Cougars superstar Trent Buckley is heading to the Southeastern Conference. After hitting 15 home runs as a sophomore, good for fifth in the nation, the junior committed to Ole Miss last week to play for 2022 national champions.
The 6-foot-4 superstar grew up a Mississippi State fan and while the Bulldogs were recruiting him and scheduled an official visit for him, Buckley said he felt like Ole Miss was the better fit.
“I laugh about it now because I never thought Ole Miss would be a college I'd consider,” he said. “Then I went there and knew, ‘This is the place.’ Now I’m committed there, so it’s always fun to see where things go.”
Buckley said it’s exciting to be blessed with the opportunity to play at the next level but that it’s about what you do with the opportunity.
“You just have to take it and run with it. You can’t just take it and be like, ‘Hey, I did it’ and just not do anything,” he said. “You have to keep working.”
He added that Mississippi State receiving so many other commitments recently made him feel like it wasn’t the right place for him.
During his visit to Ole Miss Oct. 11 and Oct. 12, Buckley attended the Rebels’ 24-21 win over Washington State and got to take in everything Oxford had to offer. He said he loved the electric atmosphere, walking through The Grove and experiencing Swayze Field under the lights.
“When I saw the atmosphere with all the people being there and then just walking around, it clicked,” he said of how the visit swayed his commitment. “When I was just walking around, everybody was like, ‘Hey, come to The Sip!’ Talking to the coaches, they expressed how much they wanted there and kind of made me decide.”
Buckley had offers from Southern Miss and Memphis and said Mississippi State was planning on offering him during his visit, which he has since canceled. He added that he talked to more than 20 schools that were trying to get him to take an official visit, which likely would have led to further scholarship offers. But he’s excited all of the phone calls and text messages are over now and said committing to the Rebels is a huge weight off his shoulders.
Cougars head coach Keith Stanley said it’s been a joy to be a part of Buckley getting to play in the SEC.
“He’s obviously my first one to send to that level. It's been fun sitting back and watching him enjoy the visits, the phone calls, the text messages from everybody,” Stanley said. “I've seen him bust his tail for so many years. It's that much extra better when you witness their work pay off with a scholarship to go play college baseball. It's really awesome to see.”
Although Buckley could see some innings out of the Rebels’ bullpen at some point in his career, Ole Miss is primarily focused on him as a power-hitting corner outfielder.
“I think he can be your typical middle-of-the-order hitter and hit 15-plus home runs and hit for a high average. I think he's a five-tool guy. I think he's still developing some tools, but I think by the time he gets to Oxford, he will be a five-tool guy,” Stanley said. “I think there's no question he'll be on the mound for them eventually too. I think he's just that freakish when he's on the baseball field. Ole Miss still wants to see him develop some of the pitching tools more, which is fine. He still has two years to do so. I think when he gets to Oxford, he will be your corner outfield type and then he'll probably come in and close the ball games for them as well.”
One of the best tools Buckley has had honing his skills has been competing against his older brother, Logan Buckley, who is committed to play at Southern Miss.
“Anything we do is a competition,” Buckley said. "We'll be outside throwing the football and it’s whoever can throw the best ball or if we're pitching, whoever throws the best, whoever has the best curveball. If we're out there hitting, it'll be whoever can square up the most balls or something like that. Growing up, I always was chasing him to be better than him — and still am at this point. Just having that to chase has always been better.”
Stanley said the brothers getting to compete against one another every day is a tremendous asset for them both.
“I think that's half the reason they push themselves so hard. That's 100% why they're so competitive in everything they do. They've been doing it since they could walk. It's starting to show and pay off,” he said. “They love each other, but they also have a competitive edge with each other that keeps each other straight. If one's working on hitting more than the other, the other one's going to let him know about it, no matter if it's baseball, checkers, chess — they're going to go at each other like it's the final out in the World Series.”
Since committing to the Rebels, Buckley said he and Logan have talked a lot about potentially squaring off against each other in the Ole Miss-USM annual rivalry showdown.
“We’ve definitely talked about a lot,” he recalled. “Like my dad said, he just wants the best for both of us. If I'm not hitting that game, he wants (Logan) to pitch really well. If Logan's not pitching the game, he wants me to hit really well. But if it's me versus him, I don't know how that'll end up. It's going to be a tough spot for our whole family for sure. He probably knows my swing better than anybody else because we've grown up hitting together, so it'll be a battle for sure. He’s good. He’d try to take out my back foot or something — never know with him.”
While Buckley is firm in his commitment to the Rebels, there’s a distinct possibility he never makes it to Oxford. As the No. 1 recruit in Mississippi and a top-25 recruit in the nation, the power hitter could be high on many MLB teams’ draft boards, making him a potential first or second-round draft pick out of high school.
“It’s always a possibility. If that time comes and it happens, I’ll go for it. But right now, I’m going to Ole Miss,” Buckley said. “You never know what the future holds.”
The junior expressed his gratitude for his parents, Stacy and Carrie, who have always supported him, as well as his coaches and brother.
Columbia Academy reached the state championship last season and was one game away from reaching state in 2024, and Buckley said he believes the upcoming 2026 season will finally be CA’s year to win it all.
“I think we got it. If we all play like we know we can, then we for sure got it,” he said.
