Parker Bangs - Baseball Coach - Rice University Athletics

Parker Bangs

Title:
Pitching Coach
Email:
parker.bangs@rice.edu

Parker Bangs was named the Owls’ pitching coach on June 30, 2022.

Bangs' second season on South Main saw continued improvement from the staff as the Owls ranked second in the AAC and 33rd nationally, allowing an average of 8.53 hits per nine innings, an improvement of 77 spots from the year before. They were third in the AAC with 491 strikeouts, the best total for Rice since 2019 while lowering their opponents’ batting average from .272 to .251.

Righthander Parker Smith became the highest-drafted Rice pitcher since 2019 when the hometown Houston Astros selected him in the fourth round.

In his first season guiding Rice’s hurlers, Smith earned consensus All-Conference USA honors and an invitation to the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp, while Justin Long made the successful transition from catcher to pitcher and was drafted in the seventh round by Atlanta. Long joined Hayden Durke (13^th round, Arizona) and Matthew Linskey (16^th round Arizona) to give the Owls three drafted pitchers for the first time since 2019.

Bangs joined the Owls after four seasons at Davidson, where his staff led the conference and finished eighth nationally with a 3.86 ERA. The Wildcats staff was led by senior Blake Hely, who earned A-10 Pitcher of the Year honors after posting a 9-1 record and 2.93 ERA while striking out 93 in 79.1 innings of action. He held conference hitters to a .170 batting average while surrendering a total of seven extra-base hits in 48 innings of work. Redshirt freshman Ryan Feczko was named the conference’s rookie of the year after going 10-0 in 15 starts along with a 3.21 ERA.

He joined the staff at Davidson after three seasons at Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C. Bangs led the Blue Hose to program-bests since moving to Division I, including 433 strikeouts, 16 saves, and a 4.32 ERA in 2017. The squad also allowed its fewest runs (321) and earned runs (258) since 2013 as the team recorded a D1-era best 32 wins. Under his guidance, the Blue Hose named two pitchers to the All-Big South squads. In 2016, his staff helped spark Presbyterian’s first-ever appearance in the Big South title game.

Bangs played collegiately at South Carolina from 2008-10 and was a member of the Gamecock’s 2010 College World Series championship team. In his three years with the Gamecocks, Bangs made 47 appearances on the mound, compiling a 7-5 record and striking out 94 in 74.2 innings. He also appeared in 81 games as a designated hitter and pinch hitter, posting a .301 career clip with 21 doubles, 10 home runs, and 60 RBI.

He was drafted by Kansas City in the 31st round of the 2010 MLB Draft, Bangs made 17 appearances over three minor league seasons before retiring after the 2012 season.

Bangs was the head coach of the Wilmington Sharks in the Coastal Plain League for two summers and spent three seasons as head coach of Heathwood Hall Episcopal School in Columbia, S.C. He also served as the pitching/hitting coach for the Columbia Blowfish of the CPL, and as the hitting coach at Dutch Fork High School in Irmo, S.C.