18 Most Important Diamond Rebels: No. 1 Christian Trent

For the last two-plus weeks, we’ve been recapping the 18 most important baseball players to Ole Miss’s 2015 season. After seeing high-ceiling freshmen, consistent role players, junior college transfers, incumbent stars and others, we are now only a day away from first pitch. The last 17 days have led us to the penultimate portion of our list, the No. 1 spot. Who better for that to go to than the staff ace, Christian Trent.

Trent had a remarkable season in 2014 after transferring in from Delgado Community College. The 6’0 lefty was a perfect 9-0 with a 2.05 ERA in 17 starts. He struck out 86 batters in 110 innings, walking just 20 and holding opposing batters to a feeble .233 average. Surprisingly enough he may have been even better in conference play, with a 6-0 record and 1.84 ERA in 10 starts against SEC competition.

Despite his tremendous play in the regular season, the most memorable game of Trent’s 2014 campaign was in the College World Series against Texas Tech. Facing elimination, Trent pitched eight shutout innings with six strikeouts and one walk, a game the Rebels would win 1-0.

A three-pitch hurler (fastball, changeup and slider), Trent admitted that oftentimes he only had two pitches working for him per outing. This offseason he has worked to make sure he is more consistent with the placement of his slider and changeup, allowing him to keep hitters off-balanced and guessing his second and third times through the order. Anytime a pitcher is able to work all of his pitches, it is a colossal asset to him on the rubber.

No longer the unknown transfer, Trent will face a lot of pressure going up against the staff aces from other teams. Instead of evening or winning the series on Saturdays, he will be trying to set the tone for the weekend with a Friday victory. The success of a weekend series may not end with Trent, but it certainly starts with him and that is equally as important.

If you wish to read more about Trent, here is a profile on the ace from last week. Thank you for keeping up with our countdown, we hope you enjoyed it and let’s play ball.

Recapping the list:

18. Kyle Watson, INF

17. Jacob Waguespack, RHP

16. Wyatt Short, LHP

15. Joe Wainhouse, 1B/DH

14. Connor Cloyd, OF

13.  Holt Perdzock, C

12. Evan Anderson, LHP

11. Tate Blackman, 2B

10. Cameron Dishon, OF

9. Austin Knight, C

8. Scott Weathersby, RHP

7. Colby Bortles, 3B

6. Errol Robinson, SS

5. Sean Johnson, RHP

4. J.B. Woodman, OF

3. Sam Smith, RHP

2. Sikes Orvis, 1B

1. Christian Trent, LHP

Michael Quirk is a HottyToddy.com staff reporter and can be reached at michael.quirk@hottytoddy.com.