2011 Fall Posters!

With every new year comes a new series of posters. Here is a preview of the new fall posters for 2011. Be sure to check on olemisssports.com in the coming weeks for desktop backgrounds of your favorite Rebel sports and teams. Also be sure to check out the soccer and volleyball poster series that will be collectors editions at each home game this season.






Kudos to Dan Pellegrino on a job well done.

Johnson In Second Year In Pro Ranks

Former Rebel soccer player Danielle Johnson is in her second season playing professional soccer with the Sky Blue FC of Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS). The team is located in New Jersey and played all of its home matches at Rutgers University.

Johnson, a native of Baton Rouge, La., has played in four matches this year and her team is 3-5-4 this season with three if the team’s five losses coming by just one goal. Last year, Johnson made six starts for the team in her first season. She was taken by Sky Blue FC in the fourth round of the 2010 WPS Draft and was the 35th pick overall.

At Ole Miss, Johnson was a four-time All-SEC First Team honoree, and is the only player in Rebel history to accomplish that feat. She finished her career in 2009 and started 82 games during her career with the Rebels. Johnson recorded 11 goals and nine assists during her career at Ole Miss.


Photo credit: Howard C. Smith, ISI Photos

Freshman Rebels Arrive On Campus

A total of 20 incoming Rebel freshmen from various sports are already on campus, as they are enrolled in first summer term which began today. For football, 16 of the 23 newcomers have arrived, including seven prep All-American selections from the celebrated class that dominated recruiting in Mississippi like no school ever has.

Here are those new student-athletes that are enrolled in Ole Miss' first summer term.

Football

Justin Bell

Chief Brown

Serderius Bryant

Uriah Grant

Mitch Hall

Woodrow Hamilton

Ethan Hutson

C.J. Johnson

Maikhail Miller

Donte Moncrief

Collins Moore

Aaron Morris

Denzel Nkemdiche

Cody Prewitt

Kameron Wood

T.J. Worthy


Men’s Basketball

Aaron Jones

Jamal Jones

Jarvis Summers


Soccer

Rafaella

Strother Featured On ESPNU

Check out a feature on soccer player Jenna Strother from the ESPNU SEC Weekly special Stories of Success, which aired in December and is narrated by our good friend Cara Capuano.

A New Season Is Here!

The long summer wait is over, Rebel fans. A new school year is upon us, which means Ole Miss fall sports are in full swing.

The first official sporting event is tomorrow night as the Matthew Mott era of Ole Miss Soccer kicks off with the season opener vs. Middle Tennessee. Come out to see one of the SEC's best teams led by senior Taylor Cunningham and a talented group of young ladies.

Game time is 7 p.m., and admission is free for all fans at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium. Don't miss out on your chance to see the soccer team and all the Rebel sports this fall!

Soccer Signees Make National Competition

A trio of Ole Miss soccer signees joined forces for an Atlanta-based club team this year to achieve some lofty heights.

Soon-to-be Rebels Erin Emerson, Mandy McCalla and A'shanae Monroe helped their AFC Lightning club to a state and region championship to earn a spot in the 2010 U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships this week in Overland Park, Kan.

While they aren't teammates for their club, Emerson and McCalla have been big rivals on the prep pitch in their hometown of Fayetteville, Ga. This spring, McCalla led Starr's Mill HS to a state championship with a 2-1 win over Emerson's Whitewater HS in the title game. As one of the region's top goalscorers from her midfield position, McCalla was named the 2010 State 4A Player of the Year by the Georgia Soccer Coaches Association. Monroe, meanwhile, hails from McDonough, Ga., and was a standout speedster in both soccer and track for Eagles Landing HS.

The trio looks to bring a high level of skill and excitement to a Rebel squad coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance, as the Matthew Mott era of Ole Miss Soccer gets underway this fall.

Making Her Mark

Former Ole Miss soccer star Danielle Johnson continues to prove her worth on the pitch as a starting defender for the Women's Professional Soccer defending champion Sky Blue FC.

After making the team out of training camp, the four-time All-SEC pick worked her way into the Sky Blue's starting lineup, making four starts in five contests so far. Rebel fans should continue to expect big things from one of the all-time great Ole Miss players, who is an even better person.

And here is a recent shot of Dee guarding Brazilian sensation Marta (FC Gold Pride), generally regarded as the world's best female soccer player:

Photo by Howard C. Smith, isiphotos.com

Professional Soccer Player: Danielle Johnson

Despite getting drafted with the 35th overall pick in January's Women's Professional Soccer Draft, Danielle Johnson still had to proceed through a series of roster cuts to become a member of the New Jersey Sky Blue's 22-person roster.

She made it.

As Johnson showed throughout her standout prep days in Louisiana and her stellar four-time All-SEC career at Ole Miss, she has what it takes to compete at the highest levels. She's one of 22 players for the WPS defending champions, a squad list that includes five members of the U.S. national team and several more national team members from across the globe.

Click here for the complete story on OleMissSports.com.
Click here for Danielle's official bio page with the Sky Blue FC.

Soccer Has One of Nation's Best Turnarounds

The Rebels finished 13-6-2 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in program history with a banner 2009 season. And it was recently revealed by SomisSports.com that Ole Miss was the 10th-most improved team in the country from 2008 to 2009, using a formula based on net goals. For the complete list of the nation's most improved women's soccer teams, click here.

Catch Ole Miss Soccer On TV This Weekend

This year's Rebel soccer team has been performing at a very high level and has just cracked the Top 25 rankings (No. 24, Soccer America) for the first time since 2006. Steve Holeman's team is playing an exciting brand of soccer that has rewarded fans with the 12th-most goals of any team in the nation so far this season.

If you want to catch this group of electrifying young Rebels play high-level SEC soccer this weekend, all you have to do is turn on your television. Ole Miss plays at No. 16 Georgia Friday night (6:00 CT) on Fox Sports South and faces traditional soccer power Tennessee in Knoxville in a Sunday afternoon game (2:00 CT) televised by ESPNU. It's only the second time Ole Miss Soccer has ever been on TV twice in one weekend. And you don't want to miss it!

Soccer Team Among Nation's Leaders

In case you haven't noticed, the Ole Miss football team (women's, that is) has dominated its opponents in the early going this year. The Rebel soccer ladies are out-scoring foes 22-1 and have fired away 133 shots, while limiting the other team to just 28 shot attempts.

The NCAA released its first version of the national statistics today, and Ole Miss is all over them. The team ranks ninth in the nation in goals per game (3.67) and seventh in goals-against average (0.167). That means Ole Miss is currently one of the nation's top 10 teams both offensively AND defensively. The Rebels are also ranked high in shutout percentage (9th at 83.3), win-loss record (26th at 5-1) and save percentage (14th at 92.9).

A trip to sunny Florida to take on a highly rated Miami Hurricane squad and FAU will put this dominant Rebel team to the test before SEC play opens. Stay tuned for more goals and more shutouts!

Tons of Ticket and Schedule News

Football is quickly running out of tickets, while several of the other Rebel sports are not going to require a ticket this year. Also the women's hoops schedule has been announced. See links below.

Only 2,000 Football Season Tickets Left

Ole Miss Offering Free Admission For Selected Sports

Women’s Basketball Announces 2009-10 Schedule

New Posters In New Format

This year's fall sports posters are in a new 28x12 wide format. Check them out below. Visit the OleMissSports.com Publication Store to order them online, or beginning Saturday, posters may be picked up for free while supplies last at participating sponsors in Oxford, including Papa John's, Rebel Rags and Oby's.

Soccer Media Guide Coming Soon

The 2009 Ole Miss Soccer media guide is at the printers. The first Rebel sporting event of the 2009-10 academic year is just around the corner. Soccer plays at UAB on Sunday, Aug. 23, before its home debut on Friday, Aug. 28, against Morehead State.

Here's a sneak peek of this year's front cover...

Two Former Rebels Coaching In Oxford

A pair of former Rebels have recently decided to take the opportunity to remain involved in athletics in the Oxford community as Rachel Wenzel (formerly Kieckhaefer) and Melinda Scruggs were both hired to coach at Lafayette High School. Wenzel and Scruggs will be coaching volleyball and soccer, respectively.

The Oxford Eagle had a great write-up about the two former athletes.

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