Mike Bell Assistant Coach Pitching Coach     OU Baseball Coaching Staff

Mike Bell completed his fourth season in Norman working with the OU pitchers in 2011 as the team posted a 3.00 ERA, the lowest since the 1978 Sooners recorded a 2.66 mark.

Four hurlers were named All-Big 12 honorees in 2011 while Michael Rocha was tabbed a second team All-American. Rocha was one of six pitchers taken in the 2011 MLB Draft, giving Bell 16 during his OU tenure.

Prior to his arrival in Norman, Bell spent the three previous seasons at the University of Tennessee, where he helped lead the Vols to the College World Series in 2005.

He duplicated that feat with the Sooners in 2010, helping the program make its first CWS appearance since 1995, and 10th overall. OU registered a program-record 583 strikeouts in 2010 en route to the program's lowest earned-run average (3.76) since 1984. Also in 2010, three OU hurlers were selected in the Major League Baseball draft.

Bell was named an assistant coach at Oklahoma on July 16, 2007, and in addition to his pitching coach duties, he assists with the program's recruiting efforts.

Four hurlers were selected in the 2009 MLB Draft under his guidance, including first round pick Garrett Richards.  Richards was the Sooners' second first round pick in the last three years but the first pitcher since 2004 (David Purcey). 

Also in 2009, Ryan Duke (third team All-American-NCBWA) became the first OU pitcher to be named an All-American since Jeff Bajenaru in 2000.  Duke led the Big 12 with 16 saves and ranked sixth in the nation.

While at Tennessee, Bell built a reputation as one of the top young coaches in the game as he worked with the Vols' pitching staff and was in charge of recruiting. In three years, he helped produce three All-Americans, three All-SEC honorees, the top four all-time winningest pitchers and four of the top eight single-season strikeout leaders in school history.

On the recruiting front, Bell helped Tennessee collect back-to-back recruiting classes that were ranked in the top 15 nationally by Baseball America, including a 2005 class that was ranked sixth best in the country.

Bell's hurlers have also fared well in the Major League Draft as three of his six selections at Tennessee were taken in the first two rounds. In 2007, James Adkins was selected in the first round (39th overall) after becoming the school's all-time leader in strikeouts with 380. In 2006, Luke Hochevar was tabbed the draft's No. 1 overall pick (late fi rst round pick in 2005) and Sean Watson, one of the program's top closers, was also drafted in 2006 in the second round.

In his first year in Knoxville, the Volunteers returned to the College World Series for the first time since 2001. That same year, the pitching staff set a school record with 568 strikeouts and posted a top 25 ERA at 3.61. In addition, Hochevar won the 2005 Roger Clemens' Award and was named the SEC Pitcher of the Year after he led the nation with 15 wins and set a Tennessee record with 154 strikeouts.

Prior to his stay at Tennessee, Bell, a 1996 Florida State graduate, spent two seasons as the recruiting coordinator and pitching coach at Florida Southern College (Division II). At Florida Southern, Bell and the Mocs were 79-35 overall and the 2003 and 2004 pitching staffs each ranked in the nation's top 20 in ERA.

Before transferring to Florida State, Bell began his collegiate career at Pasco-Hernando Community College in New Port Richey, Fla., where he was a two-time All-Sun Coast Conference selection.

At Florida State, Bell, a pitcher/first baseman, and the Seminoles made back-to-back CWS appearances in 1994 and 1995. During his FSU career, Bell posted a 14-4 overall record with a 3.00 ERA. He struck out 120 batters in 137 2/3 innings pitched and was twice named to the ACC Academic Honor Roll.

Following a six-year minor league career that saw him win 28 games and record 18 saves with a 2.99 ERA, Bell took over as head baseball coach in 2000 at Brandon High School in Brandon, Fla. Under his direction, the Eagles won the 2002 Class 4A-District 9 Championship and Bell was recognized by the Florida Athletic Coaches Association (FACA), as the Class 4A Coach of the Year, and by the Tampa Tribune, which tabbed him as the Hillsborough County Coach of the Year.

Bell was a two-time all-area selection at Riverview High School in his hometown of Sarasota, Fla. He earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from Florida State in 1996 and is married to the former Alicia Favarato. The couple has a daughter, Alexis Leann (4), and son, Kyler (2).