Enough is Enough: Brian O’Connor Slams Missed Opportunities as Mississippi Baseball Spirals
OXFORD, Miss. – August 6, 2025
Mississippi baseball head coach Brian O’Connor is no longer holding back.
After a brutal 7-2 loss to SEC rival LSU on Tuesday night—capping off a disappointing stretch that’s seen the Rebels drop 10 of their last 13 games—O’Connor let his frustration boil over in a fiery postgame press conference, sharply criticizing his team’s lack of execution, discipline, and heart.
“Enough is enough,” O’Connor said bluntly. “We’ve had opportunity after opportunity to turn things around, and every single time, we’ve found a way to shoot ourselves in the foot. That’s on the players, that’s on the coaches—that’s on all of us. But I’m not going to sugarcoat it anymore.”
The Rebels’ season, once filled with promise, has quickly spiraled into chaos. After entering conference play ranked in the top 15, Mississippi now finds itself near the bottom of the SEC standings, fighting to stay in NCAA tournament contention. The offense has gone cold, the bullpen has become unreliable, and costly errors have plagued nearly every close game.
Tuesday night’s loss was a perfect example.
Mississippi loaded the bases in the third and fifth innings but came away empty both times. The defense committed two crucial errors in the sixth, allowing LSU to blow open a tight 3-2 game. O’Connor, who is known for his calm demeanor and methodical approach, finally reached his breaking point.
“You can’t expect to win when you leave 11 men on base and can’t make routine plays,” he said. “We practice these situations every day, and then we get out there under the lights and it’s like we forget how to play the game.”
O’Connor, who came to Mississippi with a national championship pedigree from Virginia, is now facing mounting pressure from fans and boosters. This was supposed to be the year the Rebels made a deep postseason run—perhaps even a return to Omaha. Instead, they’re struggling to stay afloat in the toughest conference in college baseball.
Despite the anger, O’Connor made it clear he hasn’t given up on the season.
“We’re not throwing in the towel,” he said. “But if guys aren’t willing to compete, if they aren’t willing to lock in and play clean baseball, they won’t be out there. It’s that simple.”
Senior shortstop Ryan Delgado echoed his coach’s frustration in the locker room.
“We’ve let him down. We’ve let each other down,” Delgado said. “This program has a standard, and right now, we’re not meeting it. But there’s still time to fix it—if we want it bad enough.”
With a pivotal series against Arkansas looming this weekend, the Rebels are running out of time—and excuses. For Brian O’Connor and Mississippi baseball, the message is clear: either fight back now, or watch the season slip away entirely.
