Ole Miss and Tennessee start a three-game set in Oxford on Friday at 6:30.
The No. 1 Rebels and No. 5 Volunteers continue at 7 p.m. Saturday and 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. The Friday and Saturday games are sold out.
Ole Miss is 2-1 in the SEC and 16-4 overall after taking two of three from Auburn last weekend. Tennessee is 20-1 overall and 3-0 in the SEC with a sweep of South Carolina. The one loss was a 7-2 setback to Texas in the opening game of the Shriners Children’s Classic in Houston.
The Rebels are somewhat banged up offensively heading into the top-five matchup, with several potential starters out of the lineup against Memphis on Wednesday. Here’s a quick update on Ole Miss’ health with Tennessee in town.
TJ McCants tweaked his hamstring in the series finale against Auburn on Saturday and didn’t play against Memphis.
"Pretty good, likely to play this weekend,” Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco said. “I think he’s going to be OK. Each day is getting better and watching him go through the rehab and go through the things (Trainer) Josh (Porter) has him going through and (strength coach) Zach Boone watching him run. I think by this weekend he has a good shot at playing.”
McCants is tied with Justin Beach for the team lead in batting average at .357 and is second in hits and on-base percentage (out of qualifying players).
Calvin Harris hasn’t played since March 6 because of a midsection strain, and he’s unlikely to end that hiatus this weekend.
The sophomore catcher, who can also play other positions, is hitting .542 in nine games, but he’s not yet healthy enough to play without issue.
“Getting closer; I don’t know about this weekend,” Bianco said. “He’s hitting and starting to swing but not 100 percent. He can catch and throw now but the swing obviously with the twisting and the torque is the last thing that comes, but he’s made some big steps forward. I just don’t know what this weekend holds.”
Hayden Leatherwood missed Wednesday’s game with an illness. The outfielder with a .300 average and .942 OPS in 17 games should be available versus the Vols.
"He’s sick,” Bianco said Wednesday. “The saying now is non-COVID illness. It’s not an injury or COVID. He’s sick. Back a couple years ago we would just say he’s sick, so he’s sick.”
Kevin Graham and Max Cioffi have no set timetable for their returns.
Graham, who led Ole Miss in RBIs at the time of his injury, had surgery on March 9 to repair a broken scaphoid bone in his wrist. Ole Miss gave a four-week timetable for his return, though the injury recovery for that procedure typically takes at least six weeks to regain full function.
A pin was placed in his wrist during the operation, and the injury shouldn’t be one that affects him after he’s recovered.
Max Cioffi had Tommy John surgery in April 2021, and he’s out of the rehabilitation throwing program nearly a year later.
Cioffi only threw 2.2 innings in last season before injuries sidelined him the rest of the season. In 2020, he didn’t allow a run in eight innings, and he has 38 career appearances.
“It’s just trying to get him game ready,” Bianco said. That’s the tough thing and we don’t want to run him out there (before he’s ready) so we’re revising a plan if you would. It sounds complicated, but it’s really just to get him ready for live hitters.
“He’s thrown to live hitters and he’s thrown bullpens but to get him to how he’s capable of pitching. It’s one thing to be healthy and the ligament to be fine, but it’s another to be able to perform like he was able to, and that’s why there is such a 10-to-15-month recovery and a wide range and what it takes to come back from that.”
