OXFORD — Ole Miss baseball ace Hunter Elliott will miss the remainder of the 2023 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, a statement from a university official confirmed Thursday morning.

The left-hander has made just two starts this season after playing a key role in the Rebels' journey to the national championship last year. Elliott experienced left forearm tightness after starting Ole Miss' season opener against Delaware. In response, Ole Miss shut him down from throwing. He returned to start against LSU on April 22 but was clearly not himself. With his velocity down and his control suffering, he didn't record an out in the second inning.

"After further examination, it was decided that Hunter would need Tommy John surgery," the Ole Miss statement reads. "He had the surgery done (Wednesday), everything went well and he is recovering."

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The question now becomes whether Elliott will be available to help the Rebels much next season, with recovery times for Tommy John surgery typically hovering around a year.

Pitching depth has been and continues to be a major concern for the Rebels (24-21, 5-16 SEC), who travel to Missouri (25-19, 5-16) to begin a three-game series on Thursday (6 p.m., SEC Network). Xavier Rivas and JT Quinn will start the first two games of the series, with the final spot in the weekend rotation left open for now.

David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Hunter Elliott injury: Ole Miss baseball ace done for season