Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard talks 'fuel' for 2026 and new-look roster

OXFORD – Chris Beard admittedly had never been through a season quite like what 2025-26 brought his and Ole Miss’ way. After making a trip to the program’s second ever Sweet 16 – and first in 24 years – expectations were high last season for the Rebels, who lost four of five starters but added six four-star transfers, according to 247Sports’ rankings. The Rebels won their first five games in the 2025-26 season before enduring a four-game losing streak.

Ole Miss was 11-7 following a one-point win at Mississippi State and had won three games in a row. The Rebels proceeded to lose their next 10 and 12 of 13 overall to close the regular season. Two of the last three losses came in overtime, and the regular-season finale saw South Carolina win on a buzzer beater.

Ole Miss entered the SEC Tournament as the No. 15 seed and won three games to advance to the semifinals before falling to eventual champion Arkansas in overtime. The Rebels finished the season 15-20; it was Beard’s first losing season as a head coach.

“I’ve never experienced a season like we did last year,” Beard told the Daily Journal in a one-on-one interview. “So for me, there’s a lot of fuel, lot of opportunity. ” The college basketball calendar does not provide much time for introspection these days, Beard said, and he hasn’t had much time to look back on how exactly the season veered off course the way it did.