Ole Miss is currently looking for reinforcements in the transfer portal and hoping to dodge MLB Draft defections, but some of the key pieces of a hopeful 2024 rebuild are already on the roster.

The Rebels have three true freshmen — Grayson Saunier, JT Quinn and Sam Tookoian — who threw at least 30 innings in 2023, and head coach Mike Bianco believes they will be centerpieces in the season ahead.

Brayden Jones, Cole Ketchum, Cole Tolbert and Mason Nichols all threw double-digit innings this past season and will return for 2024, while Jack Dougherty, Xavier Rivas and Mitch Murrell haven’t made public decisions. Riley Maddox, who threw three innings after returning from Tommy John rehabilitation, is also back.

Hunter Elliott had hybrid Tommy John surgery during the season, and his 2024 status isn’t yet known.

The Rebels went 25-29 overall and 6-24 in the SEC, the worst school mark since 1997.

The key is command as the three freshmen mentioned below combined to walk 91 in 131.2 innings overall and 48 in 67.1 SEC innings. Their SEC ERAs were 7.91 (Saunier), 7.94 (Tookoian) and 8.35 (Quinn).

Bianco, looking back, believes staff depth issues contributed to their struggles.

"Those three freshmen; there’s nothing else we could have done," Bianco said. "We had no choice, but its unfortunate we were so thin that they had to play such major roles where if they weren’t successful, no one picked them up. They were like the older guys and they shouldn’t have been in those situations but they were."

Saunier started the season in the weekend rotation, one of only four true freshmen to do so in Bianco’s 23 seasons as head coach. His best start of the season was a six-inning, one-run performance against Georgia, but he lost his starting role after two SEC series and finished with a 6.85 ERA in 46 innings.

Saunier struck out 52 and walked 27 while opponents hit .290 off him.

He lit up the fall after arriving on campus, with Bianco saying it was the best fall for a true freshman during his tenure. Despite pitching on a reeling team, Saunier found a few moments in the second half of the season.

Bianco on Saunier: "He’s super talented; he’s really good. What happened to him happens to some young guys. If you watch the fall, you see his super talent and not just with stuff, but he can really pitch. What happened is a combination. With Elliott going down there was more pressure for him to succeed and a risk of starting a freshman on the weekend is it’s unforgiving and there’s pressure versus starting on the weekend or a Tuesday night against a lesser opponent.

"Mentality-wise it was hard for him and it’s hard for freshmen. It’s a tough league and it’s hard to succeed. We’ve seen it. It’s not a high school thing. We saw it against us in the fall and scouts saw us. He was on the USA checklist because of the fall. He’s going to be fine; he’s going to be really good."

Quinn started the season in the bullpen and as a midweek starter before transitioning to the rotation. He lasted at least four innings six times in SEC play but struggled down the stretch after giving the Rebels a chance to win in most of his early starts.

His fastball was up to 98 MPH in the fall, and he has the makings of plus offspeed pitches. Quinn had a 6.83 ERA in 55.1 innings, the third most on the team. He struck out 63 and walked 36, with opponents hitting .281 off of him.

Bianco on Quinn: "I’m really proud of Quinn. What happened to Grayson, and this isn’t taking away from JT, but he got to start in the pen and starts on Tuesday and got some of that. Unfortunately for him, we were in such need on the mound, we probably had to rush him to the weekend and now he’s the Saunier, the kid on the weekend, pitching on Saturday on a team that isn’t doing much offensively or on the mound and now you're squeezing the heck out of him.

"It’s a shame. You say (Dough) Nikhazy did it, and that’s true, but Nikhazy didn’t necessarily have to do it. He started in the pen and got his feet wet and then moved to the weekend and took off with (Will) Ethridge pitching really well on Fridays (in 2019). Doug started on Sunday and then Saturday and took off. These guys didn’t have that luxury."

Tookoian didn’t allow a run in 12 of his 20 appearances, highlighted by some early season high-leverage opportunities. He had a 4.75 ERA in 30.1 innings with 44 strikeouts, 28 walks and a 2.19 batting average against.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pounder walked eight over his last four innings of the season, and he walked 16 in 11.1 SEC innings. He can miss bats, but command, especially with runners on base, led to difficult situations.

Bianco on Tookoian: "Tookoian is going to be really good. He has a shot to be really, really good and he has some Lance Lynn in him with the way he throws the ball. The fastball where people just don’t hit him. He has the makings of a good breaking ball. It’s a work in progress, but Lynn never had it and still doesn’t have it. He’s great in the Big Leagues at 38 years old. I say all that tongue in cheek, but it’s true, and Tookoian has it stuff-wise, and he has a shot to be a starter and can be really good here.

"If you look, early in the year out of the pen, he’d get out of big jams and struggle an inning or two later, and by the end of the year there were less of those lightning-in-the-bottle outings where you strike out the guy with the bases loaded and run off the field."