Headlines
Houston Astros Select Grae Kessinger in the Second Round
By Adam Brown
Sports Editor
adam.brown@hottytoddy.com
Video by Jackson Solari
Ole Miss junior shortstop Grae Kessinger got the call that every baseball player dreams of at midnight on Monday. The Houston Astros picked him in the second round of the 2019 MLB Draft as the 68th pick overall.
The Oxford native enters the super regional against Arkansas with a .332 batting average for the season. He has scored 63 runs and driven in 47 while tallying 18 doubles and five home runs. He’s been efficient at the plate as well, drawing 40 walks while striking out just 32 times in 262 at-bats. His .427 on-base percentage is third on the team. Additionally, Kessinger is 16-for-19 in stolen bases.
This season Kessinger dominated in conference play with 51 hits against league competition. His .405 batting average and .472 on-base percentage were good for second during the conference season. He was also among the top 10 in the league in doubles, total bases, slugging percentage, RBIs and stolen bases.
Kessinger became the 174th player selected in the MLB Draft in program history and the 107th selection under coach Mike Bianco’s tenure.
In the field, Kessinger has been a vacuum at shortstop with just eight errors, 94 putouts and 153 assists.
The Rebels return to the diamond on Saturday as they take on the No. 5 nationally seeded Arkansas Razorbacks in a best-of-three series. First pitch is slated for 11 a.m. on ESPN.
| Mon, Nov 4 |  | vs Long Island University | W, 90-60 |
| Fri, Nov 8 |  | vs Grambling | W, 66-64 |
| Tue, Nov 12 |  | vs South Alabama | W, 64-54 |
| Sat, Nov 16 |  | vs Colorado State | W, 84-69 |
| Thu, Nov 21 |  | vs Oral Roberts | L, 100-68 |
| Thu, Nov 28 |  | vs BYU | W, 96-85 OT |
| Fri, Nov 29 |  | vs 13 Purdue | L, 80-78 |
| Tue, Dec 3 |  | @ Louisville | W, 86-63 |
| Sat, Dec 7 |  | vs Lindenwood | W, 86-53 |
| Sat, Dec 14 |  | vs Southern Miss | W, 77-46 |
| Tue, Dec 17 |  | vs Southern | W, 74-61 |
| Sat, Dec 21 |  | vs Queens University | W, 80-62 |
| Sat, Dec 28 |  | @ Memphis | L, 87-70 |
| Sat, Jan 4 |  | vs Georgia | W, 63-51 |
| Wed, Jan 8 |  | @ 23 Arkansas | W, 73-66 |
| Sat, Jan 11 |  | vs LSU | W, 77-65 |
| Tue, Jan 14 |  | @ 5 Alabama | W, 74-64 |
| Sat, Jan 18 |  | @ 17 Mississippi State | L, 81-84 |
| Wed, Jan 22 |  | vs 13 Texas A&M | L, 62-63 |
| Sat, Jan 25 |  | @ Missouri | L, 83-75 |
| Wed, Jan 29 |  | vs Texas | W, 72-69 |
| Sat, Feb 1 |  | vs 2 Auburn | L, 92-82 |
| Tue, Feb 4 |  | vs 10 Kentucky | W, 98-84 |
| Sat, Feb 8 | | @ LSU | 7:30 PM SECN |
| Wed, Feb 12 |  | @ South Carolina | 6:00 PM SECN |
| Sat, Feb 15 | | vs 17 Mississippi State | 5:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Feb 22 |  | @ Vanderbilt | 2:30 PM SECN |
| Wed, Feb 26 | | @ 2 Auburn | 6:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Mar 1 |  | vs 12 Oklahoma | 1:00 PM TBA |
| Wed, Mar 5 |  | vs 1 Tennessee | 8:00 PM TBA |
| Sat, Mar 8 |  | @ 6 Florida | 5:00 PM SECN |