Joel Mangrum has 'brought professional baseball' to Ole Miss pitching staff
The 2025 college baseball season is still a couple days away from starting but the Ole Miss baseball pitching staff feels like it could perform at Spring Training.
Due to the efforts of new Rebels pitching coach Joel Mangrum in his first handful of months the pitchers are already offering up rave reivews before the first competitive pitch is thrown in Mangrum’s first season back at the college level.
When head coach Mike Bianco made the decision to search for a pitching coach, the first to hold the title other than himself in his 25-year tenure in Oxford, Mangrum was on the short list. Former Ole Miss players vouched for Mangrum, who was the Cleveland Guardians minor league pitching coordinator prior to coming to Ole Miss.
Former Rebels ace and current Guardians organization pitcher Doug Nikhazy was “jealous” of the current roster of Ole Miss pitchers that were going to get the knowledge, coaching and development under Mangrum he was losing.
Comments from current ace Hunter Elliott and Riley Maddox on Tuesday during the team’s media day only corroborate Nikhazy’s emotions.
Elliott was drafted in last July’s MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 20th and final round but opted to return to Ole Miss for one final season. Multitude of reasons for why he did but among that list was getting the chance to learn from Mangrum, who was fresh off a stint in the major leagues.
“(Mangrum) was kind of at the top of pitching coaches in Minor League/Major League Baseball. You’re not just getting that type of development but some of the best at that level,” Elliott said. “He’s got us really locked into our routines. He’s got us really locked into really knowing our-self and our individual mechanics. The development’s just been outrageous.”
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Elliott and Riley Maddox will get the first two starts for Ole Miss this weekend in Arlington to open up the season.
Maddox was not drafted, making his announcement to return on the third and final day of the draft last July, ending any speculation of what he would do if selected.
While Elliott is back in the Friday night slot Maddox will get the ball on Saturday against No. 19 Texas at 7 p.m. CT inside Globe Life Park.
Elliott had his own reasons for wanting to come back but Maddox really liked the allure of getting to learn from a MLB-level pitching coach while still being able to develop at the college level one final season.
“He’s pretty much brought professional baseball to Ole Miss, which is great,” Maddox said. “That was one of the reasons why I wanted to come back after meeting him. Because, that’s what I was getting in pro ball if I (went) instead of staying here. It was a no-brainer. He was a big reason why I wanted to come back. …Along with kind of having a chip on our shoulder.”
Working with Mangrum has already added a couple more miles per hour to Maddox’s velocity through Fall ball and preseason work.
