Ole Miss alumni saw last season Mike Bianco’s skills as a baseball coach.

On Wednesday, they can check out his golf swing.

Bianco, who led Ole Miss to within one win of the College World Series in June, will participate in the Ole Miss Alumni Club District 9 Golf Scramble Wednesday at Clear Creek. The event begins with a shotgun start at 12:30 p.m., and Bianco will speak at the clubhouse after the tournament, around 5 p.m.

The entry fee for the four-man scramble is $60 per player, and includes lunch, cart, refreshments and prizes.

While Bianco has recruited several players from Warren County in the last few years – ex-Warren Central stars Brian Pettway and John Morgan Mims, as well as former Vicksburg High standout Justin Henry were all part of this year’s team – the coach said playing in the tournament was more a way to give back to the area’s Rebel fans than trying to lure new players to Oxford.

“It’s not so much because of the players we recruited, but because the fans have been so supportive. We don’t do a lot of these tournaments because of the schedule. When we can, we’re usually busy with the season,” Bianco said. “The fans and people are so supportive of us that if we have the time, we want to spend a great day with them.”

That fan support has helped turn Ole Miss into one of the premiere college baseball programs in the country. The Rebels ranked eighth in the nation in total attendance in 2004, hosted a regional and a super regional this year, and came within one win of eliminating eventual national champion Texas in the NCAA Super Regional.

It may be hard to duplicate that success next season. Ole Miss must replace six starters, including Pettway, who won the Cellular South Ferriss Trophy as the best college player in Mississippi and was a first-team All-Southeastern Conference selection.

Bianco was confident the Rebels could keep on rolling, though. He noted that a number of young players played key roles last season, including Henry. The utility man was named to the All-SEC Tournament team and was the Rebels’ second-leading hitter with a .374 average.

“I think, coming off last year and all the success we had and the six guys we lost, it’s going to be tough to replace them,” Bianco said of this year’s departed juniors and seniors, who led Ole Miss to 102 wins the last three seasons. “The good news is we replace them with a great group of kids, and many of those were starters and stars on last year’s club.”