Mike Bell (baseball coach)

Michael John Bell (born October 14, 1972) is an American college baseball coach and former pitcher. Bell is the head coach of the Pittsburgh Panthers baseball team.

Mike Bell
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamPittsburgh
ConferenceACC
Record31–40
Biographical details
Born (1972-10-14) October 14, 1972
Sarasota, Florida
Playing career
1992–1993Pasco–Hernando State College
1994–1995Florida State
1995Vermont Expos
1995Albany Polecats
1996Delmarva Shorebirds
1996–1997West Palm Beach Expos
1998Jupiter Hammerheads
1998Frederick Keys
1999–2000Bowie Baysox
Position(s)Pitcher
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2001–2002Brandon (FL) HS
2003–2004Florida Southern (asst)
2005–2007Tennessee (asst)
2008–2011Oklahoma (asst)
2012–2018Florida State (asst)
2019–presentPittsburgh
Head coaching record
Overall31–40
TournamentsACC: 0–0
NCAA: 0–0

Amateur career

Bell attended Riverview High School in Sarasota, Florida. As a member of the baseball team, Bell was a two-time All-Area selection.[1] Upon graduation from Riverview, Bell enrolled at Pasco–Hernando State College. Bell was the first ever baseball signee in the history of Pasco–Hernando State, helping the Bobcats build their field, and hitting the first home run in program history.[2] After graduating from Pasco–Hernando State, Bell accepted a baseball scholarship offer from Florida State University. Bell helped the Seminoles to back-to-back College World Series appearances in 1994 and 1995.[3]

Professional career

The Montreal Expos selected Bell in the tenth round as a pitcher, with the 563rd overall selection, of the 1995 MLB Draft. The Expos assigned Bell to the Vermont Expos of the Rookie-level New York–Penn League, where he made seven appearances before he was promoted to the Albany Polecats where he appeared in 12 games and had a 3.48 ERA.

Bell pitched for the Delmarva Shorebirds of the Class A South Atlantic League and the West Palm Beach Expos of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League in 1996, finishing the year with a 2.88 ERA in 53 games. In 1997, he played the entire season with West Palm Beach. He returned to Class A-Advanced when Expos changed their affiliate to the Jupiter Hammerheads. Bell finished the season with the Baltimore Orioles organization with the Frederick Keys. He had 7 wins, with a 2.94 ERA and 7 saves.

Bell played the final two seasons of his career with the Bowie Baysox. Bell flipped between long relief and starting, recording a 7–8 record with a 4.90 ERA.

Coaching career

Following the conclusion of his playing career, Bell was named the head coach of Brandon High School in Brandon, Florida. He led the school to a regional semifinal finish in 2002 as well as a Class 4A-District 9 championship. He was named area coach of the year by the Florida Athletic Coaches Association.[4] After two seasons at Brandon, Bell was named the pitching coach for Florida Southern College.[4] The Mocs earned two berths in the NCAA Regionals, going 2–2 in Bell's two seasons with the team.

On August 9, 2004, Bell was hired as the pitching coach for the Tennessee Volunteers baseball team.[5] In his first season with the Volunteers, Bell helped Luke Hochevar bounce back from an injury to earn the Southeastern Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Year and the Roger Clemens Award.[6]

In 2007, Bell was named the pitching coach for the Oklahoma Sooners baseball program.

On June 24, 2011, Bell was hired as the pitching coach at Florida State.[7]

On July 10, 2018, Bell was named the 8th head coach in the history of the Pittsburgh Panthers baseball program.[8][9]

Head coaching record
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Pittsburgh Panthers (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2019–present)
2019 Pittsburgh 21–348–227th (Coastal)
2020 Pittsburgh 10–60–3(Coastal)Season canceled with COVID-19
Pittsburgh: 31–408–25
Total:31–40

      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

See also

References
  1. "Oklahoma Staff" (PDF). www.soonersports.com. University of Oklahoma. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  2. Jim Henry (February 24, 2015). "Henry Blog: Winterling credits FSU experience for success". www.tallahassee.com. Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  3. "Mike Bell". www.utsports.com. University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  4. Rick Brown (July 30, 2002). "Mocs Hire Baseball, Softball Coaches". www.theledger.com. GateHouse Media LLC. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  5. "Bell Named UT Pitching Coach". www.utsports.com. University of Tennessee Athletics. August 9, 2004. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  6. Bob Ferrante (June 27, 2011). "Former Riverview High hurler Bell to be pitching coach for Florida State". www.preps.heraldtribune.com. Herald Tribune. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  7. Bob Ferrante (June 24, 2011). "Ex-FSC Assistant Baseball Coach Hired by Seminoles". www.theledger.com. GateHouse Media LLC. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  8. "Florida State pitching coach Mike Bell named new Pittsburgh head coach". www.tallahassee.com. Tallahassee Democrat. July 10, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  9. Brian Batko (July 10, 2018). "Mike Bell, ex-Florida State assistant, is Pitt's new baseball coach". www.post-gazette.com. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
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