Q & A with Mike Bianco

Q: Since you arrived on campus as the head coach seven years ago, Ole Miss baseball has experienced a renaissance of sorts. Talk about where we’ve come as a program in the past seven seasons and where we’re heading in the future.

A: A lot of things have changed over the last seven years. One of the things that has changed, and was one of our goals when we got here, was to change the expectations for this program. We wanted people to see us as a winner and expect us to play for championships year in and year out and to be in the post-season year in and year out. We’ve been in the NCAA Tournament six of the last seven years and five straight seasons. We’ve been Regional hosts four straight seasons and been to three straight Super Regionals. We’ve come a long way, but ultimately our goal is to get to the College World Series and play for a national championship. We’ve come a long way. Although we’re not there yet, we continue to strive and the expectations are higher than they ever have been. No one wants to get to Omaha and win a national championship more than myself, the staff or these players. Someone made the comment that it’s remarkable that people can feel down after a third straight 40-win season and a third straight Super Regional. But that means you are doing something right if that’s the emotion.

Q: Athletics has become kind of an arms race in recent years as schools continue to upgrade facilities and other things surrounding athletics programs. What kind of effect can facilities play in recruiting and impact can they have on a program as a whole?

A: The difficult thing is that there is no specific measuring stick. It’s all very subjective, but there is no question that it affects it and has an impact on everything we do, from recruiting to how we play to how many fans we draw. I was told when I got here that we used to draw 25 to 30 thousand fans and there was no need to expand the stadium. But they expanded and added nicer seats and more people came to games. It’s not just recruiting, but it affects the perception of the program. As you continue to upgrade the facilities and the weight rooms and other things associated with the program year in and year out, not only are you keeping up with the rest of the league and the country, but you’re also impacting that program directly through a lot of different channels. One of those channels is recruiting. When people walk on campus and see our facilities and the hitting complex and the renderings of the facility that will be built; when they see the weight room at the Indoor Practice Facility and they see the FedEx Academic Center, I think they know we are committed to excellence here and having the best baseball program in the country.

Q: What are your thoughts on the planned expansion?

A: I’m very excited about it. I know we hit a bit of a bump in the road when the bids came back a bit higher than expected, but Pete Boone, George Smith and the Chancellor are very optimistic about getting this project done. Right now we’re in the stages of figuring out which direction the project will go. It’s not “if” the project will happen, but when and how do we get it done? I’m very optimistic that not only will the decision will be made soon and the ground breaking will be made in the next couple of months.

Q: We’ve seen a shift in the coaching staff this season as Kyle Bunn was promoted to a full-time position and Rob Reinstetle was brought on as an assistant coach. Can you talk about Rob Reinstetle and what you have seen from him in his first season?

A: It’s been terrific. A lot of people don’t realize what a difficult position Rob Reinstetle was thrown in. He’s done a terrific job, but he wore two hats that used to be worn by two different people and those responsibilities went to one person as the recruiting coordinator and the hitting/infield coach. Not that he can’t do both, but it was the first time in our program that it had been done. He had to hit the ground running and he took over right before the turnover of the new recruiting class. He signed an outstanding class that will be here this fall, and he’s done a great job with the offense. I know that in some areas we were down this year, but at the end of the day we were still the fourth-ranked offense in the Southeastern Conference and Rob’s got a ton of knowledge. I think with one year with his feet under him, with the new personnel coming in and seven of the starting nine returning, I’m really excited about the future of our offense and our recruiting.

Q: Continuing on the train of thought with assistant coaches...how does it feel to know that you have officially started your own “coaching tree?” People can point to Dan McDonnell, who has become a head coach at the Division I level and experienced success in his first season at Louisville, and know he came from Mike Bianco’s Ole Miss program?

A: I don’t think I’ll ever have as many as Ron Polk. It’s neat and I am certainly very excited about what Dan has accomplished. To ever get to the College World Series is a great accomplishment, but to do it in your first year is special. I think I read somewhere that he was the first rookie coach to get to the College World Series since Mike Martin (Florida State) did it in 1980.We didn’t have any doubt and new he was terrific, it just took the right opportunity to come along. I’m really happy for him.

Q: Can you talk a little bit about the recruiting class you have coming in this fall?

A: It started off as a class that was hard to define because we weren’t sure where we would start since we would return so many players. We tried to fit some specific needs. You will always need pitching and we started off with two big commitments from the Memphis area in Michael Park and Drew Pomeranz. We also signed some Mississippi kids with David Goforth and Josh Thomason on the mound.  That will add to an already very deep pitching staff, but then as the season progressed we had to branch out and look at some different areas. The position players were a place we were going to need a jump-start, and I’m excited that we have so many offensive players in this class it’s hard to mention just a few. The team that will take the field this fall will have the most depth of probably any team that we have had with the most competition at all positions.

Q: You had several players garner accolades on the conference and national level, as well as having a couple of players selected for international competition again this season. What does that say Ole Miss baseball and where we stand for the future?

A: Certainly all the honors are well deserved and they are all very talented individuals. Team USA has guys in Jordan Henry, Cody Satterwhite and Lance Lynn who have had great years. Jordan Henry was named SEC Freshman of the Year and is our third selection in seven years. We had three Freshman All-America selections this year and that says a lot about the recruiting classes and the work that Dan McDonnell and now Rob Reinstetle have done to bring these players here to Ole Miss. It says a lot about the program and the level we are at and the consistency we have been able to sustain. That’s not easy in this day and age. We have the most Southeastern Conference wins over the last five years and some of the other things we have done in the nation’s toughest baseball conference are being done because of these talented baseball players.

Q: We have several players who go and play summer baseball in wooden bat leagues. That’s something that is rather unique to baseball in having players pack up and go all over the country to continue playing the spot in organized leagues in the off-season. What is that like for the players and how does that help when you are building a program?

A: The motivation to do that is to improve as a baseball player and use the 40-55 games in the summer league to improve your skills and become a better baseball player. There are a lot of benefits to it. The athletes get to see a part of the country they may never get to see. The kids get to play baseball against some very good competition and enjoy the summer. A lot of them who have success in the summer leagues bring that success back to Ole Miss. They bring that reputation and those accolades back and that helps them in their career and spreads the word of Ole Miss baseball throughout the country. It’s a neat thing. It takes a special person because the year is so long here. The kids start immediately when they get back in August and hopefully you are playing the college season into mid or late June. They get back and immediately jump on a plane to go somewhere else and play another 40 or more games. It shows the dedication and commitment from these guys. The guys who do it have a ball.

The University of Mississippi Athletics

Q & A with Mike Bianco

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