The Grove Report

Mike Bianco, Hunter Elliott Earn 2022 D1Baseball Honors

The Ole Miss Baseball coach and freshman southpaw bring in more honors following the Rebels' first national title.

Ben King

Ole Miss Rebels baseball coach Mike Bianco and left-handed pitcher Hunter Elliott have each earned another postseason honor. 

D1Baseball named Bianco the 2022 National Coach of the Year and gave Elliott First Team Freshman All-American honors.

This is the third coach of the year award Bianco has received after he led the Rebels to their first national title in program history, a goal that took 22 years to reach. 

In Bianco's 22 seasons with the Rebels, he has coached them to 18 NCAA Tournament appearances, eight Super Regional appearances, and two College World Series visits. Bianco is also the third-winningest coach in SEC baseball history with 854 career wins behind Ron Polk and Skip Bertman.

Bianco made all of the right calls regarding the pitching staff when the Rebels were in a midseason slump. One of those decisions was to promote Elliott from the bullpen to the starting rotation, a choice that paid off for both the coach and true freshman southpaw. 

Elliott was a crucial part of the Ole Miss championship run, only allowing four earned runs in four starts during the NCAA Tournament, and has now earned his third Freshman All-American nod for his role in the postseason. 

In his freshman year, Elliott recorded a 2.70 ERA and 102 strikeouts in 80 innings pitched. Elliott's ERA ranked third in the SEC and his strikeout total was the sixth most in the conference. 

Bianco and Elliott, along with Ole Miss shortstop Jacob Gonzalez, are competing with the 2022 USA Baseball National Team in The Netherlands at Honkbalweek Haarlem. Team USA plays Japan on Saturday with the first pitch set for 6 a.m. CT.

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Rebels? Click Here.

Follow The Grove Report On Facebook and Twitter.

Published
Ben King
BEN KING

Home/Baseball