OXFORD | JT Quinn learned on the job while things spiraled last season.

The then-freshman went from reliever and midweek starter to part of the rotation in 2023, getting his first collegiate experience in the middle of the Rebels floundering to 25-29 overall and 6-24 in the SEC.

The right-hander flashed some showed an ever-improving fastball in the mid to upper 90s and a potentially-plus breaking ball, but things were up-and-down in a league that mostly punished inexperienced arms.

“Kind of got beat up a little bit last year, and he’s different now,” Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco said. “You can tell and not just stuff-wise and being a better pitcher. It’s confidence and understanding the game and how the game is played.

“Being able to pitch out of some jams… The expectation is higher but handle them better. He’s shown that confidence.”

Quinn is the frontrunner to start opening day for Ole Miss in eight days at Hawaii as part of a four-game set. He was likely that anyway but especially after senior Xavier Rivas tore the UCL in his left elbow on Friday. Rivas is out for the season.

Quinn had a 6.83 ERA and .281 batting average against in 17 appearances, 12 starts and 55.1 innings.

He struck out 63, walked 36 and hit eight batters. It was the second-most starts on the team and third-best ERA, strikeouts, and batting average against, as well as the third-most innings pitched.

In SEC play, however, Quinn struggled with 24 walks in 36.2 innings, leading to an 8.35 ERA and .322 BAA. Ole Miss, as a team, walked the 11th-most batters in the SEC while offensively drawer the fewest walks in the league.

“Whatever happened last season, we wanted to know what caused it,” Quinn said. “A lot of it was just commanding. Commanding the baseball, commanding the strike zone. Obviously velocity plays a little bit of that.

“A lot of it was just commanding and trusting your stuff and being able to trust that you have really good defenders behind you, that they’re going to do their part.”

Quinn’s best SEC outing was against Arkansas when he allowed one run in five innings on three hits. He went at least five innings three times out of nine SEC starts. He struck out eight against Arkansas and LSU and threw four scoreless against Southern Miss.

While the Rebels brought in the majority of a new lineup offensively, Quinn and Grayson Saunier are sophomores in charge of helping turn around the Rebels’ fortunes on the mound. Transfers, such as Liam Doyle and Kyler Carmack are also in the mix, but development is key for Ole Miss.

“The stuff is more consistent,” Ole Miss assistant Carl Lafferty said of Quinn. “The physical immaturity of it going through a season of that length last year and now you see more consistency and his mindset is great.

“The second time is knowing you can do something versus thinking you can do something.”