Storylines from a father-son reunion in Baton Rouge would've written themselves, but those will remain in the fiction section.
After emerging as a front-runner in LSU baseball's head coaching search to replace legend Paul Mainieri, Ole Miss announced an extension Sunday evening with longtime baseball coach Mike Bianco.
The 54-year-old is the father of LSU 2nd baseman and outfielder Drew Bianco.
"Ole Miss is home for me and my family, and I am committed to bringing championships to Oxford," said Bianco, who has been the coach in Oxford for the past 21 seasons.
It's unclear how far along any talks for Bianco to take over in Baton Rouge went before his extension, which will cover the next four seasons. Bianco's career record is impressive after College World Series runs as both a player (1989) and as an assistant coach (1993, '96, '96, '97) with a record of 922-533-1 over his career leading both McNeese State and Ole Miss. But he's brought the Rebels to Omaha just once (2014) in his 21 seasons, with a Super Regional record of 1-6.
The most recent loss came in the 2021 Super Regional with a 2-1 series loss to Arizona in Tuscon. The Tigers fell a day earlier in a 2-0 sweep to Tennessee in Knoxville.
"Our program is poised to take the next step toward success in Omaha," said Ole Miss Vice Chancellor for Athletics Keith Carter in a statement, acknowledging interest from other programs, "and we believe coach Bianco is the right person to guide us there."
The decision marks the latest apparent miss for the Tigers in their search to replace Mainieri, who in May announced he'd retire at the end of his 15th season in Baton Rouge. Early reports indicated the program was looking to lure former Oregon State coach Pat Casey out of retirement before ultimately looking elsewhere. Reports had also indicated an interest in Florida head coach Kevin O'Sullivan, but he later reaffirmed his commitment to remaining in Gainesville.
The lone name remaining that's garnered headlines for potential interest is that of Cliff Godwin, another former LSU player and assistant who has spent the past five seasons as the head coach with East Carolina.
