The Daily Mississippian

05/26/2026

Ole Miss Baseball landed the No. 2 seed in the Lincoln Regional. The Rebels will face Arizona State on Friday, May 29 at 8 p.m. ESPN2 will broadcast the game. Nebraska and South Dakota State will also compete in the regional.

The No. 13 Cornhuskers went 42-15 and 23-7 in Big 10 play this season. They lost to now-No. 11 national seed Oregon 8-0 in the Big 10 Tournament. They have the No. 10 rating percentage index in the country and No. 40 strength of schedule.

The Rebels have are No. 16 in RPI and No. 4 in SOS. ASU finished the season 37-19 overall and 19-11 in Big 12 play. They lost to now-No. 16 West Virginia 7-3 in the Big 12 Tournament. The Sun Devils are No. 44 in RPI and No. 74 in SOS.

Read more at thedmonline.com

05/19/2026

University of Mississippi student Walker Fendley sustained fatal injuries in a vehicle collision on Thursday, May 14, in Charlottesville, Va. The 19-year-old was transported to the University of Virginia Health System, where he later died from his injuries.

The car ran off the road and struck a tree, throwing Fendley out of a vehicle carrying three passengers, according to the Albemarle County Police Department, which reported to the scene. All three passengers were taken to UVA Health with life-threatening injuries.

Fendley, a rising junior studying sport management, was a member of the Pi chapter of the Delta Tau Delta Fraternity at the University of Mississippi.

The Charlottesville, Va., native graduated from Monticello High School in May 2024, where he played varsity soccer and was involved in the Leadership Club and National Honor Society. Fendley served as a summer camp counselor for a Charlottesville fitness center in 2025 teaching tennis.

Read more at thedmonline.come

05/17/2026

Ole Miss Baseball received the No. 9 seed in the 2026 SEC Baseball Tournament. They will face No. 16 Missouri on Tuesday, May 19 at 9:30 a.m. in the Hoover Metropolitan Complex in Hoover, Ala. The Rebels ended the regular season 36-20 and 15-15 in SEC play.

Missouri finished the regular season 23-29 and 6-23 in SEC play. If Ole Miss wins its first round matchup, they will move on to face No. 8 Mississippi State on Wednesday, May 20 at 9:30 a.m. The winner of that game will take on No. 1 Georgia on Thursday, May 21 at 3 p.m.

Read more at thedmonline.com

05/14/2026

Ole Miss Softball will travel to Lubbock, Texas for their 10th consecutive NCAA Tournament Regional from May 15-17. Alongside the No. 6 seeded Rebels, No. 3 (No. 11 overall) Texas Tech will also host Boston University and Marist College. Ole Miss’ first game of the tournament will be broadcast on ESPNU on Friday, May 15 at 1 p.m.

The Rebels will play either Texas Tech or Marist on Saturday, May 16. If Ole Miss wins the regional, they face the winner of the Gainesville, Fla., regional, which includes No. 2 Florida, No. 7 Texas State, Georgia Tech and Florida A&M.

The Rebels went 34-24 (6-18 SEC) in the regular season and won two games in the SEC Tournament against South Carolina and Tennessee. The Raiders went 52-6 (21-3 Big 12). They made it to the Big 12 Championship as the No. 1 seed but lost to No. 6 Arizona State.

The Terriers were 16-2 in the Patriot League and won their eighth conference tournament trophy in 11 years earlier this month. Marist also won their conference championship (MAAC) and went 24-3 in conference play.

Read more at thedmonline.com

05/14/2026

A growing trend in graduation photos has created new challenges for the University of Mississippi Department of Facilities Management. When champagne bottles have stopped spraying, they leave behind damage that the department must repair.

Graduates can be spotted across campus taking photos with friends, family, confetti and champagne during graduation season. Mike Dunnavant, the director of facilities services, has concerns about staining on campus signs and popular locations caused by popping champagne bottles for photoshoots.

“They go to the Lyceum, and they go to the Grove sign and they’re … popping champagne bottles,” Dunnavant said. “The champagne is staining the concrete, and we can’t get it clean.”

The problem is chemical as much as it is behavioral, according to Dunnavant.

“The champagne is acidic, and it reacts with the lime in the concrete,” Dunnavant said. “The sugar in the champagne also stains that porous limestone.”

The damage is especially concerning at newer campus features, such as the Grove Plaza completed in 2024 at the intersection of University Avenue and Grove Loop.

“That Grove sign is brand new,” Dunnavant said. “It was quite an expensive project, and we can’t get that stain out of that concrete right now.”

The issue extends beyond the University of Mississippi campus. Dunnavant said facilities leaders across the Southeastern Conference have raised similar concerns.

“That topic came up from three or four other campuses … asking each other if they were having that same problem,” Dunnavant said. “None of the other schools had a solution for it either.”

Other universities have also reported issues with non-biodegradable celebration materials like polyester (mylar) confetti.

“They mentioned a mylar confetti, and it doesn’t biodegrade down into the grass like the paper confetti does,” Dunnavant said.

Despite the issues created from graduation photograph trends, compared to other large-scale campus events, commencement generates relatively little waste. Most of the cleanup consists of small, scattered items.

Read more at thedmonline.com

05/13/2026

No. 15 Ole Miss left their series win over No. 10 Texas A&M with more optimism than they have had in weeks — that is because of Hunter Elliott and Taylor Rabe. Both looked like championship-caliber starters last weekend. However, the team’s biggest bat for much of the season, Tristan Bissetta, is still in a slump.

Elliott delivered one of his most important outings of the year on Friday, May 8. The senior entered the season with massive expectations. As a veteran of the national championship roster and one of the most experienced arms on the team, Elliott was expected to anchor the rotation from day one.

For most of the 2026 season, he has been solid. While Elliott has not shown award-worthy performances every weekend, he has been a reliable Friday night starter.

Then came the rough stretch. Against Georgia on April 25, Elliott lasted just 3 ⅔ innings while allowing eight runs with two strikeouts. A week later at Arkansas, he struggled again, giving up six runs in only three innings.

The struggles were concerning not just because of the numbers, but because they came so close to postseason play. The Rebels needed their ace to stabilize the rotation, but instead he looked out of rhythm.

That changed against one of the best teams in the country, Texas A&M. Elliott looked like himself again with a lively fastball and strong command.

He went six innings, allowed just one earned run and struck out 11 Aggies hitters in what could have been his last home start for the Rebels. It was the type of dominant outing Ole Miss fans expected from him entering the season and a reminder of what the Rebels’ pitching staff can look like when Elliott is at his best.

Read more at thedmonline.com

05/12/2026

Judd Utermark broke the all-time Ole Miss Baseball home run record with his 49th career homer against UT Martin on May 12 at Swayze Field.

Kyle Gordon had previously held the record since 1987. Utermark tied Gordon on Sunday, May 3 against Arkansas.

Utermark will look to extend his record with 3 games left in the regular season. Plus, the SEC and NCAA Tournament.

Read more at thedmonline.com

05/12/2026

The Lafayette County Board of Supervisors voted 3–1 at its meeting on Monday, May 4, to not rezone parcels of the Lafayette County Max D. Hipp Industrial Park from I-2 heavy industrial to I-1 light industrial, permitting the Magnolia Materials asphalt plant to begin construction there pending approval from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ). Lafayette County residents who requested the rezoning in January 2026 to prevent the plant’s construction are considering legal action.

Residents have until May 14 to file an appeal of the board’s decision to be heard by the Lafayette County Circuit Court. Residents opposing the plant’s construction will voice concerns to MDEQ at the agency’s public hearing on June 10 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Oxford Conference Center.

The Lafayette County Board of Supervisors accepted the Lafayette County Planning Commission’s recommendation on March 23 to decline the rezoning application filed by county residents Ronnie McGinness, Meg Faulkner Duchaine and John Duchaine.

Brent Larson, president of the board of supervisors, was absent from the May 4 meeting due to medical reasons. District 5 Supervisor Greg Bynum, vice president of the board, led the meeting.

“The applicant must prove there has been a change in the character of the neighborhood that has created a public need for the rezoning and the proposed rezoning is consistent with the comprehensive plan,” Joel Hollowell, Lafayette County Director of Developmental Services, said at the meeting.

Walt Davis, the attorney representing the rezoning applicants, said Hollowell failed to mention that rezoning could occur if there was a mistake in the zoning.

Davis argued that the board incorrectly zoned parcels of the industrial park as (I-2) heavy industrial, as there is no transitional zoning and too many residential neighborhoods in proximity to the heavy industrial zoning.

Read more at thedmonline.com

05/07/2026

The University of Mississippi announced Rich Gentry as the new dean of the School of Business Administration on May 6, pending approval by the Mississippi’s Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees. If approved, Gentry will begin in the role on July 1.

Gentry currently serves as chair and professor of management and is the FNC Founder’s Chair in Entrepreneurship. As co-director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE), Gentry has helped students navigate entrepreneurial pursuits and launch their own companies.

Noel Wilkin, provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Mississippi, cited Gentry’s “student-focused leadership, innovative teaching and track record of building programs” as reasons for his selection following a nationwide search.

According to the University of Mississippi’s press release, Gentry has significantly influenced the design and growth of the general business program, the entrepreneurship major and minor and the business school’s study-abroad programs.

Read more at thedmonline.com

05/05/2026

Ole Miss Women’s Basketball welcomes nine new players to the 2026 roster.

Ole Miss Women’s Basketball head coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin spoke about the Lady Rebels’ 2026-27 transfer portal class in a press