Mike Bianco

Mike Bianco
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamOle Miss
ConferenceSEC
Record906–543–1 (.625)
Biographical details
Born (1967-05-03) May 3, 1967 (age 57)
Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.
Playing career
1986–1987Indian River CC
1988–1989LSU
Position(s)Catcher
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1991–1992Northwestern State (GA)
1993–1997LSU (asst.)
1998–2000McNeese State
2001–presentOle Miss
Head coaching record
Overall1,006–614–1 (.621)
Tournaments47–40 (NCAA)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Awards

Michael F. Bianco (born May 3, 1967) is an American college baseball coach and former catcher, who is the current head baseball coach of the Ole Miss Rebels. He played college baseball at Indian River Community College before transferring to LSU where he played for coach Skip Bertman from 1988 to 1989.

Bianco served as the head coach of the McNeese State Cowboys (1998–2000) before being named head coach at Ole Miss.[1] He has led the Rebels to two College World Series appearances (2014 and 2022), with Ole Miss winning their first national championship in 2022.

Playing career

Bianco attended Seminole High School in Seminole, Florida[2] where following the conclusion of a senior year, he was drafted in the 13th round of the 1985 Major League Baseball draft by the Boston Red Sox.[3] Bianco played two seasons at Indian River Community College in Florida before transferring to LSU from 1988 to 1989.[4] He was the Tigers' starting catcher and team captain on the 1989 team that finished third at the College World Series.

Coaching career

On June 8, 2000, Bianco was named the head baseball coach of Ole Miss. During his tenure, Ole Miss has hosted nine NCAA baseball regionals and three NCAA baseball Super Regionals. The program has won four SEC Western Division Championships under his guidance (2005, 2009, 2014, 2018), the 2006 SEC Baseball Tournament, the 2018 SEC Baseball Tournament, the 2009 Southeastern Conference Co-championship, and eight NCAA regional championships (2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2014, 2019, 2021, 2022). In 2005, 2006, and 2009, his teams hosted Super Regionals.

Ole Miss reached the College World Series for the first time under Bianco in 2014, advancing to the semifinals. Eight years later at the 2022 College World Series, Bianco and the Rebels won their first national championship with a two-game sweep of Oklahoma.

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
McNeese State Cowboys (Southland Conference) (1998–2000)
1998 McNeese State 30–26 13–10 3rd
1999 McNeese State 31–25 12–15 8th
2000 McNeese State 39–20 20–7 T–1st NCAA Regional
McNeese State: 100–71 (.585) 45–32 (.584)
Ole Miss Rebels (Southeastern Conference) (2001–present)
2001 Ole Miss 39–23–1 17–13 T–2nd (West) NCAA Regional
2002 Ole Miss 37–19 14–16 6th (West)
2003 Ole Miss 35–27 17–13 4th (West) NCAA Regional
2004 Ole Miss 39–21 18–12 T–2nd (West) NCAA Regional
2005 Ole Miss 48–20 18–12 T–1st (West) NCAA Super Regional
2006 Ole Miss 44–22 17–13 3rd (West) NCAA Super Regional
2007 Ole Miss 40–25 16–14 3rd (West) NCAA Super Regional
2008 Ole Miss 39–26 15–15 3rd (West) NCAA Regional
2009 Ole Miss 44–20 20–10 T–1st (West) NCAA Super Regional
2010 Ole Miss 39–24 16–14 3rd (West) NCAA Regional
2011 Ole Miss 30–25 13–17 T–5th (West)
2012 Ole Miss 37–26 14–16 4th (West) NCAA Regional
2013 Ole Miss 38–24 15–15 4th (West) NCAA Regional
2014 Ole Miss 48–21 19–11 1st (West) College World Series
2015 Ole Miss 30–28 15–14 4th (West) NCAA Regional
2016 Ole Miss 43–19 18–12 4th (West) NCAA Regional
2017 Ole Miss 32–25 14–16 6th (West)
2018 Ole Miss 48–17 18–12 T–1st (West) NCAA Regional
2019 Ole Miss 41–27 16–14 5th (West) NCAA Super Regional
2020 Ole Miss 16–1[a] 0–0 Season canceled due to COVID-19
2021 Ole Miss 45–22 18–12 3rd (West) NCAA Super Regional
2022 Ole Miss 42–23 14–16 5th (West) College World Series Champions
2023 Ole Miss 25–29 6–24 7th (West)
2024 Ole Miss 27–29 11–19 6th (West)
2025 Ole Miss
Ole Miss: 906–543–1 (.625) 359–330 (.521)
Total: 1,006–614–1 (.621)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

  1. ^ The season was not played past March 11 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.

See also

References

  1. ^ Gregg Ellis (June 8, 2000). "Bianco gets the nod". www.djournal.com. Tupelo Daily Journal. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  2. ^ Annie Costabile (April 16, 2017). "The Biancos: the family that loves baseball". www.clarionledger.com. The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  3. ^ "1985 BASEBALL DRAFT". www.baseball-almanac.com. Baseball Almanac, Inc. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  4. ^ Chase Parham (February 13, 2017). "Mike Bianco and Ole Miss: The story behind the hire that revived the Rebels". www.rivals.com. Yahoo!. Retrieved April 8, 2020.