Steve Stricker

By Steve Stricker

Columnist

 

I don’t believe in fate or luck, but my Heavenly Father, God who in 1988 led me to Ole Miss and Oxford, my forever home. 

After a swell season (40-19, 16-14 SEC), strong run through the SEC Tournament in Hoover with wins over Florida (3-1), Arkansas (5-2), and LSU (2-0), Championship Game 3-2 loss to my beloved Vanderbilt, Number 10 National Seed Ole Miss Baseball hosting their 11th Regional in Oxford, Friday, May 30 to Tuesday, June 2, with Georgia Tech, Murray State, and Western Kentucky – playing Murray State “tomorrow” at 7pm.  Submitting this column on Thursday, May 29, so I have no idea how that Regional, or Super Regional in Georgia on Friday, June 6, turned out at the time of writing this; CWS on Friday, June 13 – GO REBELS!  

Since thankfully taking over as Head Coach of The University of Mississippi Baseball Program on June 7, 2000, my hero Mike Bianco, “Coach B” has become the winningest coach in Ole Miss history, 906-543-1, 18 postseason appearances, including hosting 11 Regionals, 7 Super Regionals and twice (five times in school history) to the College World Series winning the National Championship in 2022. Coach B was named Coach of the Year in the shortened Covid 2020 season and 2022…so much more – mind-boggling, dizzying stats! 

Coach B was Captain and starting catcher 1988,1989 for my awesome hero, LSU’s legendary Head Baseball Coach Skip Bertman (1984-2001), who personally helped me with my 1997 Ole Miss Ph.D., Dissertation, “Attributional Style and Perceived Self-Efficacy as Predictors of Sport Performance” using six SEC baseball teams.  Coach Ron Polk, Mississippi State (1976-2008) was another SEC legendary hero who helped me; “Steve, what else can I do to help you?” Whew…. 

Arriving in Camelot, I mean, Oxford in 1988 to work, teach, and administrator on the Ole Miss Campus and obtain my Ph.D., I was at that 1989 game in Oxford when LSU’s Mike Bianco caught Big Ben McDonald in our new stadium.  His wife, Camie, told me she was also at that game… After graduation, he coached elsewhere, then returned to Baton Rouge as Assistant Coach from 1993-1997. LSU won the CWS in 1997. Time – slow down! 

Then there’s that remarkable Bianco family, hero wife and dear friend Camie, Michael, Ben, Drew, Sam, Catherine – ALL, because of their fantastic parents now living in Oxford, several attending Ole Miss. Catherine and Drew are currently on the team with Coach B.  Coach wanted them to experience other things, not play for him, so Ben played for Louisville, and Drew at LSU.  Micheal is a coach.  I watched humorously on televised games as Drew and Ben rounded the bases after slugging a home run against Ole Miss as father, Coach B, looked awkwardly at his feet…. HA! 

If you truly know this incredible family, you understand why they are the winners.  Coach B and his family are first of all solid real people, strong faith Catholics, attend St. John the Evangelist in Oxford, devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, with his awesome wife Camie who is the glue (should get much credit for her husband’s success – if you know her you will agree) along with her wonderful mother Patty and dad Jerry Marquette, dear friends who sit behind me at daily Mass – so  young, can’t believe they are her parents – love them and are thankfully some of my closest friends.  Y’all, this family is so important to me for who they are – the humblest, God-loving folks on this planet and I love them dearly.   

Then there is the Ole Miss Softball Team (42-19), at the helm, 5th year head coach Jamie Trachsel, in the WCWS, Oklahoma City, for the first time in program history, scheduled to play Texas Tech (50-12) “today” Thursday, May 29, at 6pm.  GO ALL YOU ROCK’N REBELS!  

This Oxford, this Ole Miss – love and so humbly proud to live here, to have worked and taught on Campus, and have my Ph.D., from Ole Miss.