patron of athletes.”

Shoffner, who replaced Father Joe Tonos (who was in Oxford for 17 years) as pastor at St. John in May 2022, and Bianco worked ahead for the 2024 season and met at Swayze Field last week to again bless the venue.

It was scheduled for late January, but the ice storm in the area pushed things back a couple weeks.

“It’s not like it’s some sort of magic,” Shoffner said. “I said thank you for all you’ve done for the program and the development of the players and all the people who are enriched by the games and the program. Watch over this place and season and protect it.”

Shoffner began in Oxford weeks before Ole Miss took to the road for the postseason and eventually won the national championship. During the parade honoring the Rebels following the season, Shoffner held a sign that said, “I prayed for you.”

Bianco leaned down as the parade passed by and quipped that Father Joe never won a national championship.

Shoffner is originally from Greenville, Mississippi, and was in Natchez serving St. Mary Basilica and Cathedral School for three years prior to Oxford.

His family pulled for Mississippi State, and his grandfather went to LSU, causing him to pull for the Bulldogs and Tigers. Shoffner admits he doesn’t like Brian Kelly, even though he’s Catholic. He swore off Oxford years ago after he said a woman cussed him in the Grove, but you know, the whole “you plan, God laughs” thing.

“I’ve always wanted to like Oxford and Ole Miss,” Shoffner said. “It’s a really special place. I now own more Ole Miss clothes than any other team. God has shown me that saying Hotty Toddy won’t make my back hurt.”

Shoffner only attended one baseball game during the 2022 season. It was against Texas A&M, and he said he wanted to email SEC commissioner Greg Sankey about how slow the Aggies were and how it made the game unwatchable.

He listened on the radio or watched all of the postseason and prayed throughout the innings. He didn’t know Bianco and his family well then, but they’ve since become closer.

Shoffner credits Bianco for being an example of commitment and consistency.

“He has so much on him, especially during the season, and he’s always at mass,” Shoffner said. “If he’s away, he goes to church in that place. He always talks about (his wife) Camie and how she helped him in this area, but it’s him, too. I see them on the front row and praying and such a good witness to the students and the players.

“That’s to me what it is, the witness and living his faith and being his witness. Not like he wants recognition for it. He didn’t want me to mention him after winning the title. I’ve told him he’s the only one allowed to use the backdoor if he needs to leave quickly and without running into people afterward.”

Shoffner plans to attend as many Ole Miss baseball games as possible this season. He wants to be a part of the community in every way possible. He’s been to every home men’s basketball game except for last week aganist Mississippi State.

He’s been to an Ole Miss-LSU game since arriving in Oxford. He wore Ole Miss clothes and stayed silent.

The Rebels are in Hawaii for four games starting Friday to open the season. The home opener is February 21 against Arkansas State.

Shoffner will be there, watching and praying. Bianco will be in his 24th season as Ole Miss head coach, adding to his win total that’s the second-most in SEC history behind Mississippi State’s Ron Polk.

“I was told there’s no term limit to my time here, and I truly love the people and the environment,” Shoffner said. “This might be God’s way of telling me I can’t hate Ole Miss.”