24th-year Ole Miss baseball head coach Mike Bianco has just made history in the Rebels' latest win over No. 24 Georgia (29-10, 9-9 SEC).
Ole Miss' Saturday Game 3, 3-2, victory over Georgia in Athens on Saturday (Apr. 20) marked the 1,000th of his career and 900th win with Ole Miss. Bianco's first 100 wins came from his initial three seasons at McNeese State.
Bianco now becomes the 21st active coach with 1,000 wins under his belt and just became the 98th head coach in NCAA history to reach the mark.
“Baseball is a crazy game. The truth is, you get here because of a lot of great players. I mean that sincerely. I’ve been here for 24 years and we’ve had some great teams, some great coaches. I don’t throw it, I don’t hit it and I don’t catch it. To get to this point — 1,000 wins — you don’t do it without a lot of great players winning baseball games. This is really a team (and) program type of accolade. The other thing is, you don’t do it without a fan base that’s passionate and wants to win and has to continue to show up. Everybody gets a piece of this,” Bianco told reporters about the milestone.
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In 24 seasons leading the program, Bianco has delivered 18 postseason appearances, including eight Super Regional berths and a pair of trips to the College World Series. He is the winningest-coach in Ole Miss history and ranks third all-time in wins by an SEC head coach.
To become the all-time winningest coach in Ole Miss history, Bianco passed Rebel legend Jake Gibbs with his 486th win on March 9, 2013, against Lipscomb in non-conference action. On April 4, 2023 Bianco became the second-winningest SEC coach of all-time, earning his 871st win and passing the legendary Skip Bertman.
A road SEC win at Texas A&M on May 8, 2021 gave Bianco 900 for his career, including 800 in a Rebel uniform to become one of 16 active head coaches with 900 career victories and one of just two in the SEC alongside LSU's Paul Mainieri and Arkansas' Dave Van Horn. The SEC's winningest active coach joined Ron Polk and Skip Bertman as the only coaches in conference history with 800 wins.
The winning tradition has led to a wealth of success in the nation's strongest baseball conference. Under Bianco, the Rebels have won four SEC Western Division titles, two SEC Tournament titles and one SEC regular-season championship, coming in 2009. Ole Miss captured the SEC Tournament title in 2006 and again in 2018. The Rebels also won the SEC West crown in 2018, becoming just the second in program history to win both a divisional and tournament title in the same season.
National Champion Rebels
In a career that has been filled with memorable seasons, the pinnacle without a doubt came during the 2022 campaign. Once sitting at 7-14 in the SEC and left for dead by fans and media across the country, Bianco's Rebels responded with one of the most miraculous turnarounds in college baseball history to not only right the ship, but finish on top.
Ole Miss finished 7-2 over its last three SEC series, including its first-ever sweep over LSU in Baton Rouge, to bolster its resume and ultimately garner the very last bid into the NCAA Tournament.
Despite Rebel captain Tim Elko's warning of "don't let the Rebs get hot," the college baseball world did just that. Once in the postseason, the Rebels never looked back, cruising through three-straight wins to claim the Coral Gables Regional and topping Southern Miss in the Hattiesburg Super Regional to advance to Omaha for the second time under Bianco.
Even at the College World Series, the Rebels couldn't be cooled down as Ole Miss defeated Auburn and took down Arkansas twice to advance to the championship series against Oklahoma. After Bianco's bunch eased past the Sooners in game one, an eighth-inning rally sealed the deal, securing the program's first national championship.
Following the triumphant season, the longtime Rebel skipper was tabbed the National Coach of the Year by D1Baseball, USA Baseball, the ABCA, and Collegiate Baseball. It was the second season in which Bianco was named the national coach of the year, receiving the honor from Collegiate Baseball after leading Ole Miss to a 16-1 start to the 2020 season prior to the halting of play due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
MLB Rebs
The excellence on the field has not gone unnoticed over the past 23 seasons under Bianco. The Rebels have seen 130 Major League Baseball draft picks in that time, including a combined 31 in the past six seasons.
At least three Rebels have been selected in each of the past 19 full seasons of the Bianco Era. Prior to Bianco's arrival, Ole Miss eclipsed four draftees just three times.
In the Bianco Era, Rebel pitchers have accounted for 72 selections in the MLB Draft, including three first-rounders. Drew Pomeranz was selected fifth overall in 2010, becoming the highest-selected Rebel ever, part of a class that featured five Ole Miss pitchers taken in the top 100 picks. Ryan Rolison joined Pomeranz as a first-round selection in 2018 when he was taken 22nd overall by the Colorado Rockies. Gunnar Hoglund became the third Rebel pitcher coached by Bianco selected in the first round, earning the No. 19 pick from the Toronto Blue Jays.
Bianco has also tutored 20 catchers who have gone on to sign professional contracts. In 2018 and 2019, three Rebels were drafted as catchers in the top six rounds. Nick Fortes signed with the Miami Marlins after they chose him in the fourth round in 2018, while Thomas Dillard (5th Round - Milwaukee Brewers) and Cooper Johnson (6th Round - Detroit Tigers) were quickly taken off the board in 2019. Hayden Dunhurst and Calvin Harris have added to the recent run of Rebel backstops drafted highly, with Dunhurst being selected in the sixth round by the Kansas City Royals in 2022 and Harris going to the Chicago White Sox in the fourth round in 2023.
In his 29 years as either an assistant or head coach at Northwestern State, LSU, McNeese State and Ole Miss, Bianco has coached 171 players who have gone on to sign professional contracts. Among those 171 players, 34 have made Major League rosters, including 23 Rebels in the past 23 seasons.
T.J. Beam (New York Yankees) was the first player from the Bianco Era to be called up in 2006, followed by Seth Smith (Colorado) in 2007 and Matt Tolbert (Minnesota) in 2008. Chris Coghlan (Florida) was named the 2009 National League Rookie of the Year, while Matt Maloney (Cincinnati) made his MLB debut that same season. Alex Presley (Pittsburgh) became the sixth Bianco-coached Rebel to get the call to the majors in 2010.
Right-hander Lance Lynn (St. Louis), shortstop Zack Cozart (Cincinnati) and left-hander Drew Pomeranz (Colorado) became the next crop of players to make their Major League debuts, getting the call to the big leagues in 2011. Those call ups gave the Rebels eight players active in the Majors in the 2011 season, the second most of any Southeastern Conference team that season. Seven players appeared on Major League rosters in the 2013 season, including the call up of right-hander Phillip Irwin (Pittsburgh) that year. Right-hander Aaron Barrett (Washington) made his Major League debut on March 31, 2014.
Matt Tracy was called up to the big leagues by the New York Yankees, April 11, 2015, and made his debut later that day. Just over one month later, another former Rebel pitcher made his Major League debut as David Goforth began pitching out of the bullpen for the Milwaukee Brewers. In 2016, Mike Mayers (St. Louis) became the 14th Bianco-coached Rebel to see his big league dream come true, earning a start for the Cardinals against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday Night Baseball.
Johnny Bench Award winner Stuart Turner saw his dream come true when he made the Cincinnati Reds roster to start the 2017 season. Less than a month into the season, the Oakland Athletics called up Bobby Wahl as the next Rebel to make his MLB debut. Braxton Lee earned MLB Reb when he earned a spot on the 2018 Opening Day roster for the Miami Marlins.
Two more Rebels added their names to the MLB ranks in 2019 as pitchers Chris Ellis (Kansas City) and Jacob Waguespack (Toronto) toed the rubber in the bigs and former backstop Nick Fortes reached the majors in 2021, clobbering a home run in his debut with the Marlins. Chad Smith became the latest Rebel to make it to the "big leagues" in 2022, debuting for the Colorado Rockies.
Two former Rebels made their Major League debuts in 2023 as Grae Kessinger achieved his dream with the Houston Astros and James McArthur put together a stellar month of September on the mound for the Kansas City Royals.
