Two Publications Tab Dan McDonnell as Candidate for South Carolina Job

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Every offseason, it seems that at some point Louisville baseball head coach Dan McDonnell gets tied to a major job opening. We've now officially hit that point in the current offseason.

On Monday, South Carolina officially parted ways with head coach Mark Kingston after seven seasons with the Gamecocks. Not long afterwards, both Baseball America and D1Baseball named McDonnell as one of their top candidates to watch.

"With no word on when Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco might retire, this could be McDonnell’s best shot and fit to be an SEC coach if he so desires," D1Baseball's Kendall Rogers wrote.

Baseball America's Teddy Cahill cited McDonnell's time in the state of South Carolina stemming from his time as a player and coach at The Citadel, and that "if he can convince (USC AD Ray) Tanner that he hasn’t lost his fastball, he’d be a solid fit."

McDonnell has been one of the most successful coaches in college baseball during his 18 years as the skipper of the Cardinals. He sports an overall record of 742-330-1 and .692 win percentage since his hiring in 2007, has five appearances in the College World Series, and is a two-time National Coach of the Year.

This is far from the first time that McDonnell's name has come up in coaching searches. Some of the more notable recent examples are attempts by Mississippi State in 2019 and LSU in 2021 to poach him from Louisville.

While McDonnell has shot down all efforts in the past to pry him away from the Cardinals, it's worth monitoring what happens this time around - whether it's with South Carolina or another job.

He has been openly critical of the UofL administration's commitment to baseball, most notably saying last offseason that he wanted "to be at a place that's committed." Additionally, with McDonnell's Cardinals having missed the NCAA Tournament in three of the last four seasons, Louisville theoretically might not fight as hard to keep him away from other schools as they have done in the past.

McDonnell possesses one of the most lucrative contracts in all of college baseball. He signed a ten-year, $1 million contract back in 2016, and after the flirtation with Mississippi State in 2019, signed a rolling seven-year contract that will reach $1.5 million by 2028.

(Photo of Dan McDonnell: Steven Branscombe - USA TODAY Sports)

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