Razorbacks, Rebels Meet on SEC Opening Weekend
OXFORD, Miss. – No. 3 Arkansas (16-1), set to begin SEC play on the road for the first time since 2016, rides a 12-game winning streak into its SEC Opening Weekend matchup against No. 13 Ole Miss (14-2) this weekend in Oxford, Miss.
First pitch in the series opener between the Razorbacks and Rebels is set for 2 p.m. Friday, March 14, on SEC Network+ with Jake Hromada (play-by-play), Keith Kessinger (analyst) and Loral Winn (reporter) on the call. The contest was originally scheduled for 6:30 p.m. before the threat of inclement weather necessitated a change in game time.
Saturday and Sunday’s contests, however, remain unchanged. First pitch in game two of the series is scheduled for 1:30 Saturday, March 15, on SEC Network+, while the finale will get underway at 1:30 Sunday, March 16, on SEC Network+.
Arkansas is off to a blazing hot start with a 16-1 overall record so far this year, matching its best 17-game start to a campaign since the 2006 season. Since Dave Van Horn’s first year as head coach in 2003, the Hogs have started 16-1 overall or better through their first 17 games of a season on three occasions: 2005 (16-1), 2006 (16-1) and 2025 (16-1).
Schedule
Friday, March 14
#3 Arkansas vs. #13 Ole Miss – 2 p.m. – SEC Network+ – Listen – Live Stats
Saturday, March 15
#3 Arkansas vs. #13 Ole Miss – 1:30 p.m. – SEC Network+ – Listen – Live Stats
Sunday, March 16
#3 Arkansas vs. #13 Ole Miss – 1:30 p.m. – SEC Network+ – Listen – Live Stats
On the Mound
Friday, March 14
Arkansas – LHP Zach Root (2-0, 2.11 ERA)
Ole Miss – LHP Hunter Elliott (3-0, 1.86 ERA)
Saturday, March 15
Arkansas – RHP Gabe Gaeckle (1-0, 6.16 ERA)
Ole Miss – RHP Riley Maddox (3-1, 3.44 ERA)
Sunday, March 16
Arkansas – LHP Landon Beidelschies (3-0, 2.37 ERA)
Ole Miss – RHP Mason Nichols (1-0, 4.20 ERA)
Tune In
Jake Hromada (play-by-play), Keith Kessinger (analyst) and Loral Winn (reporter) will have the call of the entire SEC Opening Weekend series between Arkansas and Ole Miss on SEC Network+. The SEC Opening Weekend series can also be heard on the Razorback Sports Network from Learfield, including locally in Fayetteville on 92.1 FM or through the Razorback app, with Phil Elson (play-by-play) on the call. A full list of radio affiliates is available here.
History Lesson
Arkansas is 62-53 all-time against Ole Miss, including a 25-23 record in Oxford. Under head coach Dave Van Horn, the Razorbacks are 37-43 overall and 13-17 in Oxford against the Rebels since 2003.
Arkansas is set to square off against Ole Miss on SEC Opening Weekend for the first time since 2013, and for only the second time since joining the conference in 1992. In the last SEC Opening Weekend series between the two teams during the 2013 campaign, the Rebels took two-of-three games against the Hogs at Baum-Walker Stadium.
SEC Opening Weekend
Since joining the conference in 1992, Arkansas owns an even 16-16 series record on SEC Opening Weekend, including a 11-3 record in home series and a 5-13 record in road series. The Razorbacks, opening league play on the road for the first time since 2016, have won seven consecutive SEC Opening Weekend series, including six sweeps in the process.
Arkansas swept Mississippi State in 2017, Kentucky in 2018, Missouri in 2019, Kentucky in 2022, Auburn in 2023 and, most recently, Missouri in 2024. The Hogs have not lost an SEC Opening Weekend series since being swept by South Carolina in Columbia, S.C., in 2016.
With A Win…
With a win in Friday’s series opener against the Rebels, the Razorbacks will improve to 17-1 overall and match their best 18-game start to a season in the Dave Van Horn era (2003-present). Since 2003, Arkansas has started 17-1 or better through the first 18 games of a season only once before: 2005 (17-1).
With at least one win against Ole Miss on SEC Opening Weekend, Van Horn will secure his 900th career win as head coach at Arkansas. The Head Hog, whose 1,484 career wins are second most among all active Division I head coaches, is the second-winningest coach in Razorback history behind only the legendary Norm DeBriyn (1,161 wins at Arkansas).
It Just Means More Wins
Entering the 2025 campaign, Arkansas has won 18 or more SEC games in seven consecutive seasons. LSU is the only other team in SEC history to record at least seven consecutive seasons of 18-plus SEC victories (10 from 1996-2005).
Arkansas has started 8-4 or better in SEC play for seven consecutive seasons. It is the best stretch of starting 8-4 or better in SEC play by a team since LSU did so in eight consecutive seasons from 1991-98.
Additionally, Arkansas has finished with 20 or more SEC victories in a season five times in program history, including four times under Dave Van Horn. The Razorbacks reached the 20-win mark in SEC play in back-to-back seasons in 2023 and 2024 for the first time in program history. Arkansas, which has reached the 20-win mark in SEC play in four of the last five full seasons, is the first team since LSU between 1994-97 to post four 20-win SEC campaigns in five years.
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