Rebel will compete in his final Bedlam series this weekend starting with Friday’s 7:30 p.m. opener — which will be televised by Fox Sports Southwest — at Tulsa’s Drillers Stadium. Since Rebel has been at OSU, the Cowboys are 6-0 against the Sooners (31-21-1, 8-15-1) in regular-season play.

Next week, the Sentinel product will make one last run at a conference championship when O-State (38-14, 16-8) heads to the Big 12 Tournament at Oklahoma City’s Bricktown Ballpark.

“It’s starting to sink in a little bit that I might not have many more college days left,” said Rebel, who recently graduated with a degree in business. “It’s been quite an adventure.”

Though Rebel will soon part ways with the Cowboys, the small-town legacy will live on. Tupelo, a Class B state semifinalist this spring, will send its star pitcher Randy McCurry to O-State next season and Dearth Parker of Roff — the Class B state runner-up — will also join the program.

Some of baseball’s greatest standouts have come from blink-and-you’ll-miss-it communities, including Mickey Mantle (Commerce, pop. 2,645) and Johnny Bench (Binger, pop. 708).

Monty Farriss, who led OSU to three straight Big Eight titles and a pair of College World Series appearances from 1986-88, grew up in Leedey (pop. 345).

“Baseball is probably the best sport as far as a kid coming from a small town and being successful,” Anderson said.

Before departing from Stillwater, Rebel hopes to see the Cowboys’ season end with a trip to the CWS in Omaha, Neb., a place where the program hasn’t set foot since 1999.

“I’m excited to see what the rest of the year brings,” the former Bulldog said. “I’ve enjoyed every minute of this.”