Ole Miss has won a school-record 18-straight games after Sunday’s 5-4 win over Texas Tech to improve to 2-0 at the State Farm College Showdown. And each step along the way of this winning streak, there has been at least one constant.

That’s Gunnar Hoglund.

Hoglund hasn’t had the easiest path to success at Ole Miss. He drew a combination of praise and consternation coming out of high school after turning down the Pittsburgh Pirates as a first-round pick. When you’re a first-round pick and you choose the college route over the big bucks, expectations couldn’t possibly be higher.

So, to say Hoglund’s freshman campaign was a learning experience for the ultra-talented righthander would be quite an understatement. It was that and more. Hoglund earned 16 starts and appeared in 17 games for the Rebels as a freshman, tallying a 5.29 ERA in 68 innings. He struck out 53 and only walked 14, but teams hit him at a shockingly high .282 clip.

There was a reason for that.

As a high school prep star, Hoglund had a big-time fastball that climbed into the mid-90s on a consistent basis. He also had a curveball. But more often than not in high school, he could just blow that fastball past hitters and get away with it without having to rely much on his secondary stuff.

That changed in a variety of ways in his first year at Ole Miss. In addition to needing to shelve the curveball, his fastball velocity wasn’t what it was in high school. As a freshman, he was more 88-91 and up to 92 mph with the offering, while the 74-76 mph curveball wasn’t missing bats at an elite level.

Something had to change between the fall before the 2020 campaign, and that was ditching the curveball to focus primarily on the slider and changeup.

Hoglund was well on his way to showing his complete self before the ’20 campaign was shut down. He tallied a 1.16 ERA in 23.1 innings, while also striking out 37 and walked four. Most notably, teams were hitting him at just a .205 clip when the season came to a close.

But when the season was shuttered, some wondered if Hoglund would continue this spring where he left off last season.

That answer is a resounding yes.

Facing one of the nation’s premier offenses Sunday afternoon, Hoglund, who admittedly didn’t have his best slider after the first couple of innings, struck out 11, walked three and allowed just three runs on three hits in 5.1 innings of work.

“The biggest thing you didn’t see today was the dominant slider. The slider was a big reason why his strikeout numbers were so good last spring,” Ole Miss coach Mike Bianco said. “He had a fastball, curveball and changeup as a freshman, and the curveball in high school. That works for him then. But he didn’t get swings and misses from those curveballs.

“I think he’s learned he doesn’t have to throw every pitch for a strike,” he added. “He can go out there and pitch more, and when you have super command like him, that’s what makes him special.

“There are guys out there that throw harder than him. There are guys out there that throw the slider harder than him, but he’s the whole package,” he added. “He has four pitches in the strike zone and really commands it well. To hit him, you really have to go out there and work. He was locating it in and out — against a pretty good offense.”

The 6-foot-4, 220-pound, was terrific in the first inning against the Red Raiders, going 1-2-3 with a pair of strikeouts — one on a 95 mph fastball and the other on a 96 mph heater. He allowed a two-run home run from Nate Rombach in the second inning and didn’t allow another run until Dylan Neuse greeted him with a solo home run to leadoff the sixth inning. He struck out Easton Murrell and was lifted for Austin Miller.

From a stuff standpoint, Hoglund has what you want from a frame standpoint, and has an easy, consistent, delivery. He was consistently 92-95 and up to 96 mph with the fastball early in the contest, while it was more 92-94 as the game progressed. He was 90-92 with the fastball in his final inning of work. He also threw some changeups at 83 mph, while the slider was effective at times at 83-87 mph — a couple of ticks higher from a velocity standpoint than last season.

“I thought he was pretty terrific against a very good offense,” Bianco said. “That’s a lineup that makes you work. It was not his best stuff today, but he had great command of the fastball and had velocity. Maybe after the first inning the slider was nonexistent, but he located the fastball well.

“Some of the things we tried to improve on — and credit him — is just trying to get more tilt on his fastball. I wanted more ride to his fastball, and we’re seeing that,” he added. “I’m not sure he’s throwing his fastball any harder than he did in high school, it’s just more consistent now.”

As for Hoglund, he credits a combination of technology and hard work for his continued improvements that have him a very safe bet to be a top two-round pick this summer.

“Using technology has been a big part of my improvement,” Hoglund said. “I was working on all my pitches — trying to get a complete arsenal. I can use any of my pitches in any count now.

“I can definitely tell a difference with my fastball,” he added. “If it’s at 88-90, someone can catch up to it, but when you’re pounding the zone at 92-95, you’re going to get some swings and misses.”

Ole Miss entered this season with high expectations, partly because of an expected rise by Hoglund.

More good days are certainly ahead for the Rebels, and for Hoglund, too.

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