It was such a longtime ago when this college baseball season began.

For Ole Miss, it was mid-February when record crowds welcomed East Carolina to town and a young Rebel squad swept the Pirates. We’re almost to the Fourth of July now and two of our SEC members and rivals, LSU and Florida, are still playing.

That fact — that LSU and Florida are squaring off in the 2017 College World Series championship finals — says plenty about Ole Miss.

We started the season with a high ranking and high expectations and won some big games. But the long grind of play in the competitive SEC took its toll, and by May the Rebels were one-and-done in the SEC Tournament, which ultimately kept them out of the NCAA Tournament.

But that’s when the SEC flexed its muscles, roaring to regional wins and super regional wins, sending three teams to the coveted College World Series. Now, Florida and LSU are fighting for the national championship, meaning one team from the SEC will be the winner.

It wasn’t easy for Ole Miss this year, watching the postseason action at home. But so many young players got so much experience in what is obviously the toughest league in all of America.

One can’t help but believe that Ole Miss will get its day back in Omaha for the College World Series sooner than later.