OXFORD – Ole Miss star sophomore running back Kewan Lacy will return to the Rebels for the 2026 season, the team announced on social media Tuesday morning. Lacy, the first Doak Walker Award finalist in program history, figured to be one of the highest-profile players on the market had he entered his name in to the transfer portal.
The 5-foot-11, 210-pounder from Dallas is third nationally with 1,464 rushing yards and is second in the FBS with 23 rushing touchdowns. He has run for 100 yards or more in six games – including a career-best 224 yards against Florida – and has scored at least one touchdown in all but one game. Lacy has three games with three touchdown runs this season. He is second nationally with 295 carries and has forced 88 missed tackles, according to Pro Football Focus. He had 110 all-purpose yards and two rushing touchdowns in the Rebels’ win over Georgia in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals at the Sugar Bowl.
Lacy was a four-star recruit out of Lancaster High School who originally enrolled at Missouri. He ran for 104 yards as a freshman for the Tigers before entering the transfer portal. He was rated as a three-star transfer by 247Sports.
“I’m so thankful to be here and for all the support from my coaches, fans, and teammates,” Lacy said in a press conference Sunday. “I give all the thanks to God and just keep going, keep going up.”
Senior quarterback Trinidad Chambliss also announced Monday that he will return to Ole Miss next season if he receives a waiver for an additional season by the NCAA. Despite not starting the first two games of the season, Chambliss, who finished eighth in Heisman Trophy voting, is fifth nationally with 3,660 passing yards and has thrown 21 touchdowns to just three interceptions. He also has 520 rushing yards and eight rushing scores.
“My decision to come to Ole Miss was to play football, put my best foot forward, and hopefully get on the field and contribute to the team. I think the season went well for me so far,” Chambliss said Sunday. “I felt really good with it, and I felt that this is the right spot for me. I like the coaching staff. I like the scheme. I like the team.
“ … Hopefully, I get another year. Just going to play ball and see what I wanted to do after, pursue the NFL. I know I want to play football as long as I can. We’ll see about that. And if that’s not the case, we’ll see then.”
A handful of other Ole Miss players have been announced to return in 2026 as well, including junior edge rusher Princewill Umanmielen, freshman punter Oscar Bird, junior kicker Lucas Carneiro, sophomore center Brycen Sanders, sophomore defensive back Jaylon Braxton, junior defensive back Antonio Kite, sophomore defensive linemen Jamarious Brown and Will Echoles and junior linebacker Suntarine Perkins.
No. 6 Ole Miss (13-1) faces No. 10 Miami (12-2) in the CFP semifinals today at 6:30 p.m. at the Fiesta Bowl. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
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