When the offseason hit for Ole Miss baseball less than a month ago Mike Bianco went to work on looking for a pitching coach to add as part of a staff shakeup.
On Thursday that search ended with Bianco hiring Joel Mangrum as the new Ole Miss pitching coach. One requirement that was at the top of the list was a candidate that had collegiate and professional experience.
Mangrum fits that, coming to Oxford after spending the last six seasons with the Cleveland Guardians organization and the last four as Minor League Pitching Coordinator. He also had previous stints with ULM, New Mexico State, Austin Peay, Milligan College and Hinds Community College.
“We are super excited to bring Joel to Oxford and Ole Miss Baseball,” Bianco said in a statement. “He has a unique and dynamic way of developing pitchers and has proven his success at both the professional and collegiate levels.”
There are Mississippi ties with this hire as Mangrum is a Brandon native and played at Northwest Rankin High School, graduating in 2001.
The Guardians have the sixth-best team earned run average in Major League Baseball at 3.43. Three of the five starting pitchers worked through the Guardians system and were under Mangrum’s watch.
During Mangrum’s time as Minor League Pitching Coordinator, Cleveland’s Double-A team has posted the second-best ERA and batting average against in the Eastern League three of the four seasons.
“I’m really excited to be joining the Ole Miss Baseball family. I’m incredibly thankful for the opportunity that Coach Bianco has provided me and my family,” Mangrum said in a statement. “This is a dream come true. We look forward to making Oxford home and helping continue the tradition of Ole Miss Baseball being a national power in college baseball.”
Last week Ole Miss athletics director Keith Carter addressed the recent struggles the baseball program has experienced over the last couple seasons during a Rebel Road Trip stop in Memphis.
“I think that’s going to be a really cool addition and really changing with the times,” Carter said. “Allowing (Bianco) to be more of a manager and in the dugout more and work with the position guys more. Working on some of those things more, letting the pitching coach kind of handle the pitchers. That’s a big responsibility. You think about a roster of 40 or so, over half of those are pitchers. You’re spending a lot of time with those.”
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