Mike Bianco details how Ole Miss pitching development has changed under new coach

Going into this baseball season, Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco decided to make a key change on his staff, bringing in a new pitching coach. That new pitching coach, Joel Mangrum, has now already impacted the program.

Recently, Bianco shared that pitching development at Ole Miss has already changed under Mangrum. It’s because of that he’s excited about the opportunity this team has in 2025.

“I think that’s probably a better question for the guys that are here,” Mike Bianco said. “You can probably get a few better answers from them, but I think a couple things that may be different than they may answer. The first I think is just time. He’s able to be with them so much more, which is great and refreshing where they get a lot more one-on-one time, and I thought that’s neat and that’s how he’s kind of devised the throwing programs and things where he’s working with guys in like a rain day today. One of the reasons he’s not here is because they’ve already started some group work. So, I think that’s terrific.”

Joel Mangrum came to Ole Miss after a stint in MLB with the Cleveland Guardians. While with Cleveland, he spent two seasons as the minor league pitching coach and four seasons as the minor league pitching coordinator. Throughout that time, Cleveland has been known for its pitching development. Prior to that, he worked in college, with stops at ULM, New Mexico State, Austin Peay, Milligan College, and Hinds Community College.

“The other thing I think is an obvious improvement is that we wanted to hire somebody that was kind of the top of technology development. Somebody from professional baseball and not just a minor league pitching coach, not throwing stones at those guys, but somebody at an upper level that is used to dealing with technology because we wanted to be cutting edge. He’s checked all those boxes. I’ve said it several times that we also wanted somebody with a college background because it’s not just about development. It’s not just about technology because a lot of pro guys, they don’t have to develop them for years. You draft a kid out of Oxford High School at 18 years old, he doesn’t have to make it to the big leagues for five years,” Bianco said.

“We need them to develop in five months. They need to come in August and improve and be a better pitcher when you open up in February. So, Joel’s background in college before professional baseball, I think, lends itself to that and he understands what we do. Not to mention the recruiting part of it. The college pitching coach also has to wear another hat and that’s recruiting, and he’s got to be able to deal and communicate with 16, 17-year-old kids. You have to be able to communicate and recruit the parents as well, where a lot of people in professional baseball never have done that.”

In the first weekend of the season, Ole Miss went 2-1, giving up 16 runs in those three games. Hunter Elliott, the Opening Day starter, for Ole Miss, was dominant. Behind him, Riley Maddox and Mason Nichols struggled as the starters on Saturday and Sunday, combining to allow nine earned runs in 6.1 innings pitched. For the entire weekend, the bullpen only surrendered seven earned runs in 10.1 innings pitched.

“So, I think he’s impacted the program on a lot of different levels,” Bianco said. “But the thing I’ve probably seen the most is just the relationship, the time he’s been able to spend with those guys, and I think that’s terrific.”