Arch Manning, Eli Manning, Johnny Vaught, Peggie Gillom, Cary Middlecoff. All five names listed have earned the right to enter immortality into the history books of Ole Miss athletics.
Add Tim Elko to the party. He earned his legend card after a farewell season on The Grove.
Elko is more than just a member of the Rebels roster that won its first national baseball title. He’s the captain. The leader. The general of those rebel rebels who defied the odds earlier this year.
Oh, and he’s a champ. Has this already been mentioned?
Elko will leave Oxford as captain for three years. During his time on first base, third base, designated hitter and outfield patrol, he posted a .294 lifetime batting average with a .985 OPS. His 46 career home runs rank second all-time in program history. His 159 RBI ranks eighth.
One season would be enough to immortalize the legend that is Elko at Swayze Field. His 24 homers last year were a program record in a season. With 75 RBIs, he will rank second in the one-season category. Elko has also reached at least .300 since the 2020 season, so there is a level of consistency.
All are valid reasons to make Elko a staple in Ole Miss history. One value is the brightest on his CV: courage. Elko has a lot – so much, trainer Mike Bianco would probably pay top dollar to bottle it up and recreate the ‘secret stuff’ from ‘Space Jam’ for next year’s list to believe it can repeat itself.
Elko defines which determination is defined as in Webster’s dictionary. He didn’t play much in his first year and had to work his way into the starting lineup a year later. There were sags along the way at the level of the plate. The same could be said with the glove.
A 2020 COVID-19 season brought Elko’s hottest start to his career. A torn ACL in April 2021 was supposed to end his All-American season, but as Babe Ruth told Benny ‘The Jet’ Rodriguez how “heroes remember, but legends never die,” that Elko didn’t. was not going to fall without a fight.
Just 25 days later, Elko was back. So did Ole Miss’s title chances. He earned top honors at the Oxford Regional in 2021. A year later in Coral Gables, Fla., he was the regional MVP, going 7 of 9 at home plate with three home runs and seven RBIs. In Omaha, it was a similar feeling as he would be named to the CWS All-Tournament Team.
“He’s like a mentor to me, the way he picked me up, kept me going, put my head straight,” CWS MVP Dylan DeLucia said of the Rebels captain. . “I’ve never seen anyone like that.”
We could look at the stat line and give Elko his gold jacket to get into Ole Miss’ prestigious club. It is his vocal presence that sets him apart.
As of May 1, the Rebels had seven games under .500 in conference. Bianco was rumored to be fired at the end of the season. After winning the No. 1 ranking in mid-March, Ole Miss was on the verge of missing out on the playoffs altogether.
Something broke at Elko’s that day. It broke in the Rebels locker room. Losing was not an option and he wasn’t going to take it.
“There’s so much to say about everything we’ve overcome this year, how much we’ve had to fight, how much we’ve had to pick ourselves up and never let ourselves down,” Elko said.
Ole Miss got hot. Elko warned the baseball world via Twitter May 30 to keep the rebels cool. He doubled the warning after qualifying for super regionals a week later. Ole Miss’ offense has averaged 7.5 points throughout the playoffs. He threw three shutouts, including back-to-back outings against Southern Miss to advance to Omaha.
As the rebels roasted, Elko broke out. In 11 games, the senior hit .372 with five home runs, 14 RBIs and 14 runs. Ole Miss would go 10-1 in the playoffs with its only loss coming at Arkansas.
And to think that this almost did not happen.
“I prayed after last year’s draft,” Elko said. “God told me I didn’t end up here at Ole Miss. I was like ‘Okay, let’s do this thing then.’ It was the best decision I could have made.”
Ole Miss is a national champion. Elko is a legend. Any accolades on the field will strengthen his case on the rebels’ Mount Rushmore. His demeanor off the pitch and his leadership in the locker room make him a favorite to fight his way into the top four.
Bianco joked Sunday that Elko had won a statue to place outside Swayze Field. Maybe one day it will happen. Hoping that the mustache makes its appearance.
The ever-humble Elko isn’t looking for that. He has his memory of the trip to Charles Schwab Field.
Again, there is no “I” in the team, is there?
“I just want one of us to hold the national championship trophy,” Elko said. “That’s all I want.”
