« Baseball 2017

Colby Bortles

School
Ole Miss
Position
Third Base
Major
Criminal Justice

Classroom

Colby Bortles is a criminal justice major, who has appeared on the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll with a GPA above 3.0.

Character

Displaying leadership on and off the field, Bortles is a two-time team captain. He was chosen by his teammates to be team captain for the 2016 season before getting re-elected again this year. While soft spoken, he knows when to speak up and give his teammates a boost. He primarily leads by example, focusing on the task at hand and putting 100-percent effort into making himself better. He is also very respectful. For example, he always shakes hands with the media before every interview. He also welcomes the fans with a friendly smile, taking time after each game to sign autographs and pose for pictures.

Community

Since he arrived on campus, Bortles has been active in the Oxford community. For the past four years, he has participated in the Reading with the Rebels program, through which he reads children’s books to local elementary students. Bottles also has been an active participant of putting together the famous Love Packs that go out to those in community. Last fall, Bortles helped welcome a Shriners Hospitals patient to campus as the team threw a surprise birthday party for her. Bortles was one of the first to welcome her to the field. Bortles is currently interning with the Batesville Police Department as he pursues a degree in criminal justice.

Competition

Bortles entered his senior season as a Preseason All-American and Preseason All-SEC honoree. Through the first two weekends of the season, he led the team in home runs and RBI (10). From playing in 40 games and earning a start in the 2014 College World Series as a freshman to starting all 62 games last year, he has made his mark on the program. The Oviedo, Florida, native has appeared in 158 games through the first three seasons as a Rebel, making 129 starts.

As a .272 career hitter, Bortles has been known for his power at the dish with 34 doubles and 17 home runs. In 2016, Bortles led the Rebels in doubles with 21, ranking second in the Southeastern Conference as well as fifth in Ole Miss history for a single season. As a team captain, he helped Ole Miss to a 43-19 record that included 18 SEC wins and hosting the team’s seventh NCAA Regional in the last 13 years. He produced 14 multi-RBI games leading to a season total of 50 that was 15th among SEC hitters. After hitting seven homers as a sophomore, Bortles belted eight last season to go along with a .475 slugging percentage. He finished the season strong with multiple accolades, earning spots on the SEC All-Tournament team and the NCAA Oxford Regional All-Tournament team.