STARKVILLE — Nick Mingione knew he wanted to be a baseball coach when he was 12 years old.
That fact that Mingione’s teammates called him coach emboldened him to take a journey filled with sacrifices and hard times.
Growing up poor, Mingione didn’t have a lot, so when he graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2000 and received his first job as an assistant coach at Mariner (Fla.) High School, he was still trying to scrape by financially. But Mingione was ready to accept the challenge because he knew he was where he was supposed to be.
“I’ve learned to live with the bare minimum,” Mingione said. “Material things like clothes and fancy cars have never been important to me. When you don’t have money, you basically have to decide what’s important.”
Mingione has used that mind-set to become an integral part of the Mississippi State baseball program. From coordinator of baseball camps to full-time assistant coach to nationally respected recruiter, Mingione has continued to climb the ladder and make a name for himself. His efforts helped the Bulldogs land the third-ranked group of recruits in the Class of 2015, according to Collegiate Baseball. Mingione, those recruits, and the rest of No. 20 MSU will put their hard work on display at 4:30 p.m. Friday against Florida Atlantic in the season opener at Dudy Noble Field.
“He is one of those guys who doesn’t take anything for granted,” MSU coach John Cohen said. “He knows how hard he’s had to work to get to where he is and he doesn’t expect anything less from our players. I think he is an incredibly positive person, and I think that’s important on our staff.”
After one year with Mariner High, Mingione realized he wanted to coach baseball in college, so he helped build the Florida Gulf Coast program and was a volunteer assistant in 2002. He spent three seasons at Embry-Riddle before becoming a volunteer assistant at Kentucky under coach Cohen from 2006-07. He took a job as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Western Carolina before he re-joined Cohen at MSU. He worked three seasons as coordinator of baseball camps and was promoted to a full-time assistant in 2012. Mingione has served as the Bulldogs’ recruiting coordinator since 2012.
Mingione’s main source of income was doing baseball camps at the schools he was working at. While in Florida, Mingione said he worked out a deal with a coach where he was allowed to live in an apartment the coach owned for running practices. Mingione said he usually had enough money to eat and scrape by, but he said he never really needed a lot.
At Kentucky, Mingione lived in a one-bedroom studio apartment with a student manager. At Western Carolina, he lived in the basement of an apartment complex.
The job at Kentucky made a lasting impression on Mingione, so he didn’t hesitate when he received an opportunity to work with Cohen at MSU.
“I know there were some nights he was sleeping in our locker room,” Cohen said of their time at Kentucky. “Nelle (Cohen’s wife) fed him a lot. He really became kind of a member of our family.”
Mingione said his first car didn’t come until his senior year in college. He bought his second car — a Ford Escort — when he moved to Kentucky because his Dodge Neon wasn’t going to make the trip to Lexington.
When Mingione purchased a new car after working at MSU, he donated the Escort to a mother (a name he would like to keep to himself) of five so she could take her family to church.
Mingione said he never considered quitting coaching to find a steady paying job. He said the lack of money was nothing new to him and he relied on his faith in God to get him through the tough times.
Standing in the third-base coaching box during a scrimmage or a game, Mingione can be heard all over Dudy Noble Field. As Cohen pointed out, he has a positive attitude, which is reflected in his constant encouragement of all of the Bulldogs. “There’s different times in my life where you’ve basically had to ask yourself, ‘Is that really important?’ ” Mingione said. “Coach Cohen says there are no bad days. When I have a negative thought, I try to immediately replace it with a positive one. To be with coach Cohen, be here at Mississippi State and to be coaching baseball, an opportunity to share and help grow our kids, I don’t know if there is any better job. I better enjoy it.”
Mingione has helped bring some of the best recruiting classes to MSU. The last three have been in the top 10, a school record.
Cohen said Mingione worked into coaching the right way by volunteering his time and proving himself. That’s why Cohen promoted Mingione to a full-time member of the staff when Lane Burroughs left to become the coach at Northwestern State.
“Nick has taken all of his energy from our camps to the recruiting part of it,” Mingione said. “He’s in that unique circle of recruiters in the country that’s really separated themselves, really understands the process, really understands who fits what we’re trying to do.”
Married to Christen and with a son named Reeves, Mingione has taken full advantage of the opportunities he has been given. Although he has achieved his dream of being a baseball coach, he said the next step is becoming a head coach.
“I want to be where God wants me,” Mingione said. “If I had a choice, I want to be around good people. If I ever become a head coach, that would be great, but if not, I’ll just do whatever and I’ll just go wherever.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
