Ex-LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri officially named head coach at South Carolina
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Former LSU baseball coach and national champion Paul Mainieri is back in the coaching game. On Tuesday, USC Board of Trustees approved the hiring of Paul Mainieri as head baseball coach. Mainieri is joining the Gamecocks on a 5-year deal with an annual salary of 1.3 million.
“Paul Mainieri is an outstanding coach, teacher, competitor and someone that I have known for many years,” said Athletics Director Ray Tanner. “One can judge his success through his many championships, SEC and NCAA, but I see the impact he has made on young men and know he can have that same success here as has achieved in his career.”
Mainieri won a national championship at LSU in 2009. Now 66 years old, Mainieri was a head coach for 39 seasons at LSU, Notre Dame, Air Force, and St. Thomas (Fla.), before retiring from coaching in 2021.
The national championship coach is one of 13 coaches to lead two different programs to the College World Series and was named Baseball America Coach of the Year in 2009.
🚨BREAKING: Paul Mainieri is expected to be named the new head baseball coach at @GamecockBasebll, @d1baseball has learned. Mainieri guided #LSU to the 2009 national championship and has tallied more than 1,500 wins in his career. Kudos to @tedcahill for 1st mentioning poss. pic.twitter.com/d07XDCEL3o
— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) June 10, 2024
“This is a wonderful opportunity to coach at a prestigious and tradition-rich college baseball program,” Mainieri said. “I coached and competed against Ray Tanner for years and always had the greatest respect for him and the USC program. To join him on the same team and become a part of this program was simply something I could not walk away from. We have a super coaching staff in place, and I feel great and energized, I can’t wait to get started working with the players, and let’s get this University of South Carolina baseball program back to where it belongs – in Omaha and in the College World Series.”
Mainieri ranks eighth all-time in wins with 1,505. The former head coach also led LSU to a runner-up finish in 2017.
Here are the other coaches joining Mainieri for the Gamecocks:
ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH/HITTING COACH MONTE LEE
Lee is no stranger to Gamecock baseball as he has spent two stints as an assistant coach, most recently the last two seasons as the associate head coach/recruiting coordinator.
PITCHING COACH/RECRUITING COORDINATOR TERRY ROONEY
Rooney joins the Gamecocks from LSU, where he was the Tigers’ Associate Director of Program Development and Recruiting for the 2024 season.
ASSISTANT COACH JOHN HENDRY
Hendry comes to the Garnet and Black after three seasons as the University of Virginia’s Director of Player Development. In his three seasons in Charlottesville, Hendry has helped the Cavaliers to three straight College World Series appearances, including a trip in 2024 after defeating Kansas State in the Super Regional.
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