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Entering his 25th season at Ole Miss Mike Bianco is embracing his new role, approach

11by:Jake Thompson•about 10 hours•

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Ole Miss baseball head coach Mike Bianco. Mandatory credit: Ole Miss athletics

The past two seasons were beyond forgettable for the Ole Miss baseball team after winning the program’s first national championship in 2022.

At the top of the list of frustrations for fans was head coach Mike Bianco and the desire by some to see a change made at the helm of the program. Bianco was retained but there was a change made.

Joel Mangrum was hired as the Rebels new pitching coach. The first person to oversee the pitching staff that was not named Mike Bianco since 2000. A pivot that was needed and one that is seemingly bearing a lot of positive results throughout Fall ball and preseason practices.

From the onset Bianco left Mangrum to his own devices and let his new pitching coach direct things as Mangrum saw fit.

“Going in, and I told him and he didn’t like it. He wanted me around more, but I thought it was probably best that I probably stay away from the pitchers more so than I probably would in a normal year,” Bianco said on Monday during media day.

“I think for common sense, one, to give him some room to do and be himself and to coach them the way he would coach them. Then number two, because of my relationship in coaching the pitchers the last few years to not stunt that by me being there . If there was something that was contradictory or something that we did, we want to win. Joel wants to win, the staff wants to win and certainly I want to win.”

The approach was such this Fall due to being Manrum’s first season with the program, though the complete hands-off approach might not be the same in the Falls that follow, Bianco said.

Ole Miss and Bianco will start the new approach on Friday against No. 12 Arizona.

With the 2025 season starting this weekend in Arlington, Texas, Bianco is now in a new position with Ole Miss. He is still the head coach, but he is more of an overseer than honed in one specific position.

Whether it is the outcome desired, Bianco made a sweeping change, including curtailing a lot of his day-to-day responsibilities with the pitchers.

Now that he is left to put focus more so on the entire team during the regular season than honing in exclusively on the pitchers, game day routines will be altered.

“We’ll meet every morning prior to a game and I’ll have more time to meet with (Ole Miss hitting coach Mike Clement) and talk about the lineup,” Bianco said. “I’m looking forward to that. To be able to sit down with him, like we did about the (starting) rotation, to discuss it. I don’t know that debate’s the right word, but to discuss it. Hear his opinion. To hear his convictions on different game plans and who should be first out of the bullpen in certain situations.”

Bianco even took his preparation for this new shift in his responsibilities a step further, meeting with a MLB manager over Zoom. While he did not say which coach it was Bianco said they went over the previously mentioned game planning and how to manage a game in that capacity.

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