Ole Miss has its first pledge in the 2027 recruiting class, and it comes with a clear identity: a pure shooter.
On Monday night, 247Sports’ David Johnson reported that Chris Beard and the Rebels landed a commitment from Texas-based guard Paxton Ivy. That gives Ole Miss an early start on the next cycle, with Ivy becoming the program’s first commit in the 2027 class.
Ivy, a 6-foot-3 shooting guard, is coming out of Rockwall Heath High School in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He spent time at Lawrence Academy in Boston before returning to Dallas for the upcoming season. His game is built around feel and perimeter shooting, and last season at Lawrence he knocked down 40% of his attempts from beyond the arc.
“When coach Beard took time out of his day to come down to Dallas to watch me practice and spend some time with me that day…that really meant a lot to me,” Ivy said, via Zach Berry of On3. “Obviously he’s really busy and everything with the season coming up and then the rest of the staff, they kind of laid out the plan for me and they’re super excited. They all have a winning mindset over there and it really just stood out to me and I just felt like there was only one right fit and it was Ole Miss.”
Beard’s team is closing in on the start of the 2026-27 season, which begins Nov. 2. Before that, Ole Miss will get an early look at the roster on Oct. 15, when it faces Alabama in an exhibition in Birmingham.
In Other News...
Ole Miss Has A Quarterback Drawing Rare Praise From Herbstreit
Kirk Herbstreit spent part of ESPNs college football conversation this week making an unusually bold case for Trinidad Chambliss, the Ole Miss quarterback whose rise has turned heads well beyond Oxford. Even with Alabamas Keelon Russell fresh off a strong performance, Herbstreit singled out Chambliss as the passer he would take above every other quarterback in the sport, and Joey Galloway joined in the discussion by pointing to the traits that have made Chambliss such a tough player to ignore.
For Ole Miss, the praise only adds to the intrigue around a quarterback who has already forced his way into the national conversation while working through his sixth year of eligibility granted by a court injunction. Chambliss has produced strong passing and rushing numbers through four games, and the bigger question now is how his game translates down the line, especially with his height mentioned as a possible NFL limitation. [Read more 🡒]
Former Rebels Are Making NFL Noise And Fighting For More
A number of former Rebels were in the middle of the NFL conversation in Week 4, with familiar names showing up across box scores and on special teams in ways that should keep Ole Miss followers paying attention. The recap touched on everything from receptions and pass breakups to tackles and sacks, a reminder that the programs reach in the league runs well beyond the marquee quarterbacks and receivers fans tend to notice first.
Some ex-Rebels also dealt with the less glamorous side of an NFL season, with injuries and limited roles shaping how much they were able to contribute. Even so, the week left open the question of who can turn a strong early-season showing into a bigger opportunity next, and which of these former Rebels is on the verge of forcing more meaningful snaps. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Faces One Vanderbilt Question That Could Shape This Road Trip
Ole Miss comes out of the bye week looking to steady itself after the loss to Florida, and the road trip to Vanderbilt gives the Rebels a chance to reset in a setting that can still turn tricky if they let it. The Commodores have had their own ups and downs, but the matchup is shaped as much by roster churn as by recent results, with both sides trying to sort out what they really have heading into the next stretch.
One of the biggest variables is Vanderbilts passing game, where wide receiver Junior Sherrill and quarterback Jared Curtis are both dealing with injury uncertainty. For Ole Miss, that creates a game-plan wrinkle that could determine how aggressive the Rebels need to be on defense and how much pressure they can put on a team already searching for stability. [Read more 🡒]