Ole Miss athletics are officially done for the year, but there’s no time like the present to take a look at the year that was.
Here are the individual and team awards for Ole Miss athletics for the 2023-24 academic year. A reminder that these are just my picks and they are, of course, subjective.
Team of the Year: Football
Making history at a program that has fielded teams for nearly 120 years is no small feat. Being “the first” in something is even more impressive. But that’s exactly what the 2023 Ole Miss football team did, becoming the first 11-win team in program history. The Rebels had their share of wild wins — including a 55-49 win over LSU that came down to the game’s final play.
Ole Miss capped off its season with a dominant 38-25 victory over Penn State in the Peach Bowl and finished ranked in the AP’s top-10 for just the second time since 1970. Perhaps just as crucial were the few months following the season the Rebels had, where the top-ranked transfer portal class and returns of stars like quarterback Jaxson Dart have the Rebels firmly in the College Football Playoff conversation in 2024.
Honorable mentions: Women’s Track & Field (finished fifth overall at NCAA championships), Women’s Golf (won Bermuda Run regional, advanced to NCAA Championships), Women’s Basketball (advanced to Round of 32 in NCAA Tournament and made third-straight NCAA appearance); Women’s Rifle (finished seventh nationally)
Male Athlete of the Year: Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan, Track & Field
Robinson-O’Hagan just completed the indoor-outdoor sweep of the shot put national championships as a sophomore. His winning throw at last week’s NCAA Outdoor Championship went 68-feet 6-inches. He is the first sophomore to win the outdoor shot put title since 2005. He also placed seventh in the hammer throw and is currently prepping for the Olympic trials. Michael LaSasso had an incredible year for the Rebels’ golf program, and Jaxson Dart became the face of Ole Miss football. But it’s hard to argue with national championships.
Honorable mentions: Michael La Sasso, Golf (All-American and All-SEC pick, Jaxson Dart, Football (led Rebels to first 11-win season)
Female Athlete of the Year: McKenzie Long, Track & Field
Long won three national titles at the NCAA championships last week — the 100-meter, 200-meter and was part of the 4×100 winning relay team. Her 21.83 second 200-meter time is currently the fastest in the world for the year. She is also a finalist for the Honda Sport Award for Track & Field, given annually to the nation’s top women’s track & field athlete. The Rebels’ women’s track & field team finished fifth overall at the NCAA Championships, which is tied for the best finish in program history.
Honorable mentions: Caitlyn Macnab, Golf (All-American selection), Madison Scott, Basketball (first-team All-SEC pick)
Male Newcomer of the Year: Tre Harris, Football
Ole Miss football finetuned its roster through the transfer portal to great success in 2023, culminating in a Peach Bowl win and top-10 final ranking. There were a lot of contenders on the football team alone for Newcomer of the Year, but it’s hard to go against Harris. The Louisiana Tech transfer burst onto the scene with 133 yards and four touchdowns in the season opener against Mercer and kept producing despite suffering a knee injury that required surgery during the season. He had five 100-yard efforts, including an 11-catch, 213-yard performance against Texas A&M.
Harris’ game-winning touchdown reception with less than a minute to go against LSU was among the most memorable plays in recent Rebels history.
Honorable mentions: Michael La Sasso, Golf, Andrew Fischer, Baseball (transferred from Duke; second-team All-SEC, led Rebels with 20 home runs)
Female Newcomer of the Year: Caitlyn Macnab, Golf
Macnab was a star at TCU her first two seasons of collegiate golf and picked up right where she left off after transferring to Ole Miss for the 2023-24 school year. She was named second-team All-American by the WGCA and third-team All-American by Golfweek. She is ranked the No. 22 women’s Division I golfer by Scoreboard. She won two events — including a first-place tie (-12) at the Bermuda Run Regional — and had an additional five top-10 finishes. Macnab has another year of eligibility remaining, too.
Honorable mentions: Brianna Lopez, Softball (transferred from Hawai’i; 2.86 ERA was third on team and 103 strikeouts led the Rebels), Jahniya Bowers, Track & Field (Youngstown State transfer; member of NCAA champion 4×100 relay team)
Game of the Year: Football win over LSU
It was a shootout for the ages.
LSU’s high-powered offense, orchestrated brilliantly by eventual Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels went head-to-head with a well-oiled Ole Miss offense led by quarterback Jaxson Dart. The matchup didn’t disappoint, with the teams combining for a whopping 1,343 yards and 66 first downs. The Rebels trailed by two scores in the fourth quarter but took the lead with 39 seconds remaining on a 13-yard catch-and-run from Harris.
The game was far from over, however, as Daniels drove the Tigers down the field and into range to win the game with a touchdown pass. Daniels’ final heave was broken up in the back of the end zone, and the Rebels emerged victorious in the ranked matchup.
Honorable mentions: Baseball vs. Mississippi State on April 13 (10-9 win in 12 innings), Men’s Basketball win vs. Mississippi State on Jan. 30, Women’s Basketball win vs. Mississippi State on Feb. 18 (Madison Scott’s layup with three seconds in fourth quarter sent game to overtime)
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