Jake Thomas Mangum (born March 8, 1996) is an American professional baseball
outfielder
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...
in the
Miami Marlins organization. He played
college baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...
for the
Mississippi State Bulldogs
Mississippi State Bulldogs is the name given to the athletic teams of Mississippi State University, in Mississippi State, Mississippi. The university is a founding member of the Southeastern Conference and competes in NCAA Division I.
Sports sp ...
.
Early life and high school
Mangum was born in
Flowood, Mississippi, raised in nearby
Pearl, Mississippi
Pearl is a city in Rankin County, Mississippi, United States, located on the east side of the Pearl River across from the state capital Jackson. The population was 25,092 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area ...
, and attended
Jackson Preparatory School
Jackson Preparatory School (Jackson Prep) is an independent, coeducational, day school enrolling 700 students in grades five through twelve. The school is located in Flowood, Mississippi
Flowood is a city in Rankin County, Mississippi, United S ...
in Flowood. While playing for the Patriots Mangum was a member of three consecutive state championship teams in baseball and was named a Louisville Slugger All-American in 2013 and 2015 and Perfect Game All-American in 2013, 2014 and 2015 and
Mississippi Association of Independent Schools The Midsouth Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) is a consortium of schools in Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana and Arkansas. It is responsible for accreditation of its member private schools as well as governing athletic competition for its ...
(MAIS) first team All-State in 2014 and 2015.
As a senior, Mangum was named the MIAS AAA, Division I Player of the Year after hitting .504 with 46 runs scored and 41 RBIs and compiling an 8-0 record with four saves, 66 strikeouts, and a 1.48 ERA in 52 innings pitched. Mangum originally committed to play
college baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...
at the
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...
, his father's alma mater, over offers from
Ole Miss and
Auburn. However, he ultimately de-committed from Alabama and instead chose to play for
Mississippi State
Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...
.
College career
As a freshman in 2016, Mangum led the
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...
(SEC) and finished 7th in the NCAA with a .408 batting average along with 84 hits, one home run, 40 runs scored and 28 RBIs. He was named the SEC Freshman of the Year and first team All-SEC, as well as Freshman All-America by the
National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association
The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) is an association of baseball writers, broadcasters, and publicists in the United States. It was founded in 1962.
The NCBWA compiles a preseason ranking of the top 35 teams in the nat ...
(NCBWA) and ''
Baseball America''. Mangum was also named second team
All-America
The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...
by the NCBWA, third team All-America by the
American Baseball Coaches Association
The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) is the world's largest Amateur baseball in the United States, amateur baseball Manager (baseball), coaching organization. It was founded in 1945 as the American Association of College Baseball Coach ...
(ABCA), and was the first freshman to be awarded the
C Spire Ferriss Trophy as the top collegiate baseball player in the State of Mississippi. During the summer of 2016, he played for the
Bourne Braves
The Bourne Braves are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Bourne, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Braves play their home games at Doran Park on the ca ...
of the
Cape Cod Baseball League, batting .300 with nine RBIs and 11 stolen bases in 35 games and was named to the Cape Cod All-Star team.
As a sophomore, Mangum slashed .324/.380/.385 in 65 games with 90 hits, 51 runs scored, 26 RBIs and 14 stolen bases and was named second team All-SEC.
In addition to playing in the outfield, Mangum also pitched for the Bulldogs and posted a 2-1 record with a 6.46 ERA in six appearances (five starts) and a save in his only relief appearance. Despite breaking his left hand sliding into third base in early April in a game against
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...
, Mangum continued to play the rest of the season although he could not bat right handed and his batting average fell dramatically. Mangum was selected in the 30th round (902nd overall) of the
2017 Major League Baseball draft
The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on J ...
by the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
following the season but opted to return to Mississippi State for his junior year. Following the 2017 season, he played a second summer in the Cape Cod League with the
Hyannis Harbor Hawks
The Hyannis Harbor Hawks, formerly the Hyannis Mets, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Harbor Hawks play ...
and was named to the All-Star team for a second straight year.
In his junior season in 2018, Mangum led the SEC with 101 hits (5th in the NCAA) and 22 doubles (18th) in an NCAA-leading 288 at bats while hitting .351. He was named first team All-SEC and to the SEC All-Defensive team and
Rawlings Division I Gold Glove Team as
the Bulldogs advanced to the
2018 College World Series
Eighteen or 18 may refer to:
* 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19
* one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018
Film, television and entertainment
* ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sho ...
, making it to the semifinals before losing to eventual champion
Oregon State
Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...
. He was selected with the 950th pick in the 32nd round of the
2018 MLB Draft by the
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
but again decided to return to school, reportedly turning down a $300,000 signing bonus.
On April 26, 2019 Mangum passed
Eddy Furniss as the all-time hits leaders in SEC history with his 353rd career hit. He set the MSU single season hit record with 108 in his final career game against Louisville in the College World Series. He was again named first team All-SEC and was awarded the Ferriss Trophy, becoming the first player to receive it twice. He was also named third team All-America by ''
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper
''Collegiate Baseball Newspaper'' (also known as ''Collegiate Baseball Magazine'' and ''Collegiate Baseball'') is an American publication based in Arizona that considers itself the "voice of amateur baseball" which has been published for over 40 ...
'', becoming the second player in program history to be named an All-American in three different seasons after
Rafael Palmeiro. Mangum finished his collegiate career with a school and conference record 383 hits (fourth in NCAA history) and at bats with 1,074, as well as school records for games played (262) and doubles (73) and finished second with 229 runs, third with 507 total bases, fourth with 56 stolen bases and tied for the 10th-highest career batting average at .357. Mangum was selected by the Mets again in the
2019 MLB Draft
The 2019 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In additi ...
in the fourth round (118th overall). Following the Bulldogs loss to Louisville in the College World Series, Mangum made an impassioned appeal for the NCAA to allow programs to pay a third coach and to raise the scholarship limit beyond the current allowance of 11.7, revealing that he chose to give up his scholarship and play as a
walk-on for his final two seasons so that Mississippi State could use the scholarship money elsewhere.
Professional career
Mangum signed with the Mets on June 24, 2019 for a signing bonus $20,000 which was well below the slated bonus amount of $487,900 for his slot. He was assigned to the
Brooklyn Cyclones
The Brooklyn Cyclones are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, and play at Maimonides Park, just off the Coney Island Boar ...
of the
Class A Short Season
Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...
New York–Penn League
The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...
to begin his professional career.
In his first professional season, Mangum batted .247 with 45 hits, 29 runs scored, 18 RBI and a team-leading 17 stolen bases in 53 games.
Mangum returned to Brooklyn, now the Mets'
High-A
High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...
affiliate, to begin the 2021 season before being promoted to the
Double-A Binghamton Rumble Ponies
The Binghamton Rumble Ponies are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Binghamton, New York. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets major-league club. The Rumble Ponies play in Mirab ...
on May 22. Over 84 games between the two teams, he slashed .285/.337/.454 with nine home runs, 47 RBI, and 14 stolen bases.
Mangum was named to the Mets' 2022
spring training roster as a non-roster invitee. He was assigned to Binghamton at the start of the season. Mangum batted .283 in 31 games before he was promoted to the
Triple-A Syracuse Mets.
On December 7, 2022, Mangum was traded to the
Miami Marlins as the
player to be named later
In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...
for the trade that sent
Elieser Hernández and
Jeff Brigham to the Mets.
Personal life
Mangum is the son of former Alabama and
Chicago Bears defensive back
John Mangum and the nephew of former
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...
tight end
Kris Mangum
Kris Thomas Mangum (born August 15, 1973) is a former American football player who played tight end for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League throughout his entire NFL career. He attended the University of Mississippi. His father ...
.
His grandfather,
John "Big John" Mangum Sr., played college football at Ole Miss and Southern Mississippi before playing for the
Boston Patriots of the
American Football League.
Because of Magnum’s success at Mississippi State he was nicknamed the Mayor of Starkville.
References
External links
Mississippi State Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mangum, Jake
1996 births
Living people
Baseball players from Mississippi
Baseball outfielders
Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball players
People from Flowood, Mississippi
Bourne Braves players
Hyannis Harbor Hawks players
Brooklyn Cyclones players
Binghamton Rumble Ponies players
Syracuse Mets players
Florida Complex League Mets players