OXFORD − There were a lot of reasons Ole Miss baseball coach Mike Bianco could have given when asked why he hired Joel Mangrum to be his first pitching coach before his 25th season with the Rebels.

Mangrum is well-versed in college baseball and professional baseball and has tremendous experience with analytics. He was most recently the minor league pitching coordinator with the Cleveland Guardians for the past four seasons.

But those aren't the responses Bianco gave Wednesday.

"I thought it was time to hand over the reins to somebody else," Bianco said. "But with that, going further, I thought I wasn't as good."

The Rebels are coming off back-to-back losing seasons since winning the College World Series in 2022. Ole Miss posted a 5.88 ERA last season, the third worst in the SEC. That's after a 6.40 team ERA in 2023, also third worst in the conference. Injuries have hampered the rotation in both seasons.

"Even though I thought we pitched better last year than the year before, we have to pitch better if we want to compete in our league," Bianco said.

Bianco, a former catcher, has largely handled managing the pitching staff in his 24 seasons as Ole Miss' coach. He said with how much innovation has come into baseball in the past 20 years, it was time to hire some help.

"From analytics to video and things that are at your fingertips that we didn't have 20-plus years ago," Bianco said. "I think it's just pulled me away from the program more, because as the head coach there's other things."

Mangrum has embraced analytics to a point.

"I feel like there's probably no one in the country in college baseball that has a better background in analytics, biomechanics and ball flight data, etc.," Mangrum said. "Just because, to no one's fault, it's what I've been exposed to with the Cleveland Guardians. But I think anybody on the pitching side would tell you that there's more to it than just that. It's the developing of people, developing a young man into a grown man."

Bianco offered to stay away from the bullpen and let Mangrove work with pitchers with minimal oversight. It was Mangrove who asked Bianco to remain an active presence in sessions with pitchers. That said, responsibility has shifted.

"Make no mistake about it, this is (Mangrum's) gig," Bianco said. "He coaches the pitchers."

Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at Shutchens@gannett.com or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss baseball: Why Mike Bianco got first pitching coach in 25 years