‘He’s on the cutting edge’: Doug Nikhazy offers insight into Ole Miss pitching coach Joel Mangrum

When the news came out on Thursday that Ole Miss hired Joel Mangrum as its new pitching coach it was a moment of “worlds colliding” for Doug Nikhazy.

The former Ole Miss pitcher is now in the Cleveland Guardians organization and has been sitting under the learning tree of Mangrum since he got drafted in 2022.

Mangrum was hired away from the Guardians after spending six seasons in the organization and the last four serving as its Minor League Pitching Coordinator.

When speaking with The Ole Miss Spirit on Friday Nikhazy credited Mangrum for his growth at the professional level the last three years. The pair worked closely together this past Spring at the Guardians facility in Arizona.

“I can’t contribute enough of my professional success to (Mangrum),” Nikhazy said.

“He was a tremendous help to me. Right when we got drafted he spent that first Summer with us in Arizona and was kind of my welcome to the organization from the pitching-side of things. As much as he was a coordinator he really is a pitching coach. It’s been a long time coming for him to get back. He’s been in the dugout and on the field but being able to be as hands on as he should be it’s been a long time coming.”

Nikhazy is in his third season with the Akron RubberDucks, the Guardians Double-A affiliate.

Nikhazy did not stop there as the former Ole Miss ace is looking forward to seeing what Mangrum can do in Oxford.

This will be the first Power 4 job for Mangrum — a Mississippi native — who has collegiate coaching experience at ULM, New Mexico State and other stops.

After having Mangrum’s knowledge at his disposal Nikhazy even admitted he is a little envious of the Ole Miss players come this fall and the 2025 season.

Not only will the Rebels pitching staff be getting a coach with professional experience but a coach that is coming fresh out of the minor leagues and has current knowledge of what it takes at the next level.

“What he does is he is tremendously advanced on what is next,” Nikhazy said. “Baseball is such an awesome sport but what it’s doing now is it is evolving since, let’s say 2016, at just a rapid pace with numbers, analytics as everyone’s aware of. He’s on the cutting edge of that. I think he’s elite at looking at players and knowing how to make them better quickly and that’s what he’s going to be able to do.

“He’s a great pitching coach. He’s not just a numbers guy. He has applicable pitching experience. He’s done the college scene, he’s done the professional scene and I think he isn’t just a numbers guy. He’s going to be able to come in and talk to some youthful, younger guys and be able to make some changes that might impact their career tremendously like they impacted mine.”

Not only has Mangrum worked with Nikhazy but he also worked with College World Series star and former Ole Miss ace Dylan DeLucia who is working his way back from Tommy John surgery last year.

Familiarity with former Rebel players is a nice bridge to gap Mangrum with knowledge before he gets settled in at Oxford-University Stadium.

“He just believes in me and he’s a good person to his core,” Nikhazy added. “That’s always something that I’ve looked for first and foremost is trust and belief in a coach. Something that (Ole Miss coaches Carl) Lafferty and Bianco always offered to me. So I was seeking someone out like that and it’s funny that my worlds are now colliding and he is now an Ole Miss coach.”

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