What Strengths Does New Pitching Coach Joel Mangrum Bring For Ole Miss?

With Ole Miss' hiring of Joel Mangrum, let's take a look at some of his previous stops and the success he's had when developing high-level pitchers.

Ole Miss Pitcher Grayson Saunier (25) throws the ball during the Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State Governor's Cup baseball game at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss., Tuesday, April 25, 2023. / Hannah Mattix/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY

The Ole Miss Rebels announced on Thursday that Joel Mangrum had been hired as a new assistant on Mike Bianco's staff, entering the role of pitching coach.

As Bianco stated: "He has a unique and dynamic way of developing pitchers and has proven his success at both the professional and collegiate levels."

Let's take a look at some of Mangrum's previous stops and view some of the pitchers he has developed throughout his coaching career.

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Mangrum has a proven track record with developing pitchers and recruiting at a very high level during his stints in the collegiate ranks.

He served as the recruiting coordinator and pitching coach at New Mexico State from 2015 to 2018 where he recruited and coached now-Baltimore Orioles pitcher Kyle Bradish. During his time at New Mexico State, Bradish finished with a sub-four ERA twice in his career. He was then taken by the Angels in the fourth round in 2018 and made his debut with the O's in 2022.

So far during the 2024 season, Bradish is in the top-one percent of pitchers in the MLB in average exit velocity, clocking in at just under 84 MPH. In the age of baseball where high exit velo and swing-and-miss are at an all-time high, Bradish misses barrels and forces lots of weak contact.

No disrespect to the New Mexico State program, but at the time, Bradish was the highest draft pick in program history. Mike Bianco and his staff have produced successful arms almost every year, and with the high level of recruiting at Ole Miss, Mangrum could do wonders with the types of resources the Rebels have at their disposal.

During his time at the professional level with the Cleveland Guardians, Mangrum and Doug Nikhazy worked together on Nikhazy's development. He also worked with former Rebel product Dylan DeLucia after the Guardians drafted him in the sixth round in 2022.

Mangrum has seen the body of work in some of the best arms that have played for head coach Mike Bianco.

The Rebels have a couple of current arms, however, that Mangrum has to be eager to get his hands on, and one that comes to mind is Wes Mendes. Mendes now has experience in the SEC as he had to pitch in a lot of high-leverage situations during his freshman season in 2024.

Mendes has some juice from the left side and, at times, ran his fastball up into the mid-90s. He has the tools to be a starter and could be a future Friday night guy down the road.

Coach Mangrum's experience and success speak for themselves, and with the talent at Ole Miss, this hire could help the program reach more consistent results at a higher clip in the juggernaut that is the SEC.